Page 47 of Touch of Hate
It’s here, I know it is, implanted long ago. During what she believed was nothing more than an ordinary dental procedure, unaware because of the drugs used to knock her out.
The parallel between that event and this one isn’t lost on me as my fingers find the hard lump no more than an inch in length.
The difference is I’m doing this for her own good. She’ll thank me for this.
I withdraw the other instrument I brought along this evening from my pocket: a scalpel. The metal flashes when another burst of lightning fills the sky. The strikes aren’t coming as furiously as they were minutes ago. The storm is beginning to pass.
With my left thumb and forefinger, I isolate the device, holding it still while taking the scalpel in my right hand. I release a breath, ensuring I have a steady hand before I run a quick, careful line over the top of the tiny lump. A shallow cut, but one that pains me just the same. I suck in a wince through gritted teeth. I hate to think of causing her pain.
There it is.
The tracker Xander implanted in her when she was a kid.
Little did he know the favor he would be doing me later on. After Q accidentally mentioned the tracker years ago, I made it my business to hack the software used to handle the information.
Without the presence of this tiny piece of hardware, I wouldn’t have had such an easy time tracking her around campus. I smile into the air. I wish I could see his reaction when he realizes he’s not as smart as he thinks.
I ease the bit of metal from her shoulder, then lean over to roll down the window before throwing the device out onto the road. If it isn’t crushed by the weight of a passing vehicle, I’m sure it will be lost just the same. Like looking for a needle in a haystack.
“Once we’re at the cabin, everything will be fine. It’s so far away; nobody, not your pesky father, or overbearing brother, no one will be able to find us.” I tell her once it’s over, my lips brushing her mud-streaked temple. “We’ll finally be happy, the way we were always meant to be. I’ll finally have my queen beside me.”
13
SCARLET
“That’s right. Come back to me. I’ve missed you so much…”
I must be dreaming. That’s Ren’s voice; I’d know it anywhere. His voice is so clear, much more so than when I usually dream about him.
“I’ve been aching for you all this time.”
That’s how I know I’m dreaming. He’s saying all the things I’ve longed to hear. How he yearns for me and all that. I smile a little, squeeze my eyes shut tighter than ever, and intend to fall back into the dream threatening to fade away the closer I venture to consciousness.
If only something wasn’t tapping at the back of my mind…something I need to be careful of…a warning that isn’t clear.
“Scarlet? Are you awake?”
My heart skips a beat once reality comes crashing down.
The storm. The garden. Wrestling in the mud. With Ren.
How could I forget?
The shock of the memory makes me open my eyes, and right away, the strange surroundings add a new layer of surprise and confusion to what I’m already wrestling with.
Gone are the soft colors of my bedroom at home, and along with them, the pile of pillows on my bed. The walls surrounding me are sanded wood, bare of any decoration, and the bed underneath me is little more than a thin mattress. I can feel springs pressing against my back through the rough sheets. Ren’s scent surrounds me, lulling me to calmness.
He didn’t take me into the house. He didn’t even leave me in the garden. He brought me somewhere else.
But he’s here… with me.
Which is what makes me turn my head on the pillow, leaving me looking into a face I’ve prayed for with every breath I’ve drawn in the past two years.
“Ren? Is it really you?”
“Who else, angel?” A shiver of pleasure races through me, waking up parts of me I was sure were dead. Numb, cold, dark. It’s like he flipped a switch, and suddenly, the world is full of light again.
And yet.