Read Online Unmade (The Lynburn Legacy Book 3) - Free Book Online

circle his wrist, as lightly as she could, hardly daring to move in case of what she found. She let out a breath that came out stuttering like a sob when she felt the steady pulse of his heartbeat against her fingertips.
    â€œJared,” she implored, and tightened her hand around his wrist. She could not reach out to him in her mind and she could not scream, but she had found him once in dark winter waters and she would find him now, no matter how lost he might be. “Jared,” she said again, his name prayer and promise at once.
    Jared’s lashes flickered: his hand moved beneath hers, and his pulse quickened. He gave a shuddering gasp, and his eyes opened.
    â€œOh, thank God,” said Kami.
    Jared stared at her blankly for a moment, his eyes so dazed they seemed blind, and moved fast as a striking snake. She did not recoil, and the next moment he had her other arm in his grasp. They had each other, held fast.
    She did not mind until she saw what his movement had betrayed. The material of his shirt, which had looked closed in the dim lights, parted and she saw that the buttons had been cut away.
    The skin beneath had been cut away too. Even in the dim light she could see the smears of blood against his skin, and the pattern the blade had cut into his skin beneath the darkness of that dried blood.
    â€œWhat’s the matter?” Jared asked, and his voice cracked as he spoke. “Don’t—don’t cry.”
    Kami shook her head mutely, and held on to his wrist. She was gripping on too tight, she thought, her fingernails probably biting into his skin. She should be careful with him.
    She unloosed her grip, drawing her hand back.
    â€œNo,” said Jared, voice suddenly urgent rather than lost. “No. Don’t go away.”
    Kami shook her head again and reached out, fastening her fingers with care in the sleeve of his shirt. She could grip onto that and not hurt him.
    He drew her closer to him, as if he didn’t care if he was hurt. It was cramped and awkward in that living tomb, horror all around them. Kami knocked her elbow against the stone.
    She got as close as she possibly could: she could feel his hot breath on her neck, and she knew he could feel her hot tears, falling onto his shoulder.
    â€œKami?” Jared whispered, her name soft as a kiss on her hair.
    She tried to make her voice sound strong. “Yes?”
    She felt the shape of his mouth against her hair and was amazed by how crazy he was: he was smiling. “Hey, Kami.”
    â€œHey, Jared,” Kami whispered back.
    She held on to him, fists tight on the material of his shirt as if he was trying to get away. There was darkness and blood and the dust of the dead all around them, but they were all right. Everything would be all right, as long as she never, never let him go.
    A yell split the air above them, echoing from wall to wall of the priest hole. Kami felt Ash’s voice cut through the peace in her mind.
    Ruth Sherman’s seen us, he said. We have to get out now.

Chapter Five
Fire Burning Bold
    â€œR ight,” said Kami aloud, in her normal voice. It sounded obscenely loud in that little space.
    She scrambled away from Jared and to her feet, not letting go of his wrist. He looked up at her, eyes uncomprehending and hurt, wide as a child’s.
    â€œCome on,” Kami said. “Get up. You’re being rescued. I came here for you and I am not leaving without you. Get up.”
    â€œI’ll try,” Jared told her.
    He did try. It broke her heart to see how difficult it was for him, leaning his weight heavily against her and against the wall. She could feel him shaking from head to foot, and she did her best to hold him up though he was so much taller than she was.
    â€œYou’d better try,” she said fiercely into his shoulder. “This isn’t a choice. I insist on rescuing you!”
    â€œWell,” Jared said. “If you insist.”
    Kami pushed him