Me: Are you dense? If she needs help now, get it for her!
Soren: Are you? Get us a room and bring your stuff.
My anger toward him is so potent that it nearly boils over. She was gone because of him. That means she’s hurt because of him. Soren has a lot of nerve to give me an attitude after everything he’s cost us. Soren doesn’t matter, though. What matters is Sable. I leave the tower, not giving a shit how I look, as I run all the way to the parking garage. Once I climb inside the car, I call the hotel. The mention of my name is enough to get us the penthouse suite. There are several bedrooms available, which should give us space to attend to Sable’s needs and provide her with privacy if she wishes.
The hotel isn’t far, only about ten miles, but traffic is surprisingly heavy. Weaving through several tight spaces, I earn myself a collection of middle fingers. More than worth it when I pull up in front of the hotel a few minutes later, before Soren and Sable. The valet stand sits inside a covered archwaythat prevents the flash of paparazzi cameras. The car is entirely hidden from the road as I pull inside.
Stepping out of the car, I look around more thoroughly. Everything is designed with discretion in mind. This was a smart choice. Sable Briarwick is interesting enough to draw attention, but this hotel hosts celebrities and billionaires when they don’t want to be found. She should be fine here.
The valet takes my keys with a smile and a promise to treat it well.It is a fun car.The doorman stands in front of the already open door and wishes me a good evening as I walk inside. The space is beautiful, designed in a warm, wood-and-gold palette, a timeless sort of wealth rather than a chic one, but I can’t enjoy any of it, knowing that Sable is coming here, hurt. Expensive-looking women who remind me of my mother and her friends stand in a group near the front desk and block my path. My irritation and impatience are so thick that I nearly find myself barking at them as I ask them to excuse me.
“Checking in,” I say to the woman behind the desk when I finally make it up to her. The card hits the counter in front of her, and she stares at it but doesn’t pick it up.
“Just a moment,” she says with forced politeness, finishing whatever she’s working on behind her computer. I tap my foot as I watch the door. I want this done and ready for her before she gets here, but I don’t want to wait another second either. She finally picks it up and reads the name on the card. Her eyes flash nervously. “Oh, I’m so sorry, Mr. Morwen. I shouldn’t have kept you waiting.”
I say nothing, trying to hide the fact that I’m barely human. Her fingers fly across the screen. Finally, she hands me two key cards. I take them from her and put my card back in my wallet.
“I have a few more people on the way. I’ll need them brought up discreetly and immediately.” I’m not trying to be a dick, but I think my face says something I’m not meaning to.
She blushes and looks down to avoid my gaze. “Of course. No problem, sir.”
“Thank you,” I say, before turning my back on her and heading to the elevators. The key card is required to get inside, then I tap it once more to access the private floor of our suite.
Me: The staff are waiting to bring you guys up.
Soren: Great.
That’sall he has to say?
When the door finally closes behind me, nervous anxiety rolls off me like steam. Numerous scenarios play out in my head, and none of them are good. I try to comfort myself with the fact that they rejected the emergency room. I like to think that Soren is smart enough to figure out whether her life is in immediate danger. I’m not so sure about giving him that much credit, though. He’s the reason Sable left to begin with.
I don’t understand exactly how I got here. A few months ago, I was excited for another year of toying with the Offering. Even after meeting Sable, I humiliated her for fun, so numbed by life it was the only way for me to get off. Now look at me, desperate for her to return to me safely. I glance down at my trembling palms, and I curse, hoping I can get myself together before she’s here. She needs me.
The knob twists, and everything stops. My time is suddenly up.
CHAPTER 22
LEX
Hadrian comes in first.My brow bends in confusion. I thought Soren was the one bringing her here. He didn’t mention anything about Hadrian being with them at all. Even more unusual, the piano man’s clothes are filthy. Knowing him my entire life, I don’t think he’s ever gotten his hands dirty.
“What the hell?” I ask, but he quickly shakes his head and flashes me a warning gaze. He steps to the side, revealing Sable at his heels. My body moves on its own, immediately snatching her up and pressing her to me. My hands cling to her waist as I hold her, eliminating the month-long distance. The poor woman didn’t have a chance to step inside before I grabbed her. I do her the favor of bringing her the rest of the way in.
I place her down, and my hands trace her face, and I breathe her in as if she’s oxygen itself. She wears ill-fitting, old clothes that aren’t suitable for the cold. Blood seeps through them, and considering Soren asked me to bring my medical things, I’m sure some of it belongs to her. My feelings of fear and dread might ruin the situation, but she’s real, and she’s here. Finally.
“Sable,” I say her name like a prayer. The sweet smell of her surrounds me, and I’m overcome by how fearful I was that I would never feel this again. My body shakes, making a scene, butI can’t seem to help myself. Her blue eyes roam over me with shock, like she can’t understand my actions. It’s true I’ve never acted like this before with her, but I didn’t know what it felt like to worry for her life. She steps back, trying to create distance between us, but I’m not strong enough to let her go. Tenacious fingers cling to her, terrified I’ll be nothing without her.
“Where were you?” I ask, my voice feeling and sounding pitiful. Every moment without her ached, and somehow, this reunion aches too, like I won’t feel complete until I’m inside her and everything is in its proper place again.
“You know, around,” she says with a weak laugh that lands like a punch to the gut. My mouth opens and closes, and I’m all out of quick-witted responses. Something obviously happened to her. I step back, looking at her in earnest. Her cheeks are hollow, her skin sallow. There’s so much blood on her it’s impossible to tell how much of it is hers, but I know it can’t all be. Clearly, she’s been through something terrible in the time we’ve been looking for her.
Soren steps inside last and shuts the door behind himself.
“Carl Briarwick had her,” Hadrian says as he flips the latch on the door. “He’s dead. It’s a long story.”
My eyes find him with a million questions ready to launch. He avoids my gaze as he shakes his head. Does he not have what I’m looking for, or does he just not want to give it to me?
“Sable, baby, sit here,” I say as I lead her to the bed.
