Alaric’s heart threatened to quit as she sprinted up the plank and leapt, arms outstretched to keep her body upright. Oh, shit! She wasn’t going to make it… At the last second, she flicked her legs to the side, tucked, and rolled like a demented hedgehog. A stone skittered across the roof. Ryland snapped his head around, but Emmy had already vanished behind the plant room, thank fuck. Sky and Beth had disappeared too, melted back into the darkness on the south tower. He’d be having words with Ms. Stafford-Lyons later. Sky’s involvement, he could understand, but Beth should have known better.
“You won’t let me go,” Ryland said, turning his attention back to Alaric. “I know it. You’ll call the cops, and—”
He took another step back, and Emmy struck. The knife went flying as she ripped Ryland’s hand away from Gemma’s neck, Alaric leapt forward to pull Gemma from the psycho’s grip, and they rolled out of the way. But it wasn’t over. The guy must have been twice Emmy’s weight, and he was hopped up on adrenaline and steroids and fuck knew what else. They grappled, getting perilously close to the edge of the roof as Emmy fought for the upper hand. Finally, she wrenched herself free and booted him in the chest. He overbalanced, arms flailing, but Emmy teetered too.
Ryland toppled over the edge.
And with Gemma sprawled on top of him, Alaric could do nothing but watch in horror as Emmy followed.
He closed his eyes. There were a thousand things he wanted to say to her—I’m sorry, I wish things had been different, I love you—but the words stuck in his throat.
Then he heard a whoop, and his eyes popped open in time to see a crouching Ravi swing Emmy up into the air as if the pair of them had rehearsed the act a hundred times. She landed like a cat.
Nine lives. The crazy bitch had nine fucking lives.
Alaric helped Gemma to her feet, and he had to hold her up, she was trembling so much. His knees weren’t much steadier. Emmy produced a knife—Alaric had been right about her carrying—and sliced the tape off Gemma’s wrists.
“We need to get out of here. Ryland’s splattered across the walkway, and I don’t fancy spending the night in an interview room.”
Vintage Emmy. She’d come close to death, yet she was the calmest of all of them. Ravi looked more shaken up than her. Alaric glanced across to the south tower. Sky and Beth were wrapped up in a hug, whether out of joy or relief he wasn’t sure. Emmy caught Sky’s eye and motioned her down the stairs.
“W-w-what’s happening?” Gemma asked. “Are you the police?”
“Not exactly.” Alaric scooped her up and headed for the stairs. Could she feel his heart pounding against his ribcage? It was threatening to crack a bone from the inside out. “We’ll talk about that later, okay?”
By the time they got to the lobby, a small crowd had gathered between the two buildings. Most of the onlookers had smartphones out, filming and taking photos, and nobody paid Alaric and company the slightest attention as they regrouped outside.
“Go and get the car, would you?” Emmy said to her Blackwood guys, and they vanished into the night.
“Where’s the SUV?” Alaric asked Beth, and she pointed a quaking finger into the darkness. At that moment, Alaric was glad she’d been on the roof with Sky because otherwise, she’d have had a front-row seat for Ryland’s swan dive.
“You okay?”
“Not really.”
He had to appreciate her honesty.
“Have you got the key?”
She fumbled in her pocket and held it out.
Ravi took it from her. “How about I do the honours?”
That left Alaric with the four women. He set Gemma on her feet again, keeping one arm around her waist because she still didn’t look too steady. Hardly surprising after the debacle on the roof, and who knew what hell Ryland had inflicted on her over the past three days.
“Beth?” Gemma rubbed her eyes. “Is that really you?”
“Yes, it’s me. Don’t worry, we’re going to take you away from here.”
“Is he dead? Is Ry dead?”
Beth looked to Alaric. She must’ve known Ryland was spread out across the concrete, but Alaric understood she didn’t want to be the one to break the news.
He mustered up a sombre tone as he herded them both towards the SUV. “I’m afraid he is.”
“Good. I hope it hurt.”
Pain scored through Gemma’s words, and Alaric realised that whatever Ryland had done to her, it was both worse than he’d hoped and as bad as he feared. He helped her into the back seat with Beth and then turned to Emmy.
“You okay, Cinders?”
“Fine.”
Fine. The word was a warning klaxon coming from Emmy. She wasn’t fine, not by a long shot. Anyone else might have assumed the near-death experience had unsettled her, but she’d been acting weird before that.
“Liar.”
She didn’t even bother to deny it. “It’s too late to fly tonight. I’ll reschedule for tomorrow. Text me if you and Beth want a ride, okay?”
“You’re leaving?”
“No point in hanging around.” Ravi got a bigger smile from Emmy than Alaric did. “Thanks for the acrobatics lesson.”
Ravi still looked unnerved. “If you wanna try that again, a safety net would be a good idea.”
“Don’t you get it? In this swamp we swim in, we are the safety net.” She turned to Alaric. “Do you need anything more from me tonight? Counselling? Medical care? Someone to run interference with the cops?”
“I’ll get Gemma back to Judd’s place and assess the situation.” It was closer than Emmy’s mansion and probably less intimidating. “Do you still have a friendly doctor on call? Somebody who can keep their mouth shut?”
“Sure. Just let me know, yeah?”
“I will.” Alaric squeezed her hand, holding onto it for a beat longer than he should have. He’d almost forgotten how terrifying Emmy’s fearlessness could be. “Thanks for tonight, Cinders. You’re crazy, you know that?”
“It’s been mentioned a time or two.” Her car pulled up, and she followed Sky towards it, pausing to glance over one shoulder. “Laters, Prince Charming.”
CHAPTER 46 - BETHANY
THE SIRENS STILL echoed in my ears as Alaric parked the car in front of the garage at Curzon Place, Judd’s home. We’d passed three police cars and an ambulance on the way, all speeding towards the Bellsfield Estate. The ambulance crew might as well have gone home.
So many thoughts tumbled through my aching head. Ryland Willis was dead. Emmy had somehow survived. Death wish. Miracle. Knife. Gun. Alaric had a freaking gun! A blur of Ravi. Sky… She’d kept her head while I was losing mine. How did I get down those stairs? And Gemma, Gemma was alive. Was she all right? She hadn’t said a word since we got in the car, only cried. I hugged her tighter.
“Are you okay?” Ravi asked, opening the back door.
Seriously? “No.”
“Sorry. Stupid question.”
Gemma gripped my arm. “W-w-where are we?”
“Somewhere safe,” I told her. Far away from death, and that was all that mattered. “Can you walk inside? Or… Or…”