I offer her my glass. “Do you want some?”
Her eyelids flutter open, and her mouth pulls up in a smile, but she shakes her head. “No, thank you.”
I sip a little more water and set the glass down. “Won’t they let you see a doctor?”
“When I was still living at home, a doctor came to see me. No matter what they tried, I kept getting worse. They gave me pills, and only those help me. Without them, I’d die.”
“And your parents?”
“Died in a plane crash. I was living with my uncle when I got sick.”
“Can’t he…”
“He’s involved in Asylum,” she quietly tells me. “They’re all involved in it, and I know too much about them. Same as Archer, Torin, and Callum. A part of me thinks he was relieved I got sick and had to rely on him.”
I can’t believe her own uncle would do that to her.
“I’m sorry.”
She smiles sadly at me. “It’s not your fault, and there’s nothing anyone can do.”
“Have you taken your pills today?”
She shakes her head. “Someone brings one to me every day. They’ll probably check on you when they bring me my pill.”
“Who brought me here?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know. I was sleeping. When I woke up, you were on the floor. I think they brought you here so you’d know not to bother escaping.”
“Why would I know that?”
She lets out a frustrated sigh. “Because I’ve tried every way I could. They move me every few weeks, so I can never get too settled anywhere.”
“Where are?—”
A key sounds in the lock, and I wrench my pounding head toward it, heart in my throat.
The door swings open, and my mouth drops.
“Oscar?” Too late, I remember that isn’t his name. It can’t be if he’s here. “Wilkes Booth,” I say instead.
“I come bearing gifts,” he announces as if he expects us to be happy to see him.
Looking handsome in a pair of smart dress pants and a white button-down shirt, he dips his hand into his pocket and pulls out one small white pill. He flashes the same charming smile at me that convinced me I could trust him. If Torin hadn’t told me who he was, I never would have seen beyond his smile and learned he was putting on a charming act.
“Awake, I see?” he says.
“What are you…” My brain makes a connection I should have made the second he pushed open the door. “It was you.Youhit me on the back of the head.”
He knew where I worked, and he likely knewwhenI worked. It wouldn’t have been hard for him to walk into the hotel, maybe going floor by floor, or save himself some work and put on that charming smile and ask if anyone had seen me. Someone would have told him which floor I was cleaning.
As he steps into the room, I get a brief glimpse of a luxurious gold and burgundy hallway before the door closes gently behind him. He spares Lottie a passing glance as he strides toward me.
I look at her, and she has her head tipped back against the wall, her eyes closed. She said she hadn’t had her pill today yet. Is she okay? Could she die before Wilkes gives it to her?
He drops into a crouch in front of me and places the white pill beside the half-empty glass of water. Lottie doesn’t stir, and my fear grows.
With a shrug at Lottie for not taking the pill, Wilkes turns to me and reaches out to touch my face. I angle my head aside, dodging his touch.
