Conquer

  I remained still as he approached me. Even though he’d released Annie, I still needed to lead him away from her. There was a chance she would live through this if I could just get him away. I decided quickly that if I could get him alone, away from everybody that I loved, my only weaknesses, then I stood a chance of fighting him. The moonlight shown down on my body as I waited for him to approach. A spotlight on the one thing he wanted most. I didn’t move a muscle, didn’t dare make him think that I wouldn’t let him take me. My anxiety slowly drained from my body the farther he walked away from Annie.

  When he approached me, he grabbed my arms, twisting them forcefully behind me. My arms were bent at odd angles and pushed up against my spine, my muscles screaming from the tension of their position. His rancid breath rolled across my skin as he leaned in to whisper to me. “Do you want it right here, bitch, or is there somewhere else you’d rather lead me? Not that I mind if your screams wake the entire fucking building. Although it’d be a shame for your folks to see you beneath me as you died.”

  I knew he needed to move me. He wanted hours with me, not just minutes. He’d chased me for months, desperate to destroy the woman who, in his mind, had replaced his mother.

  “There’s a clearing…in the woods. Nobody will hear or see us there.” If I was lucky, I could take his gun from him once we were safely away from Annie and my parents. If I could take his gun, I would end him.

  He snickered triumphantly. “Well, then…lead the way, whore.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  ~~Daemon~~

  My boots sank into the damp ground as I ran through the woods along a path that led to The Center. Errant branches slapped against my chest and head from the speed I was moving, but it didn’t fucking matter. I had to get to her. I’d been breaking up a fight between two drunken hotheads when she’d called. It pissed me off to know that a drunken fight over a girl had made me unavailable when she needed me most.

  As soon as I’d tossed the assholes to the street, I felt my phone vibrate to indicate her message. The damn thing nearly slipped from my hands when I listened to her words. The room spun on its axis leaving me weak until my anger started to boil within me. I flew out of the club without any explanation to my staff. But it didn’t fucking matter. Paige had gone to face Chris. She was putting herself in danger to save her friend.

  I barely paid any attention to stop signs and traffic lights while racing out of town. Within minutes, however, I was driving through the state parks, one lane each way and not a single fucking stop sign for miles. If a cop had been out there tonight, I would have been fucked, not being able to stop from getting to Paige, but also not being able to lead a car in with me that was blasting their sirens and flashing their lights. Lucky for me, the path was clear. Once I reached the interstate, it was another half hour before I could reach her.

  I parked my truck in a wooded area at the base of a trail that led into the woods that surrounded The Center. I’d found it playing alone one day when Paige’s mother had found some other activity for her daughter. I remember hiking out to the clearing we played in as children when I discovered it. The trail wasn’t perfectly cleared, resembling more of a game trail used by animals as they traveled to the water. I’d followed it as it wove through the woods, eventually dumping out on a dirt service road. I’d forgotten about the path until the night I found Paige in the clearing. My eyes grazed across it before landing on her huddled form by the tree.

  The cold bite of the wind bit at my skin as I ran through the woods. My legs impacted with low brush and fallen branches, but I pushed through the pain, fighting to get to Paige. I ran until the clearing opened up in front of me. The moonlight ribboned down through the trees, breaking up the thickness of the black night. Within one thin wisp of light shown the eyes of an owl. An ominous tremor ran through my body as I remembered something my mother had told me when I was young. Seeing an owl was a foreshadowing of death, not necessarily yours, but of something or somebody you know. I wasn’t as superstitious as my mother, but seeing those eyes made me run harder, faster in her direction.

  The path began to widen in front of me and I knew I was almost there. I could hear faint voices coming from the water line off to my right. The talking stopped suddenly, once again returning silence to the woods. The only sound I could hear was the pounding of my shoes against dirt and my labored breath from running.

