Wallace leaves the house in the morning in a suit, then again at night loaded with weapons. In the early morning hours, I wake up to find him inside me, murmuring sweet words in a hoarse whisper before he sleeps with me for a few hours.
Morgan tries to help me keep my sanity, but she’s got issues of her own. When she finds out that the only way she can leave the house is with an entourage of bodyguards, she’s so enraged that even the Familiars run away, hiding under her bed.
We spend hours online, ordering items for the new shop with a platinum card that showed up next to Morgan’s breakfast plate one morning with a note.
Then one afternoon, my phone rings, making me jump.
“Mrs. Taylor? It’s Dr. Greenwood at The Clinic.” He’s got the dry, weary tone of a man who’s had enough of stitching people up. The fact that I know Wallace and Alec have been subtly threatening him to find a way to magically repair Alastair’s injuries isn’t helping.
“Yes?” My heart’s pounding out of my chest. Is Wallace hurt?
“I can’t seem to reach your husband, perhaps you can-”
“What? I’m sorry to be rude, what’s happening?”
“It’s Alastair,” he says in relief. “He’s regained consciousness, he’s asking for you both.”
“I’ll find Wallace! We’ll- we’ll be right there!”
“Gio!” I screech, galloping down the stairs.
He comes racing out of the kitchen with a sandwich in his hand. “Oh, thank god,” he says, gulping down a mouthful. “I thought you were hurt.”
“We’re going to The Clinic! Alastairhas regained consciousness! Do you know where Wallace is?”
“I’ll send a text to his head of security.” He hastily finishes the sandwich. “But he’ll answer you first.”
Morgan comes in from the garden. “What’s happening?”
“Wallace’s dad, he’s out of the medically induced coma! He’s talking, he wants to see us!” I’m mindlessly shoving things into my backpack, my wallet, keys, Murder Mittens… who I then try to remove. She glares up at me, daring me to try to get her back out. I give up and put the pack over my shoulder. “Will you keep trying to call Wallace too? Or- or Roman? Dimitri? They might be with him. Michael- Michael probably would-”
Morgan smacks my boob with the back of her hand.
“Ow! What the hell, Morgan!”
“I didn’t want to have to do that,” she says defensively. “Take a breath. Are you no longer losing your shit?”
“I’m good, I am.” I’m half laughing and half crying and it’s very disconcerting.
“Well, go then,” she snaps. “You have a medical miracle to witness!”
“Scarlett, please slow down!” Gio’s hustling behind me as I multitask by racing for thearmored Range Rover we use as I dial Wallace’s number again.
We waste more time waiting for the extra four guards to climb into the second car. Finally,finallywe’re speeding though Surrey, heading for The Clinic. I text Wallace again.
It’s huge, the big gray truck tearing through the intersection and the last thing I see is the armored silver grille before it hits us.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
In which Scarlett meets old friends and new enemies.
Scarlett…
There’s a ringing in my ears, Gio is shouting something at me frantically but I can’t understand. A red mark blooms on his chest and he falls onto the seat.
It’s not the police or the EMT’s this time when my door’s hauled open. It’s a big man with a shaved head. He nearly rips me out of my seat as I cry out in pain. He realizes I’m still in my seatbelt and pulls a knife, slashing through it and yanking me from the car. My backpack’s still hanging loosely from my shoulder and I stumble, blood trickling down my left cheek like tears.
“Neuklyuzhaya suka,clumsy bitch!” he growls, “Move!”
