Dying Wish: A Novel of the Sentinel Wars by Shannon K. Butcher Read Free Book Online Page B

he wore when he killed.
    Jackie struggled to find her voice. “I thought you’d be happy.”
    At least until she left, like she was planning to do. He’d be pissed then, and now that she was facing that anger, she wasn’t sure she wanted to be on the receiving end of it.
    His voice grew quiet, but that made it no less cold. “There are dozens of men who need you more than I do.”
    “I can’t be what they want me to be.”
    “What the hell is that supposed to mean? You already
are
what they want you to be.”
    She shook her head. “No. They think I’m some kind of savior. That I’m what they’ve been hoping for all their lives. It’s too much pressure.” She swallowed, forcing herself to stand her ground. “But not you. You have no hope.”
    His black eyes narrowed and he moved forward, his smooth gait menacing and predatory. His voice was lethallyquiet and he looked at her with unveiled suspicion. “What do you mean by that?”
    She backed up until she ran into the couch, which kept her from retreating farther. “The others…they all looked at me like I’m the answer to their problems. I’m not. You get that.”
    “So you picked me because you can’t save me?”
    She shook her head. “Because you don’t seem to want to be saved. I figured that when I fail to be what all these people think I’ll be, that my failure would be easier on you than the others.”
    “You’re wrong. Take it back. Pick someone else.”
    “Why?”
    She heard muffled voices through her door. Someone said something about remotely unlocking it, and her door flew open. Joseph stood there, with Drake and Helen behind him.
    “What are you doing here?” asked Iain.
    “You looked angry,” said Joseph. “I wasn’t about to let you do something stupid.”
    A calm facade covered Iain’s face. Gone was the anger that had been there only a moment ago, as if he’d simply willed it away. “Of course I’m not angry. I’m simply anxious to complete our union. I didn’t think it would be kind to do it in public—rubbing it in, so to speak.”
    “There will be no
union
,” said Jackie.
    Every head swiveled her way, and four sets of eyes rested on her.
    “What?” asked Joseph as he moved forward. Behind him, Drake shut the door.
    Jackie was done being intimidated. She didn’t like it. She squared her shoulders and smoothed her hands over her suit to remind herself who was in charge of her life. “Our deal was that I pick a man, not that I do anything else. I’ve picked. Now you have to let me leave. Alone.”
    “Like hell,” said Iain. “You go out there alone, without any powers, and you’ll be eaten before sunrise.”
    “Joseph promised,” she said, then looked at Joseph. “Didn’t you?”
    His face contorted with frustration and he glared at her. “You tricked me.”
    “You should have done a better job with the fine print.”
    “You can never have a normal life,” he told her.
    She flinched, feeling the blow of his words all the way to her toes. “I can, and I will.”
    “He’s right,” said Helen. “Please, just think this through.”
    She had to get out of here. This place was killing her with all the expectations and pressure. “I’ve spent weeks thinking about it. All I want is for my life to go back to something resembling the way it used to be. I want a job, a career, a home.” A family. Baby Samson had given her a taste of something she’d never thought she’d want, but now she did. But there was no way she was going to raise a child in this place. Her child would have a normal life.
    “It’s not safe,” said Helen, her tone gentle.
    Jackie looked at Joseph. “You promised. Tell them.”
    His lip lifted in a sneer of frustration and anger. “She’s right. I promised her she could leave if she chose a man. She’s done her part, and despite the fact that it’s stupid, reckless, and insane, we have to let her go.”
    “I don’t,” said Iain, his gaze fixed firmly on her. “I made no