The boy nodded and jumped to his feet.
Russell went up the stairs, trying hard not to jostle Jia, while the boy followed close behind. They crossed the empty guardroom and ascended the last flight of stairs. The guards had left the door wide open in their hasty departure.
As they emerged from the cave, the boy pivoted, looking around nervously, as if he feared Han or Darafer would show up to ruin his escape.
After easing to his knees, Russell cradled Jia in his lap as he managed to remove his coat. He lay the coat on the ground, then placed Jia on top. She moaned.
“Stay strong,” he told her as he pulled the sat phone from his coat pocket.
“Come,” he said, motioning for Xiao Fang to follow him. He rounded a boulder, keeping Jia partially in sight as he punched in the number. Jin Long answered on the second ring.
“I need you here now!” Russell told him. “I have Xiao Fang with me. Hurry! We’re wait—”
J.L. materialized beside them and grinned when he saw the dragon shifter. “Thank God! Come on. I’ll take you to Winifred.”
Xiao Fang made a wheezing sound as more tears rolled down his cheeks. He surprised Russell by wrapping his arms around him and hugging him. Then he jumped at J.L., latching on to him.
J.L. patted the boy’s back. “Where’s Jia?”
Russell clenched his fists and kept his face blank. “Close by.”
“I smell blood.” J.L.’s eyes narrowed on Russell’s bloodstained clothes. “Did you fight with Han?”
Russell’s stomach threatened to heave. If the dragon shifter told Winifred everything that had happened, everyone would soon know who Han really was. And they would also know that Russell had failed in his promise to keep Jia safe. “Han escaped. Leave now before he comes back.”
J.L. nodded and teleported away, taking Xiao Fang with him.
Russell dashed back to Jia and gently took her into his arms. “Sweetheart, we’re going home now.”
He teleported to the bat cave and lay her on the bed. On the way to grab a stack of towels, he tossed his coat on the ground. It was coated with blood. Her clothes were drenched with blood. It made his fangs ache and his stomach churn with hunger. But with every hunger pang, his gut clenched with nausea. All this blood was a constant reminder of his guilt. He’d failed to protect Jia. She would die, murdered by his own brother.
He pressed one of the towels against her wound, and she moaned.
“Jia.” He brushed her hair away from her brow, then cursed himself for leaving a smear of blood on her face.
Her eyes flickered open. “Russell?”
“Yes.”
“You were right. It hurts to die.”
“I’m so sorry. I promised to protect you, and I—”
“No.” She reached a hand toward him, and he clasped it with his own. “You’re a good man.”
“I failed you. I hesitated—”
“That’s why you’re a good man. An evil man would not hesitate to kill his brother.”
He winced. “I can’t believe he . . . it makes me want to puke. How can you bear to look at—”
“Shh.” She squeezed his hand. “You are not your brother. You’re my . . . my partner. My cowboy.”
His phone buzzed. He glanced at his coat, where the phone rested in the pocket. “That’s probably Rajiv. He must know by now that you were stabbed. We should let him know—”
“No! Don’t answer it.” Jia coughed, and blood drizzled from her mouth.
He released her hand so he could wipe her face with a towel. “They’ll be frantic with worry.”
“Don’t answer. They’ll take me away. They’ll try to save me.”
“That’s what I should be doing.”
“You’re doing what I asked you to. Thank you.” She bit her lip. “There’s something I should tell you. When I wake up, I might behave . . . strangely.”
“What do you mean?”
“I-I might . . .” She winced. “Whatever I do, please don’t let it bother you.”
He snorted. “I don’t care what you do as long as you come back.”
“I will come back.” She squeezed his hand. “And I’ll be stronger. Better than ever.”
Tears burned his eyes. “I think you’re perfect now.”
Her mouth curled up slightly with a smile before thinning again in pain. “I’m cold. Will you hold me?”
“Yes.” He stretched out beside her and wrapped his arms around her. “I’m so sorry. I wish there was something I could do for your pain.”
“Talk to me.” Her breathing grew more labored. “Tell me what it’s like to be a cowboy.”
He rubbed his chin against her hair. “It’s not as exciting as the movies. You work long hours. Even when the weather is bad. There’s never a day off.”
“You . . . didn’t like it?”
He paused a moment, thinking back on the days he’d spent riding alongside his father. The sun shining. The snowcapped mountains in the distance. “I loved it.”
“Maybe . . . you’ll have a ranch again someday.”
He stroked her cheek with his thumb. How could he? He’d never see the sun again. Or his father. That was all in the past. And as for the future, he was finding it hard to imagine without Jia.
For three years, ever since he’d awakened undead, he’d thought his heart was dead. He’d thought he was incapable of any feeling but hate. He’d had no purpose for his existence other than revenge.