I CAN'T SAVE US ↠ KAI PARKER

27. a dangerous game

I knew I had to do something, it was only a matter of time until Kai decided to hurt someone else again. Iris and Dorian had barely made it out alive tonight and I had to be smarter than to rely on luck to keep avoiding the inevitable. Who's to say he wouldn't come for Elena or Jeremy next? He was unpredictable which made him highly dangerous, so I had to make sure he was no where near the people I loved, at least until I figured out a way to protect everyone from him... maybe even to protect him from himself.

"Wait but won't he be able to tell where you are? Aren't you two linked or something?" Nate piped up as he placed my duffel bag on the trunk of the car.

"I'm not sure yet but the whole point is for him to follow me, I just need a head start" I answered a bit unsure and he walked towards me "I don't know exactly how our linking spell works or if Bonnie's psychic-blockage will still protect me once I cross the border–"

"Wait, I thought you said you had a plan" he said, staring at me with a furrowed brow.

"I do" I tried to reassure him but he narrowed his eyes at him, the worry-lines on his forehead telling me it was gonna take a lot more than that to convince him "I can't tell you exactly what it is in case he tries to hurt you, the less everyone knows the better"

"You don't expect me to just let you go out there without the right people knowing where you are and with a psycho on the loose" he prompted in a serious tone, crossing his arms over his chest afterwards "who in case you have forgotten, literally vowed to destroy you"

"I haven't forgotten but that is the least of my concerns right now," I said a little too blunt and he pressed his lips together, his expression turning from worried to sad.

"If this is about what happened with Iris and Dorian,–"

"It's not," I cut him off, not knowing if I was trying to be smart about it or just trying to avoid it "you know why I asked for your help? because I knew you were the only one who would understand, I've known you my entire life and just like I would do anything for you, I know you'd do the same for me, you're a good guy Nate and I need you to," I paused, giving him a sincere look "help me keep everyone safe"

"Won't this just piss him off even more? What if he decides to retaliate against the twins?" he asked unable to hide the tone of fear in his voice, which was more than enough to convince me I was doing the right thing.

"He won't, trust me, I wouldn't be doing this if that was the case" I reassured him and he sighed, finally giving me a nod.

"Okay, I'll have it by morning" he conceded and I smiled at him thankfully "I mean this is smart but what if suddenly you're in danger and telling them where you are it's the only way of saving you?"

"You lie, unless your life is in danger, you won't say a word about this" I answered on a more serious tone and he shook his head in disagreement.

"I can't do that, it'll be like killing you myself, I won't" he refused, almost looking offended by my request.

"No, Nate, you'll be saving me" I reasoned, hoping he would understand we had no real options here and given the choice to save myself or someone I loved, I would always choose the latter.

"But you'll die... I'm sure there's another way, we'll figure it out" he said, almost getting chocked up midway and I pulled him in for a hug.

"It'll be okay" I sighed, caressing his back, hoping he would at least try to understand where I was coming from "this is how we can stop more people from getting hurt"

"It's not fair... and you know it" he said in a low voice and I shrugged, breaking the hug.

"I'm already on borrowed time, anyway" I joked, trying to lighten the mood but he remained serious "and I doubt Kai would let me off the hook that easily but at least this way, my death will have some meaning, anyone would do the same thing to protect the people they love"