  When I emerged from the woods, my feet stopped suddenly. My eyes squinted at what looked like two people walking towards me. I slowly moved forward but stopped again when I recognized what I was looking at. Chris walked behind Paige, one arm hidden behind her back. He was close to her, practically shoved against her, his head dropped forward as he whispered in her ear. She didn’t respond, she didn’t move, she barely even flinched as he spoke. Her expression was perfectly calm, unreadable, and, at least to me, dangerous. I’d taught her that look, not officially, but by teaching her what to do in a situation such as this. My eyes searched for Annie and I felt sick when I couldn’t find her. I feared Chris had killed her before somehow subduing Paige.

  I crept forward, hoping to get closer. Staying low, I moved through the shadows, stopping every few feet. Chris and Paige were walking in my direction and I could have sworn she watched me as I crept towards her. Just as I neared them, a sudden wind gust blew, moving tree branches, and removing the shadows they provided me. As soon as I became visible, Chris stopped and jerked Paige back with him. Her eyes widened momentarily when she saw me, but her expression returned to one of boredom and disinterest. She was playing the game well.

  I stood up and held my arms out, indicating I was unarmed. Chris jerked back on Paige, causing her face to contort in pain. This picture was familiar. I’d seen it when I was seven. Except this time, it wasn’t my mother with a gun to her head, it was Paige. My heart pounded and every muscle in my body twitched as I restrained myself from charging at him. If he pulled that trigger, my life was over. My very soul would be ripped from me.

  “Well, isn’t this fucking convenient?!” He pulled Paige down so that her ear was by his mouth. I could see as she fought against showing her pain, her discomfort of him being so close. “What the fuck, whore? Thought we had a fucking deal. I fucking told you to call NO ONE.”

  She winced as the tip of the gun was shoved forcefully against her head. “Guess, I’m just going to have go back and kill your friend once I’m done with you after all.” He bit her earlobe, causing her to cry out and her knees to buckle. His voice raked against me when he next spoke. “And the added fucking bonus is I get to kill your sweet little boyfriend while you watch.”

  Chris’ eyes met mine. “So, I’m curious? Did you fuck her after tossing me out that night at you club? It did take you a little while to walk her out to her bike.” He was taunting me, attempting to anger me into doing something stupid. It wouldn’t work.

  I winced as anger shot through me, my muscles constricted from my contained rage. Keeping my voice steady, I attempted to keep him talking. I didn’t care if he pointed that fucking gun at me, but while it was still attached to Paige’s head, there was nothing else I could do but keep him talking.

  “Chris, just let her go, man. She’s done nothing to you. She’s not the person, who fucked you up, Chris. Just please…fuck…please, Chris, let her go.” I purposefully made myself sound helpless. I didn’t want to clue him into the fact that I was about to rip his head from his body.

  Chris snorted out laughter. “Don’t try that shit with me, lover boy. I know you were with the bitch when she talked to my Daddy. I don’t care what that bastard told you. I took care of the bitch who raised me, and it’s about time I take care of this one as well.”

  Paige’s face remained stoic as she kept her eyes trained on me. I kept glancing over to her to find a blank expression, but this time, an apology was written across her face. I blinked against my own tears to see that she’d given up. She knew she was going to die, she’d accepted it.

  Doesn
’t mean that I had, though…

  “Chris, what will it fucking take, man? Money? I’ll give you however much you want, just don’t you dare pull that trigger.” I went down on one knee and then two. Chris laughed at me as he sneered down. Paige remained calm, but the sorrow in her eyes damn near killed me. I watched as Chris’ finger twitched against the trigger. One wrong move and Paige was gone. He’d said he would kill me first, let her watch as I died. I needed that gun on me.

  “You know what? Forget I offered anything.” I pushed myself up from the ground and glanced at Paige. Her brows furrowed slightly in confusion, her eyes pleading with me to not do anything stupid. Well it was too late for that. I was stupid for having left her at the apartment in the first place. If I’d gone with my gut, we might not be standing here at this moment. “I’m sorry, but you really are a fuck up, Chris. There’s no way in hell I’m going to beg you for shit. It’s obvious your daddy was right. You’re a filthy son of a bitch that can’t get laid unless you take it. So, no offense to Paige, but there is no way in fucking hell that I’m going to lower myself to you.”

