“What he did in the past is his business,” I said, but my mind was racing over who the Lady in Black could have been and why Malcolm would have used a woman to?—
I was an idiot. I knew exactly who the Lady in Black must have been.
And Nicole could tell I’d put it together. “You know who she is,” she said, leaning forward, excitement giving her a burst of energy.
“How would I know who she is?” I scoffed. “I’ve never been to Fenton County.”
She tilted her head. “I never said she was from Fenton County.”
Shit. “Of course she was from Fenton County. If she worked with James, then she had to be there.”
“Hmm…” she said skeptically. “I don’t believe you.” She stood and took a step forward, her knife pointed toward me. “You know who she is.”
I kept my gaze glued to the blade in her hand. “How would I know that when I’d never heard her name before tonight?”
She took another step, her eyes lighting with excitement. “But you know anyway.” She leaned closer to me. “And you’re going to tell me.”
Funny. I was probably about to die protecting Rose Gardner’s secret identity. Because while I’d never met the woman, and I undoubtedly felt threatened by her past relationship with James, I would never let this woman get within fifty miles of Rose and her children.
How ironic that neither she nor James would ever know.
Nicole turned toward the door, and I could tell she was about to call for the guards to come string me up again. If they did that, the session would end with me covered in countless cuts, either dead or wishing I was. No, I wouldn’t let that happen. If I was going to die anyway, I’d rather do it trying to save myself.
So, I leapt up at her. I was still too weak to get to my full height, but I reached her waist and managed to pull her to the floor.
She hit the ground hard. She regained her senses seconds later, though, and was about to shout when I covered her mouth with my hand.
She hadn’t lost the knife in the fall, and without hesitation, she stabbed me in the side.
I gasped, and a triumphant look filled her eyes.
A sharp pain filled the side of my chest, and I nearly collapsed on top of her.
She pulled out the blade, whipping her arm back and then swinging down to stab me again.
Somehow, I found the strength to push her arm hard with my free hand before the blade made contact, but the arc of her interrupted swing brought the tip dangerously close to my cheek.
My other hand was still covering her mouth, and she tried to bite my palm. I drove my chest hard against her sling, hoping to inflict pain where I’d shot her last week.
I knew I should have an escape plan, but the only thought in my head was that this woman was going to kill me, and I needed to disarm her in any way I could.
I shifted my hand to her wrist and slammed it onto the concrete floor. But she still didn’t release the knife.
I heard shouting outside the door—muffled and urgent—followed by multiple gunshots.
Nicole’s eyes flicked to the door. The sounds outside the room gave her a burst of energy. She bucked me off her and onto my back. Within seconds, she was looming over me with the knife, her eyes wide with fury. She brought the knife down in a stabbing motion over my left breast, but I grabbed her forearm with both hands and tried to hold her off.
“I’m going to kill you, Harper Adams,” she sneered. “But not before you tell me who the Lady in Black was.”
“Go to hell,” I grunted, my side sticky with blood. I was already weak, but my body was turning cold, and I could tell I was already going into shock. I didn’t think I could hold her off much longer.
“I can make this easy for you,” she said with a saccharine smile. “Just one name and then your suffering will be over.”
“I’ll never tell you,” I said through gritted teeth, “just like I’ll never tell you where my mother’s files are.”
The shouting was right outside the door now, quickly followed by a round of gunshots. I couldn’t let myself believe that James or anyone else had come to save me. I had to focus on not letting her kill me.
But my arms were beginning to shake, and her knife blade was inches from my upper chest. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could hold on.
