Claiming Rosa (Book 2) Jacobs Broken Mercenaries

chapter 15

Rosa

I nervously pace as Amanda and Jacob pretend not to be bothered by my inpatients. Grayson is the only one obvious to his level of annoyance with me at the moment.
“Would you calm down? He’s going to be fine.”
I snap back
“It’s not him. It’s the situation. any of us could be next.”
I leave it at that, but Grayson rolls his eyes.
“Sure, princess.”
Is it that obvious? I’m about to argue when the door opens and I see Wrath come in unharmed. A sigh of relief contradicts my previous statement.
“Told you.”
I ignore Grayson and focus on Wrath. Something is wrong. I know that look. Whatever happened, it has got Wrath shaken. That terrifies me. There’s not much that gives Wrath that kind of reaction. Oh boy, listen to me already talking like we’ve been together for years. I don’t even know if we’re a thing. I mean, men will say anything in the throes of passion. Maybe it’s what we’ve been through or the sides of him. I know he’s only shown to me, but it feels like we’re connected on some very intimate levels.
The big one escorts him alone this time. I’m thankful I don’t have to see the piece of shit that brought us here. I should have known this was coming. It was probably Robert’s plan to begin with, and we fell for it like rocks. Ugh, I can’t think like that, or I’ll drive myself nuts. All that matters now is how we’ll get out of here, and Jacob says Wrath has a way.
As soon as the gorilla leaves, I approach Wrath.
“What happened?”
He spins around, facing me, and grasps my head for a long, deep kiss. My belly ignites into a thousand butterflies, and my mouth waters at his delectable taste. When he pulls away, his eyes look misted, his lashes fused together like he’s been crying. I don’t say a word, but my worry bubbles at the surface.
“Were getting out of here now! And I’m coming back to kill him as soon as I know you're safe.”
What? Jacob just told me Wrath wanted no part in this fight. What the hell happened?
“We will get him, you mean?”
“No, he’s dangerous, I won’t have you near him again.”
Oh boy, I’m not about to argue because it’s the least important the right now and we need to focus on getting out, but there’s no way in hell I’m going to be left out of this one.
“I have an orb that will temporarily disable the magic, keeping us here. We need to organize in groups. One species that can transport and three to five who can’t, depending on the transporters strength and breed.”
Oh my God, no wonder he was cool as a cucumber. He had a way out this whole time. I want to ask him why he waited so long or failed to mention it, but I file it away in the deal with later pile.
“How long will it work?”
Wrath dips his head to meet my eyes.
“I’m not sure. That’s why we need to be fast and organized.” 
He gathers groups with Jacob’s help. There are a lot more species that can’t transport than those who can. I nervously chew my nails, keeping my eyes glued to the door. If they’re watching right now, we look kind of conspicuous, lined up in groups and all. Not to mention I’m not the only one nervously starting toward the only entrance. I try to distract myself and the others. Jacob takes Tally, Jace, and three others. Wrath takes a handful as well, coming to stand beside me.
“Are we ready?”
I look up at Wrath and hope to hell this orb thingy works. He slips a small glowing glass ball from his jacket and whispers something in a foreign language. The air freezes a fraction of a second as small tremors quake under my feet. I’m momentarily stunned.
“Rosa, now! Lucifer’s power is strong, we’re not getting second chances.”
I focus on picturing the place I want to go, shutting out everything around me. The familiar pull begins to take hold. When I open my eyes… I’m home. Wrath appears shortly after, alone.
“Where is everyone?”
He hugs me tight and tells me they’re safe in faery. Breathing a sigh of relief, I hear Grayson and Elliots’ laughter in the hallway. Wrath follows me out the door as we all meet in the hall, everyone but Jacob and...
“Where’s Amanda and Jacob?”
Amanda bounds up the stairs in tears.
Jacobs still there… we went back for a second group, and he didn’t make it before the orb lost its power.”
Shit!
“Dammit! I told everyone one trip! It’s not strong enough for two.”
Amanda looks away before adding.
“I know he wouldn’t listen, so I followed him, and he… he was held up because of me. I was so scared I couldn’t focus. By the time he got me to concentrate… it was second, seconds too late.”
I hug her and tell her it’s okay. That we’ll figure it out, but I’m not all that sure we can. I look at Wrath, whose expression is grim.
He starts toward the stairs; I kiss Amanda on the head, leaving her to follow him. Once he’s past the kitchen, I stop him.
“Where are you going?”
I already know the answer, and he knows it. Fucking typical, it’s my fault. I knew better than to fall for a man. They always leave you when you need them most. He turns away from me when he gets to the door before I do something that shocks me. I plead…
“Please, if you truly love me like you say you do, stay.”
When he doesn’t turn around, I try a fresh approach. I’m sickened by my desperation, but I can’t let him go. What if I never see him again? The thought of parting from him now makes me panic. I’ve never needed anyone before, not even my mother. I don’t feel that way with him.
“Whatever you're going to do, we can do it together.”
I walk toward him and place my hand over his hand, gripping the knob. It feels like hours while I hold my breath, waiting for his answer.
“I’m sorry, you can’t.”
Just like that, my heart breaks in two. I don’t even feel him shrug my hand off as he leaves without another word. A single tear falls before I pull myself together. A tougher icier layer is placed over my heart as I turn to face my friends alone…