Free Breaking Free by Brandy L Rivers Page B

glared back at him. “Oh no. No, they won’t. You don’t have any idea what Malachi did to her, to them.” She hugged herself as she turned away.
    “I do. I saw video of it. They forced me to watch.”
    Devlin made a retching sound and bolted to the bathroom. He dry-heaved on an empty stomach. She couldn’t blame him. The little Fallon mentioned was bad enough, but actually seeing it… she didn’t think she could handle watching.
    Jamie knelt down beside him, stroking his back. Her voice was gentle. “Clearly you aren’t the monster the Dales want you to be. They may have held you, they may have abused you, but they did not break and remold you into something you aren’t.”
    “I’m tainted. I’m broken. And I’m definitely not worth the trouble that is sure to find me.”
    “ Damn it, Devlin, stop with that nonsense. Seriously. You did what you had to so you could fix the damage they did. Is it fucked up? Yeah, obviously, but that’s not on your shoulders. You need to focus on the good you did.”
    “But I don’t want anyone in danger because of me.”
    “If they have been after Fallon for years, what makes you think either of you are safer away from here? What makes you think they’ll stop trying to take her?”
    “They haven’t come for her in years.”
    “Bullshit. Malachi tried to take her a few months ago. He’s now trapped in a soul prison, and quite a few of the Dales that were up here trying to take this pack are dead, while the prisoners have been released. Did they not tell you?”
    “Malachi is in a soul prison?” he asked slowly.
    Jamie nodded. “He is. Fallon would have killed him, except Dacia locked him away.”
    “That’s where he went? No one has seen or heard from him in months.”
    “So, you see, being here only makes you safer. They’ll still come for Fallon. Stay, and help us figure out how to deal with them once and for all.”
    “But…”
    “No but’s. They have dark mages, Shadowstalkers, and a whole league of warped, twisted Others. But none of that means shit because this town is full of Others who protect each other.”
    “They won’t protect me. They have no reason to risk their lives,” he insisted.
    Jamie wanted to scream. Instead, she pressed her fingers to his face, pulling his gaze back to hers. “Would you please give us a chance? Please.”
    The turmoil in his eyes tore her apart. “DeMarco needs both Fallon and me for something. The things he’ll do… I don’t want her in their hands. The risk is too great. I shouldn’t have come.”
    Exasperated, she screamed at him, “Then why did you?”
    “I couldn’t resist seeing you , if only once,” his voice broke. “Now, I’m not sure I can leave to protect you, and Fallon.” The words caught on his tongue. “If I stay… oh Goddess, if I stay, and they find me, someone will tear apart everything my sister shares with her mate.”
    “Who ?” she asked carefully.
    “Brody’s first wife isn’t exactly dead. She’s a Shadowstalker now, and she wants him back. He won’t be safe either. She isn’t the same woman he knew, and once she finds out he has a mate, a new wife in fact, she will destroy him.”
    Jamie snorted a laugh. “I very much doubt that. You obviously don’t know your sister. I don’t believe there is anyone who can take her down. And Brody will do anything for her.”
    “I hope you’re right.”
    She nodded. “I am. I need time to figure a few things out, but I think I know where to start.”
    Disbelief filled his expression. “And where is that?”
    “Fallon can give you the same wards she gave all of us. She can protect you, Devlin. She can make it so they can’t control you.”
    “Oh, they may not be able to enthrall me, but they’ve already broken me. The Dales know what buttons to push to make me compliant.” He brushed her hair behind her ear. “I told you only a fraction of the story Jamie. I’m not a good man. I don’t know that I ever was.”
    Her eyes