  I locked my eyes with Paige, begging her to trust me.

  Chris pulled on her arms again, forcing her against him. Her eyes squeezed shut, but she showed no other indication of pain. “What the fuck ever man, I don’t have fucking time for this shit!” He swung the gun in my direction and I took my chance. I lunged forward, intent to take him out at the knees. Rather than shooting me, he placed the gun back to Paige’s head.

  I froze.

  He laughed. “Not so tough when the bullet is pointed in her direction, are you?”

  I looked over at Paige and died inside to see tears leaving trails down her cheek. The moonlight reflected off the moisture, further accenting the pain that escaped her eyes. Her bottom lip quivered, but she tried so hard to hide it. Her eyes burned into mine, almost as if she was saying goodbye. I couldn’t look away from her. She was all that mattered. Memories flashed between us; pigtails and climbing trees, hours in the sunlight and a night spent making love in the rain. Those memories spanned many years, but were so few compared to the amount of time we should have had together. I barely smiled so that only she would be able to tell. It always amused me how she could see anything in my expression, no matter how hard I attempted to hide it. But then my smile faltered as darker memories played through my mind. I remembered being huddled down with Paige and the gunshots that rang out when my parents died.

  My eyes left Paige only briefly as I looked at the gun. When I saw Chris’ finger tighten on the trigger, my heart stopped. I lunged forward again, desperate to get to them and knock the gun from his hand.

  The sound of the gunshot stopped me in my tracks. It was familiar to me, a distant memory that meant the loss of the only person that mattered. I had to remind myself to breathe again, to move, to get to her.

  “Paige!” The scream sounded like my voice, but it was disembodied, as if I were hearing it through speakers, rather than it having come from me.

  My eyes widened when her body crumpled to the ground. Within seconds, I was down there beside her.

  ~

  ~~Paige~~

  When Daemon walked out of the woods, my heart sank to my stomach. I was proud of myself for having led Chris away from Annie. But my strength and determination faltered when I was met with another weakness in my path. Daemon wasn’t noticeable at first, and unless you knew to look for him, you wouldn’t have seen that he was there. But I knew. My body reacted to his presence. No matter the situation, my skin prickled when he was close by.

  I kept my eyes trained on him as he moved through the shadows, silently willing him to turn back. My hopes were crushed when a gust of wind blew through the branches, removing the cover of shadow and making him visible to the mad man who held me captive.

  As soon as Chris saw Daemon, he pushed against me, forcing my arms even farther up my back. Pain shot through my shoulders and my hands as muscles and tendons were bent in ways completely unnatural for my body. I bit the inside of my mouth attempting to keep from crying out from the pain, praying he didn’t dislocate my shoulder.

  “Well, isn’t this fucking convenient?! What the fuck, whore? Thought we had a fucking deal. I fucking told you to call NO ONE.”

  My stomach twisted at his words and I knew he would kill Daemon. I watched as Daemon’s eyes moved back and forth between me and Chris. I could see the panic and rage swirling within the depths of his eyes. If it had been a different situation, I would have cried at seeing the pain within him; but I needed to be strong. For him…for me. I purposefully kept my face blank. I didn’t think we would both live through this, but I didn’t want that hopelessness to be the last thing Daemon saw on my face, either. I would remain blank, I would remain strong…for us.

  Daemon attempted to talk Chris down, but it was hopeless. He attempted weakness first, but then switched to anger. I could tell he was becoming desperate. He was afraid that I would die. When Daemon went down on knees, my spirit fractured and the heartache of watching him beg destroyed me as I watched. His eyes locked with mine, telling me everything I needed to know. Daemon had complete control over his expression…except for those eyes, I could always see what was going on behind those crystal blue eyes. I continued staring at him as he spoke to Chris. He pushed himself up from the ground, he was goading Chris into aiming the gun at him. I started to cry, not able to stop the moisture from leaking from my eyes. I tried to stop them. I didn’t want that to be the last thing Daemon saw.

