“Don’t move, Ms. Morgan,” Jax said intently, and I struggled to comprehend. My fingers were both warm and cold from my blood. There was another scrape of metal on stone, and I pulled my eyes to it, trying to focus.

The back of the van was open. Jenks was standing between Ivy and me, her long sword in his hand. Ivy was hunched and holding her bleeding arm, tears dampening her cheeks with desperate sorrow. My eyes met her panicked ones, and she lunged for me.

Jenks blurred into motion, Ivy’s katana slashing. She fell away, sprawling to roll on the pavement as she scrambled to remain out of his reach. My pulse leapt in fear when he followed, the sword clanging into the pavement three times, always an instant after she moved. My God, he was fast—and I think it was only his desire to stay between her and me that kept him from following to give a killing stroke.

“Jenks! Get out of my way!” she cried as she rolled to her feet with her hands raised placatingly. “She needs me!”

“She doesn’t need you,” he snarled. “You almost killed her. You stupid vampire! You couldn’t wait to get out from Piscary’s influence, could you? You seduced her, and then almost killed her. You could have killed her!”

“It wasn’t like that!” Ivy pleaded, crying now. “Let me get to her. I can help!”

“Why the hell do you care?” There was another clang of stone and metal, and I forced myself to breathe when my vision started to go black.

“Rachel!” Ivy cried, drawing my gaze to her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know this would happen! I thought I was better! I really did. I’m sorry. I’m sorry!”

Jenks made a fierce cry, lunging. Ivy sprang back, arms pinwheeling. He followed her down, and the two froze when she landed against the pavement. Blood leaked from between her fingers clenched about her upper arm, and my heart seemed to hesitate when Jenks ended his last sword swing inches from her throat. Fighting my numb daze, I dragged myself to the door. He was going to kill her. He had killed before to save my life. He was going to kill Ivy.

Jenks stood with his feet widespread and his stance terrible. “You stupid, selfish whore of a vampire,” he intoned. “You said you wouldn’t. You promised. Now you’ve ruined everything. You couldn’t accept what she could give, so you took it all!”

“I didn’t.” Ivy sprawled in the sun with her sword at her throat, the sun glinting on it and her tears. “I told her no. I told her to stop,” she wept. “She asked me to.”

“She wouldn’t ask for this,” he spat, jerking the sword so it touched her white skin to leave a line of red. “You ruin everything you love. Everything, you screwed-up bitch. But I’ll be damned before I let you ruin Rachel.”

Ivy’s eyes darted to mine, her face tear-streaked and terrified. Her mouth moved but no words came out. My gut twisted when I saw her accept his words as truth. Jenks held the sword to her throat; he was going to use it and Ivy would do nothing to stop him.