Reclaimed(53)
Author: Diane Alberts

“Jesus, Sabrina, stop it. It’s me, Isaac. Calm down or we’ll have Connor running to see what is wrong,” he whispered urgently in her ear.

Hearing the familiar voice, she sagged in his arms and attempted to catch her breath, which still came out in harsh pants from her struggles. Isaac, sensing she’d stopped fighting him, removed his hand from her mouth.

“What happened?”

“I went to the clearing, and Elijah came to see me.” She took a deep breath, “Nothing happened, I swear. He got upset and I consoled him. Nothing more.”

“Shh, it’s okay. I trust you, Sabrina. What happened to make you run?”

His statement gave her pause, but she forced herself to continue. “Louisa came along. She taunted me, telling me how she’d kill me like she had Amelia. She also told me I needed to know the truth about how Amelia really died. Elijah pushed me away and told me to run. They were fighting when I ran away.”

“Shit.” He ran his fingers through his hair and cursed under his breath, presumably warring at the desire to bring her inside to safety, and his equally strong desire to rid her of the threat of Louisa. “If I go and try to get her now when she’s off guard, I might stand a chance of beating her. But it could be held against me later. If I don’t get her, she could hurt you. I have to do something.”

“Not that!” she exclaimed. “Never that. You can’t risk yourself. There’ll be another day to get her. Without breaking any rules,” Sabrina insisted.

She could tell by the look in his eyes his mind had already been made up, and not in the way she wanted. She shook her head, but to no avail.

He kissed her hard. “Go. I love you.”

“Isaac, no,” she cried. But he vanished out of her sight before she could take a step in his direction. Fear and fury warred inside her, each trying to claim a stronger hold over her than the other. Though it killed her to do so, she ran toward the house. She’d reached halfway across the lawn when she slid to a stop. Screw this. She needed to find out what happened.

Sabrina bolted back, desperate to help in some way. She refused to cower in fear while Isaac broke every rule he’d ever followed—every rule he’d ever made—for her. She pressed herself harder than she had ever done before to get to Isaac before it was too late to do something, anything, to help. When she finally reached the clearing, she doubled over, grabbing her knees as she attempted to catch her breath, while simultaneously scanning the area. Isaac was there, but alone. He stood still, head cocked to the side. Deciding he looked safe enough for the moment, she backed away silently, hoping to return home unnoticed.

Please don’t let him see me; please don’t let him—

“I should have known better than to assume you would go home, shouldn’t I have?” His voice had a resigned tone to it, laced with equal parts amusement and frustration. He turned to her and raised an eyebrow, and she flushed.

Son of a bitch.

“I couldn’t just leave you.”

“You left Elijah,” he pointed out.

“You’re not Elijah,” she stated.

His eyes widened, and he studied her so intensely her heart stalled.

“What she means is I can take care of myself, but she doesn’t think you can,” Elijah spoke from above their heads.

Her eyes widened in shock, and she tilted her head back to scan the trees above. Did he want to get himself killed? She found him crouching on an impossibly high branch, and Elijah jumped down and landed on his feet, in a crouched position upon the ground.

“I don’t think so,” Isaac grumbled. “Still hiding from me?”

“I didn’t know if you wanted me to show myself.”

“Better than spying on us from above.”

Thunder crashed in the distance as he glared at his mirror image. He apparently did not like the image of Elijah lurking in shadows, watching them. She couldn’t blame him; neither did she.

“Isaac, calm down,” Sabrina warned. They didn’t need another Enforcer interfering in this mess, so he needed to keep his emotions in check.

He nodded and pulled himself together. “Where’s Louisa?”

“Gone. She ran away after Sabrina left. You should really get her in her house now. Or are you going to leave her outside in another endearing fit of jealousy?” Elijah asked hopefully, perking up in his excitement. “I’d be happy to escort her.”

Isaac growled, and Elijah laughed.

“Knock it off, Elijah,” Sabrina snapped. “It’s not funny.”

He sobered at her admonishment and gave a curt nod of his head. “Go now, before she decides the stage is set nicely and returns.”

“Elijah—” she started.

“Sabrina, go. Now.” He stared at her, love in his eyes, and she tore her gaze away.

Isaac grasped her hand and dragged her away. She looked over her shoulder, and her heart broke a little at Elijah’s face. Isaac squeezed her hand and she met his eyes. He gave her a reassuring smile. He paused and turned to Elijah. “I’ve changed my mind. We’ll work together. Meet me here at ten o’clock tonight so we can work out the details.”

Sabrina gasped in horror as Elijah nodded.

“Oh, hell no!” she shouted in fury.

“Oh hell, yes,” Isaac insisted, his jaw set stubbornly.

Not allowing her the decency of a proper fight, he pulled her into his arms and ran full speed to the house. In seconds, they were behind the locked door. She wasted no time turning on him in rage.

“Isaac, you can’t do this. What if the others find out?”

He tensed and looked out the window. “I can’t let her hurt you, and not do everything in my power to stop her.”

“Letting you kill yourself over me is not in my power.” She pushed his chest. “Look at me!”

His eyes collided with hers, and his jaw hardened even more. Not a good sign. “Watching you die is not in mine.”

“Your life will be forfeit if you do this,” she argued.

“My life is forfeit without you,” he cried in frustration. “I won’t budge in this. I need you to be safe. I am willing to take the risk of discovery, so long as I know you are alive and free from Louisa.”

Sabrina glared at him. “I will not let you destroy yourself for me. What kind of person would I be if I allowed you to do this? I’ll leave here right now, if that is what it takes to get you to stop this nonsense. Not killing your brother is one thing, but joining him? It’s treason.”