  “…It’s obvious your daddy was right. You’re a filthy son of a bitch that can’t get laid unless you take it. So, no offense to Paige, but there is no way in fucking hell that I’m going to lower myself to you.”

  Daemon’s eyes found mine. I could tell he was trying to tell me something, he was begging for me to stay strong. I knew Chris would kill Daemon first. Daemon was the larger threat and Chris didn’t have plans for him other than death. But me? Yeah…Chris had plans for me.

  When Chris aimed the gun at Daemon, my Heart. Fucking. Stopped. I braced myself for the inevitable, but Daemon kept fighting. He lunged towards us and Chris surprised me by returning the gun to my head. I found it odd that relief flooded me, but I knew Daemon wouldn’t die if the gun was on me. I wanted the gun on me.

  Daemon smiled. It was so slight, that Chris wouldn’t notice. I knew he was doing it for me, that he was trying to tell me something, and I could only blink in response. He still had hope and I was saying goodbye.

  When the gunshot rang through the trees, it echoed; bouncing back at me off of every solid surface that littered the path of the sound. My body instantly became heavy and my knees began to give out. Before falling to the ground, I looked up at Daemon, saw him scream as he was running towards me. But gravity was faster and I impacted with the ground with such force my teeth rattled against each other. My forehead slammed down and pain shot through my head. I could feel the warmth of the thick liquid soaking my hair and streaming down my face. My eyes opened to see the blood as it pooled in the dirt below me. I tried to move, tried to push myself up, but my arms wouldn’t work and my body felt like it was weighted down.

  The weight was abruptly lifted from me and I felt Daemon’s arms wrap around my body, pulling me from the spot where I’d landed. His hand came to my head to wipe away the blood that soaked my skin. He was talking to me, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying. I was in shock, I think. Not able to connect with the reality of what had just happened. Daemon tilted my head up to look at him. His jaw was tight as his lips moved with silent words. He held me to him, his chest beating against me from his heavy breath. I laid my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. I could feel the tears as they finally forced their way out of me. Like a dam giving out to the strength of a river’s current, those tears flowed freely from my eyes. My body began to warm up as Daemon held me against him, and when I was ready to connect with reality once more, I opened my eyes and looked up.

  Chris
’ body lay motionless, face down in the dirt. He must have fallen on me and it was his blood that saturated my hair. I could see where the bullet had entered the side of his head. Blood pooled and swirled on the ground as it continued pouring from him. I looked up at Daemon as he stared down at Chris.

  How?…

  Daemon’s body twisted around at the same time as I pushed up to look over his shoulder.

  I gasped out at when I discovered her. She looked like a distant phantom covered in shadow. The branches of the trees swayed rendering partial and brief glimpses of illumination. The moonlight bounced off her hair and her nightgown appeared ethereal as it rippled from the winds that blew across her body. Her expression was blank, her body stood perfectly still. Her arms hung down at her side, and in her right hand, she held the gun I’d thrown down in the marsh. Small strings of smoke continued to leak from the weapon.

  Annie.

  I pushed myself up, attempting to run to her, but Daemon’s hand came down on my arm. Her hand relaxed and the gun simply fell to the ground. She locked eyes with me before silently turning and walking back towards the building. My eyes followed her slow path, until she finally disappeared through the back door. Lights could be seen as they were turned on throughout the building. Daemon and I sat motionless with shock, but like a rubber band, reality snapped back and what had once seemed like a slow-motion filmstrip, now sped up to normal time.

  I could hear the distant yelling. The distinct voice of my father echoing out over the trees and water in the yard. My head turned to look back at Chris and I had time to see the cold, lifelessness in his still open eyes before Daemon could force my head back against his shoulder.