Changing Beauty (The Deadly Beauties Live On 2)

The ground rumbles beneath us, and Reese shoves me through a portal before I can attempt to go back. I land with a thud, still clinging Roslyn’s limp body.

Gage stumbles through the portal as Kimber sobs and fights hysterically, and I drop to the ground as Dice turns pale beside me. The silence becomes deafening, because the portal is gone, and there’s nothing but woods surrounding us. Even the creatures are too scared to make a sound right now.

The only sounds are Kimber sobbing and our hearts thudding in our chests. Gage holds Kimber to him, as I hold Roslyn closer to me, now clinging to her to keep myself from falling apart as tears fill my eyes.

Dice breaks down, sobbing wildly as he lands on his hands and knees, and my legs try to give out. But then suddenly, the wind stirs and Slade materializes, walking toward us with a limp, unconscious blonde over his shoulder.

“Take her. I had to knock her out,” he says, acting as though we haven’t just been freaking the hell out that she was dead.

He pretty much shoves her toward Gage, like he can’t wait to be rid of her. Dice stands, quickly clearing his throat as he wipes away the proof that he was just a wreck.

Gage takes her, as Slade averts his eyes from Ella.

“How’d you knock her out?” Gage asks. “She was ready to kill you.”

Kimber is all over Ella, investigating her limp body, while quietly chanting thank you over and over.

“Not something I care to discuss,” Slade grumble. “She wasn’t trying to kill me.”

“She really was,” I tell him, clearing my throat from all lingering emotion.

Slade narrows his eyes on me just as Gage says, “Thank you for helping.”

“Don’t thank me,” he tells Gage, then returns his attention to me, dropping his gaze to Roslyn for a beat before meeting my eyes again. “I hope you know what you’re doing. We’re not friends. We’re not allies. We’re nothing. Stay out of my way, and I’ll stay out of yours. All of you.”

He turns and vanishes into the air, and I roll my eyes at the dramatic exit before bending and kissing Roslyn’s forehead.

“He’s a bit of a douche,” Dice points out. “Hashtag—douche. That’s what we shall call him from now on.”

I look over at his red-rimmed eyes, and I cock an eyebrow. “That was a fast recovery from your—”

“I had blue sand in my eyes. It hurt like a bitch. I knew Ella wasn’t dead,” he snaps, turning around and moving toward the cabin. We’re not too far away from Gage’s house—well, what’s left of it.

No one seems to be particularly chatty as we trek through the thick of the forest, eyes open and alert for any movement. There’s still so much shit we have to tackle, but not today. Not right now.

Roslyn moans in her sleep, smiling happily at whatever thoughts are playing within her mind.

“How long do you think she’ll be out?” Reese asks.

“Hell if I know. It’s like her body heals faster than her mind is ready for. Same thing happened when that anointed bitch stabbed her. Not to mention she was out of it back in that place.”

Even the gashes on her face have healed without a mark.

“You fucking assholes!” My head snaps up at the sound of Zee’s voice, and I see him and Chaz walking toward us like they’re ready to kill.

“There wasn’t any time,” Gage says, still holding Ella in his arms.

We keep walking, and they join us as Zee continues to gripe. “A phone call, jackass. We could have been there in no time.”

No one was really thinking about anything other than hurrying. Which means Roslyn has earned a spot within the family, since everyone was willing to risk everything.

Kimber’s gasp finds my ears, and I look up as we walk out of the woods, seeing what’s left of Gage’s house—a few shards of timber and a foundation.

“What the hell happened?” Kimber gasps as Chaz takes Ella from Gage’s arms.

Gage rubs the back of his neck as Dice answers. “Gage woke up a wee bit pissed when he found out you were gone.”

When Kimber jumps up to straddle him, and they start acting like horny teenagers, I move toward the left, heading back to my place.