Wild Tiger Chase | Book #2 (Complete)

58: a matter of won't

— Satina —

Rafa coughed and groaned, her arms lying heavily on her lap. They looked awful, dark-red, and floppy as if made of jelly. The skin on Rafa's knuckles was broken and bleeding, the palms of her hands were covered in cuts, there were lacerations where the crystals had appeared, and her bones were probably shattered from the crazy-strong blows against the shield.

And yet, Rafa made it. She broke the shield; they were inside.

She turned around and left Rafa unconscious, sitting against a tree. The makeshift bandages around her arms weren't ideal, but they would stop her from bleeding out.

Satina had forgotten her powers could force people to do something like this.

With a thumb, she dried the lone tear running down her cheek and patted her rolled whip. She knew she had to be responsible for how she used them. First what happened in that prison in OC, then the way Léon and she decided to block his memories, and then every other instance in which she had to extract something from people—either the truth or obedience.

Everything she did in the past twenty years was a reminder of how cautious she needed to be.

"Deep breaths," she muttered.

She glanced at Rafa over her shoulder and tried to push away the images and sounds filling her mind. Bones breaking, grunts, silent tears. Satina shook her head and looked forward again. She had to help Léon.

Rafa had done her part, and now it was Satina's time.

***

That clearing was unlike anything Satina had seen in her life—imposing like an ancient forest and groomed like a Parisian garden. She half-sneaked, half-ran through the trees around it as Jackal's voice became louder and louder, and not only because she was getting closer; Jackal seemed to grow desperate as the seconds went by.

"You heard the blows, Léon! They're trying to get in, so I need you to be quick. This is the last time I'm asking. Take the fucking gun!" she shouted.

"I told you I can't. No... I told you I won't!" Léon shouted back.

Shit. There was a shakiness to Léon's voice. It was small and almost imperceptible, but it was there. Satina knew him well enough; he was terrified. And yet, he wasn't backing down. This wasn't unlike him, of course... it was just something that hadn't happened in a while.

Despite everything, Satina smiled. She climbed a particularly big tree root and reached the rim of the forest. Toni and Rio stood on one side of the clearing while Modraniht and Sissy watched from another. In the center, close to the two mango trees, Jackal pointed Toni's gun at Léon. No... she offered Toni's gun to Léon; its barrel faced the ground, and Jackal held it with its handle toward him.

"I said take it," Jackal growled.

When he refused again, her shoulders sank. For a moment, Satina thought she might give up. Instead, Jackal holstered the gun and pulled her right sleeve up to her elbow.

"Okay. You won't." Jackal scoffed. "So I might have to replace what's you inside that shell of yours." She lashed out and gripped Léon's neck. Fingers like a crane, they dug into his flesh as the mark in her wrist shone white.

Satina balled her hands so tight, her nails sunk into her palm. Think fast. Do something!

"Wait. What the hell are you doing, Jackal?" Modraniht said. "This is not what we agreed."

Jackal ignored him. "You could've done this for your family, Léon. I just needed you to recharge the damned gun and nothing else. Is that so difficult? There's still plenty of power inside of you, for fuck's sake. Why can't you give me a little bit?" She tightened the grip around his neck, her voice rising after each word.