“What?” The jester turns. “What is it? Who’s this g—”
I grip his head and wrench it to the left. The satisfying pop shoots through the air like a bolt of electricity. The jester drops at my feet, never to rise again. I sigh—explaining this to Caroline will be a real pain in the ass.
The others scream and scatter, even Graves. They run off into the night, thundering away through the trees and back to whatever hole they climbed out of. I’ll find them, though. Every last one of them.
“You.” Lily lifts her hand to my face as I kneel beside her. “It’s you. Handsome.”
“They drugged you.” The rage that I always keep firmly tamped down beneath layers of ice is on the verge of erupting.
“You killed the jester.” Her lashes flutter. “That sound.” She shudders.
“Don’t worry. He’s not my first, won’t be my last.”
“He recognized me. They knew. All for nothing.” Her lids close. “I spun all those lies for nothing at all.” She goes limp, her breathing slow.
“Fuck. Lily?” I pat her cheek. “Lily?”
She doesn’t wake.
Whatever they slipped her was strong, but she fought it until it finally dragged her under.
I peer into the trees around us. The cowards are in there, some hiding, some still running. I can chase them down right now and put an end to each of them, or I can take Lily to safety.
Vengeance demands blood. But when I look down at her, I can’t leave. Her lips are already turning a worrisome shade of light blue.
“Keep breathing, princess.” I pick her up and carry her out of the woods. Her little prince is gone, run away. But there’s nowhere on this earth I won’t find him.
9
Lily
I’m floating, carried away in the arms of my tormentor. The man with the dark hair and deep blue eyes, the strong arms that promise to hurt me and save me at the same time. Is this a dream? Why does it hurt?
Wait.
Someone is cracking my head open with a hammer. I want it to stop.
I open my eyes, then close them again quickly. “Fuck.” My voice is a croak.
My room in the city is never this bright, mainly because my ‘room’ is pretty much a closet in a 700 square foot apartment. Did one of my three roommates leave the lamp on? Jesus, it’s so bright.
I slap my hand over my eyes. “Chelsea, turn off the light.”
“Chelsea?” A low voice.
“Shit.” It’s him. I’m not in my shoebox. I’m somewhere else. When the bed felt so soft and nice, I should’ve known it couldn’t be mine.
“Language, princess.”
Something moves in the dark, and then the light flicks off.
Total darkness brings relief, and even though I’m in the lion’s den, I relax back into the bed.
Flashes of what almost happened play through my mind, and then I jerk when I hear that vicious crack again.
“You killed someone.”
“I’ve killed several someones, and I’ll kill more. All I need are names. Graves will be easy, though he ran home to mommy and daddy. Soon, I’ll get my hands on him and rip him apart.”
“He’s a bastard.” I cough, my throat feeling hot and cracked like the bottom of a dry lake.
The bed moves, and a hand slides beneath my head. He pulls me into a sitting position, then puts some pills in my mouth.
“Am I naked? Why am I naked?” I mumble. “What’s this?”
“Take it. Drink.” He presses a cool glass to my lips.
I take too big of a drink and start to sputter.
He pulls away for a moment, then returns with the glass again. “Slowly this time.”
I swallow, savoring the cold, clean water. Maybe it doesn’t matter if he’s drugged me. After all, I still feel like my brain is a slug being crushed under a jackhammer.
“That’s enough. You can have more later.” His hand slides down my back and he eases me into the bed.
“Why?” I have to ask even though I feel the undertow of sleep pulling at me.
“Why what?”
“Why did you help me?”
“Oh, princess.” He strokes the hair away from my brow. “Don’t get any ideas about me being your hero. I didn’t want my prize ruined, that’s all.”
I take the sting of his words, but even in my haze, I don’t believe them. Not really. My body would’ve been spared if he’d only broken up the nightmare at the gazebo. He didn’t have to kill anyone. And the way he spoke about Graves? No, those aren’t the words of someone who doesn’t care, who doesn’t feel. This man may not be a hero, but he did do all this for me.
The bed shifts, his weight lifting.
“Stay.” I close my eyes.
“I told you, princess. I’m no hero. Rest now. I’ll need you ready to pay up tomorrow.”
“Tell me who you are,” I whisper to the darkness.
Only silence answers.
“Please, your name?” I ask again.
Silence and darkness, then the weighted warmth of heavy sleep.
10
Clark
“Why did you leave school?” I scratch at the day’s growth on my cheek as Lily stirs in the bed.
Her color is back, and though she has dark circles under her eyes, she doesn’t look like a ghost. She did last night. I had my personal physician come check her as she slept. Without a drug test, I won’t know what they slipped her, but needless to say it was akin to a goddamn horse tranquilizer.
“Why are you going all tense?”
I return my gaze to her. Her eyes have their regular sparkle back, and though her lips are dry and cracked, her words are clear again.
“Answer my question.”
She turns and focuses on the dark coffered ceiling above my bed. “Why does it matter?”
“Because I want you to tell me the truth for once.”
“I’ve shown you my truth.” She glares at me. “You’ve seen it on video, remember? I’ve given you everything you asked of me. I paid.”
“I’m not talking about that.”
She sighs. “It doesn’t matter.”
I stand and walk to the bed.
She doesn’t flinch when I run the backs of my fingers down her soft cheek.
“Tell me why you left school.”
Her lip trembles, but she doesn’t give in. Not to her tears and not to me.
“I guess you brought me here for your payment.” She pushes the blanket off her, revealing her beautiful body to me. “Go ahead and take it.” She spreads her legs.
“Christ, Lily.” I should cover her. I should walk away. But I’m not that man. I’ve never been that man.
“Is that what you want?” With angry movements I strip off my shirt, then the rest of my clothes.
She watches me intently, her cheeks turning pink as I go. And when I free my cock, her tongue darts out and wets her lips. She is bait, a trap, a siren on the rocky shore. And I’ve never been able to resist her. Not from the first moment.
When I climb on top of her, she gasps, and her hands go to my shoulders.