Curiouser and curiouser.
“Are you coming?”Camille asks breathelessly, appearing suddenly beside me.
I open my mouth, tempted to say that I am, because after this, my father is going to be incredibly suspicious.Eight of his men are dead and 125 of the girls are missing, and I’m the only one who’s going to walk out of it intact.If I’m lucky I’ll be able to convince him that we were ambushed by a competitor or something–maybe someone looking to steal the girls for their own trafficking ring?–but I have no idea how realistic that is.In theory, New Orleans would be an ideal hub for human trafficking, but I don’t know how often it actually happens down here.
Lucien has been shocked enough by it that I assume it’s not common.
Still, that’s the best I can think of when it comes to explanations for what happened, and if my father is desperate enough to keep me as an ally, maybe he’ll believe it.
Or maybe he’ll kill me.
That last part has me itching to run with my friends and the girls, right to Lucien’s house and safety.
Except if I do that, I’ll lead my father right to Lucien’s doorstep.And I’ll risk Camille, Kate, and the girls I just saved.I’m realistic enough to know that my father will never let me go easily, especially if he thinks I had something to do with his merchandise disappearing, and the last thing I want is for him to attack Lucien or my girls over it.
I would rather sacrifice myself than risk my friends.
So I tell her no, because I still have work to do in my father’s house, and when she looks at me like I’m insane I force her into one of the vans and shut the door on her shouts.I hit the window, signalling for the driver to take off, and then stand and watch the vans as they skid out of the alley and onto the street, turning left and heading for safety.
At least those girls are safe.At least my friends are gone.And I’ll deal with whatever’s coming.I’ll–
Before I can complete the thought, hands grab me from behind and yank me off my feet, and something is slammed down over my head, sending the entire world into darkness.I have a moment to panic, but only a moment.
Then someone hits me and everything goes even blacker.
Lucien
When she appears at the top of the stairs, clad in deep turquoise silk that clings to her body like a second skin, her hair curled and her eyes a shocking shade of blue, all the breath leaves my lungs.
Partially because she’s so beautiful I can hardly believe it...and partially because she’s still alive.
When I got here her father was caught in a meeting with someone in his office, and though I’m sure it was meant to be a private meeting, they were screaming at each other like there was an actual war going on in there.
It’s not my fault I listened to every word they were saying.
There’s evidently a warehouse in the warehouse district that’s storing important merchandise for Dom–in other words, girls–and said warehouse was robbed earlier today.Girls disappeared.Men were shot.
And only Brooks was left alive.
The man doing half the screaming was of the opinion that this meant Brooks was also at fault, but Dom to my surprise, was spending most of his time defending the girl.He said she couldn’t have done any shooting, as she didn’t have a weapon, that she wouldn’t have done it anyhow, as this business was going to be hers sooner rather than later.
Both statements showed that he doesn’t know Brooks as well as he thinks he does, but I wasn’t going to march in there and tell him so.Overall, I’m guessing that she’s still alive thanks to her dad’s misplaced belief in her.
If he didn’t have that faith, she’d be dead rather than standing at the top of the stairs, staring at me like I’m the second fucking coming of Christ.
I widen my own eyes at her, trying to tell her to keep her fucking mouth shut, and then add another look that says I know what she’s been up to and I’m going to take it up with her later.
She understands both statements.
I know because I can see her start to grin.
And holy devils, that does something to me.Her smile runs over my skin like an electric current, warm and shocking at the same time, comfort and excitement in one.It tears a hole in me and shoots right into my heart, and from there south, until my dick is growing hard at the mere mention of her smile.
Just relief, I tell myself firmly.That’s just the relief of seeing her alive and well, especially after she’s evidently been going around killing her father’s men and kidnapping girls who’ve already been kidnapped.
Un-kidnapping them?
There’s got to be a better word for that, but my brain isn’t working the way it should.
