I think there’s a moment in every woman’s life where she sees another woman and recognizes her hurt so deeply it’s impossible to look away. I felt that staring at my old friend, because when her eyes slid to mine again and the faintest bit of recognition crossed her features at last, there was no relief. There was a cruel,cosmic sense of fate aligning us like, well, how I used to see Rafe. I looked at Leah and I saw my past, and I knew when she looked at me, she saw her dark, twisted future.
Neither were hopeful. Neither were beautiful. Both past and future were submission, destruction, and—if we had any luck—retribution. But most likely, they held death. Of self. Of spirit. Of every inch of defiance.
Seeing that in Leah, seeing she had become nothing more but another of Viktor’s dark mirrors, it opened a gaping hole inside me so wide it grew teeth. Monstrous, pointed things that could tear the world apart if I let them.
Burning our target wasn’t going to be enough.
I turned my back to her, my shoulders tight and eyes set on a dark corner. I bit down on my tongue, tasting metal as I dipped behind a pillar and lifted one of my satin gloved hands to the earpiece. “Leah.”
It was all I said, and it was all they needed. No matter how long we’d gone without speaking directly to one another, every Creed knew what that woman meant to me, knew there was no world I’d leave her in Viktor’s grasp if I had the option of getting her out. My watchbuzzed as what I spoke was translated into a text for Rafe.
Getting her out meant taking her back to Halden. I had to. The devices that were embedded in our necks when we first arrived at the compound were capable of injecting lethal doses of poison should we disobey or try to run. He'd finally let us in on that little secret when the guys were finally forced to rape me.
It had been our final test, the thing that firmly placed the wedge between the four of us.
I just—can'ttell that story. Please. Maybe one day, but not now. I blocked outmost of it anyway.
I drew in a breath and looked down at my watch when it buzzed again.
Rafe:Three minutes. Not a second longer.
I turned back to the party. “Ten,” I bargained.
Rafe:Eight.
I lifted my gaze to the stained glass of the upper floor. It was a beautiful building. Old architecture with modern flare, chandeliers twinkling. A live symphony played on the small stage, champagne pouring from glasses to throats as guests mingled. Massive curtains hung throughout the space, creating private nooks that several guests dragged girls like Leah into. My eyes scraped over the velvet black fabric. Then I skimmed a hand down to the slit in my dress, tugging it high enough to unclip my lighter.
Eight minutes.
It would have to be enough.
I plucked a flute of champagne from a passing waiter’s tray and dipped into one of the curtained-off alcoves. It was empty except for a sofa and a small table with refreshments. I drenched the sofa in my alcohol. Then I clicked the lighter and dragged the flame across the seat until it caught. I took a large step back, my heartpounding wildly as the flames burst upward, catching with ease against the curtain.
Slipping back out into the main area, I kept an eye on my work, the first signs of smoke curling out from the edges of the velvet but no sign of the fire making it to the outer sides yet. That was good. I needed it to bloom as far as it could without being seen.
My head swiveled as I inspected the crowd, finally spotting Leah’s bobbing, sleek ponytail before she vanished into an alcove with a man. I shouldered through the guests, offering tight smiles in apology when I spilled someone’s drink on their dress, but the woman grabbed me by the bicep.
"Hey, this isPrada," she exclaimed, gesturing to the wine stain on her silver gown. "I don't know where you think you're going, ma'am, but I expect you to pay for my dry cleaning bill."
My eyes narrowed. I didn't have time for that bitch, so I leaned to her ear and snarled, "How about I save your life instead, you foul, disgusting wench? Get the fuck out of here. This place is seconds from burning down, and I can assure you, you won't give a shit about that fucking stain when it does." She didn't deserve aheadsup in the slightest, but I was right in thinking it'd spook her to back down. She was pale as a ghost with my admission, her lips wobbling.
"W-what?" she stammered.
I rolled my eyes and yanked out of her grasp, folding into the crowd. It took several minutes to finally push through. Desperation clawed awake inside me when I reached the curtains concealing Leah. Carefully, I pulled the flap open, sneaking a glance inside and my stomach twisting.
Leah laid on a sofa, her ponytail in a man’s grip, and her gaze dull as she stared up at the ceiling, his hips slamming against her. It was strange for a moment to witness her being a Doll, almost like an outer body experience. I’m ashamed to admit that I felt myself glue to the floor, unable to step inside. It had been so long since I’d felt true fear. Halden had done his worst on us, and I’d honestly thought I was incapable of mostbigemotions anymore like love, fear, pain, and sorrow. But seeing Leah like that, it opened every floodgate.
I stepped inside the alcove, thetinkof my lighter giving me away as I ran my flame against the velvet curtain. The man shoved off Leah, his scowl immediatewhen he realized what I was doing. “What the fuck?” he growled, hurrying to pull up his pants and do his buckle, but I crossed the distance in a single stride, flicking my thumb expertly and lighting his tie. He startled, stumbling back and toppling over into the burning curtain, his cry puncturing the gala beyond. The symphony stopped, and more frantic shrieks arose as I imagined they noticed the fire finally breaching the outside of the curtains on the opposite end.
I couldn’t pay any of it any attention though, because Leah was still just lying there. Like she genuinely couldn’t move until someone gave her permission to.Viktor. He had to be at that party. Somehow, that thought had escaped me. It was either him, or Leah had a Buyer somewhere in the panicking crowd beyond.
My wrist buzzed as I knelt beside her, and I glanced down.
Rafe:One minute.
“You’re okay,” I whispered, scooping Leah’s face between my hands, but her eyes stayed dull. She didn’t even…blink. And her face was so cold. Why was it so cold? “Leah?” I said more forcefully and gave her a small shake. Her arm fell limp off the sofa, and that was when I saw the needle jabbed in her vein.
“No—” the word cracked out of me as I pressed my palm to her neck and then her chest, searching for a pulse that wasn’t there. “Leah!” I screamed and shook her harder, but her head lolled.
