Lenore grinned. “This is Jack, my guard. He’s gracious enough to help with other requests. Christian never came through in finding me a bodyguard, so I had to take matters into my own hands. Jack is very capable at controlling a situation.” She glanced my way. “Dear oh dear. How thoughtless of me. I didn’t offer you a drink. Jack, please fetch our guest a glass of wine.”
I couldn’t say no. I couldn’t run. I couldn’t even move.
Fletcher Black, my Creator, walked coolly into the adjoining liquor room.
“Are you feeling well?” Lenore asked me.
Paralyzed, I flicked a glance to Viktor, my mouth open but no words coming out.
“I have instructed her not to speak,” Viktor said, oblivious to my internal meltdown. “Shall we go somewhere private?”
Lenore gracefully moved a swath of blond hair away from her face while she looked at me. “You two keep each other company. As guards, I’m sure you have a lot in common.”
When they left the room, I waited to see if maybe I’d imagined him. Look-alikes are possible.
From the central hall ahead on my right, Fletcher strutted in with a wineglass in his hand. I got tunnel vision staring at his piercing deep-blue eyes. Little had changed about him. He was still shaving his head bald, though I could make out the shadow of his widow’s peak. Fletcher’s wiry beard was light brown with a reddish tint, his mustache long enough to cover his upper lip. And his eyebrows slanted in a constant frown.
As he neared, I noticed somethinghadchanged.
The way he looked at me.
This wasn’t the look of control, domination, or even disgust. No, that look was pure animosity. I reached inside my coat, fingers gripping the handle of my dagger.
“Hello, love,” he said, his voice making my skin crawl. Fletcher spoke with a British accent that was lower-class, like a man who had lived on the streets for a hundred years, stealing light and torturing his Learners. I wouldn’t have been surprised at all to find out he was the real Jack the Ripper.
He handed me a glass of wine. “I’ve missed my little pet.”
I knocked the drink out of his hand, and it shattered on the floor.
He sneered. “You little cunt. She’ll make me clean that up, she will.”
Every hair on my body stood on end, and I had to get as far away from him as I could before I stabbed him in the heart. I rushed toward the windows and kept my eyes trained on him as he slowly walked toward me, dressed in a grey button-up shirt and slacks.
“I bet you’re wondering why I’m here,” he growled. “Your Vampire is a proper fool. He should have killed me while he had the chance. No matter.” Fletcher circled the couch. “Give daddy a kiss.”
I flashed to the center of the room, trying not to box myself in. I wanted desperately to say something, but the words were stuck in my throat like glue. I hated him. I feared him. I wanted him dead. My thoughts were nebulous, and I couldn’t discern what was happening.
“It seems the Miss was curious about your dirty little Vamp living off in the woods. We came to an arrangement after she freed me, and I think it worked out all right,” he said, thumbs in his pockets. “Penthouse suite. Isn’t it grand? I went from a bag of bones to a right proper gentleman.”
“You werenevera gentleman,” I hissed.
“There’s the insolent Raven I know. I much prefer you in chains. Don’t worry, love,” he said with a salacious grin. “All in good time.”
I flashed at him and seized his throat, squeezing as hard as I could. Fletcher lost his balance and stumbled backward against a window.
He rammed his arms forward and broke my hold, then coughed violently, the skin around his neck turning pink. “Play nicey-nicey. Wouldn’t want your boss man to walk in, now would we?”
My heart thudded against my chest.
Stay calm. He wants to see your fear. Don’t let him get in your head. I can’t believe this is happening. Why is he here?
My thoughts were scattered. I stepped away, unable to strip my eyes from the man who had kept me in chains and stolen my light. I’d imagined this moment a thousand times over, with me killing him, but now I couldn’t.
Lenore knew he was my Creator, and she set up this meeting intentionally. Christian couldn’t come after her because he’d given his word, so that left me. It wouldn’t be easy for her to hire someone to take me out without risking a scandal, so I could see her master plan unfolding like a black cloud over the horizon. Lenore was using Fletcher to bait me.
I remembered Niko’s talk about controlling my emotions before they controlled me.
Pull it together. Don’t let him think he’s gotten to you.
