Page 118 of Never the Same

You must be Cassian.

He came close enough I could make out his face. He gave me the kind of smile meant to unnerve me, and the knife in his hand glinted when lightning split the sky.

Rage poured hot into my veins, and I removed the heavy weight of my rifle, then tossed my helmet with my night vision.

“He’s mine,” I whispered, letting Jason know not to engage when he heard what was about to take place.

“Hollis,” Jason hissed as I walked before a man who was supposed to protect my sister, not seduce and trick her.

I lunged at Cassian, knocking his blade wide.

He countered, his elbow slamming into my vest. I absorbed the hit and drove a knee into his ribs. He staggered but twisted, catching me in a choke hold. I was slippery and soaked, hard to hold on to in the storm.

The gunfire died down around us to dead silence.

We’d won the war.

One battle left to go.

I stomped on Cassian’s shin, twisted free, and drove an elbow into his jaw. His head snapped sideways, but he used the momentum to hook my arm, dragging me down into the mud with him. We hit hard, rolling, grappling in the storm’s fury.

He went for his blade, but Jason kicked it from his reach without intervening, knowing I wanted this piece of shit for myself.

I shoved my forearm into Cassian’s throat, cutting off his airway, but he clawed at my wrist until my grip slipped.

“I got it,” I promised Jason so he wouldn’t try to save me. Well, not unless I truly needed it.

Rain blurred my vision, and Cassian flipped me over against a fallen tree and bark scraped my shoulders. He pressed his weight into me, whispering in my ear, “I corrupted the good little angel. The innocent one. Got her to do whatever I—” He was ripped off me in one fluid motion, and I was grateful Jason had ignored my pleas to stay out of it.

Jason was still snarling as he helped me rise, but then he stepped off to the side, letting me finish what this bastard had started.

Adrenaline burned through me, and I forced Cassian back up only to slam my knee into his ribs. A sharp crack followed that rattled his breath.

He stumbled back, and my hand went instinctively to my holster at my thigh. Fingers slick, I yanked the Glock clear in one motion.

He spat blood off to his side, then gestured with his wrist to bring it on.

I closed the space between us and pressed the Glock to his forehead, finger hovering on the trigger.

He held open his arms at his side, a dark laugh falling from his bloody mouth. “You don’t have it in you.” He abruptly grabbed my wrist, steadying my hand, and shoved the muzzle more forcefully against his forehead, baring his teeth. “Go ahead,” he provoked. “Do it.”

“Hollis,” Jason said in warning from behind.

I trembled, my eyelashes fluttering from the mix of tears and rain as thunder and lightning crowded the night sky.

I didn’t need my memories to know I’d never taken a life in cold blood, and was I going to start now?

I thought back to the family crest. “In time, there is truth.” My voice caught as I tore my wrist free from his grip and stepped back, lowering my weapon. “You’ll rot in a cell for what you did.”

“I knew you couldn’t—”

A gunshot cracked the night. Jason’s hand went to my waist, dragging me close as Cassian’s head snapped to the side and vanished in the spray.

“No, you won’t.” Tristan dropped the 9mm into the mud. “You’ll rot in hell instead.” He turned toward me, the spotlight burning at his back. “Hollis,” he murmured.

My chest ached as I remembered the boy in those photos from our grandfather’s house. “You were helping me all this time, weren’t you?”

Jason gave me a small nod, a quiet signal he’d step aside. He melted into the shadows but remained nearby as Alex moved in with the others to secure the field.