Mist ribboned around the hedgerows, sending out ghostly fingers across the grass.
I suddenly understood why this bed and breakfast was named Misty Meadows.
A convoy of black vans appeared from the night, and I wondered—just for a second—if I should run before Lucien could trap me somewhere new.
Because wherever we were going, I doubted Dillon would find me.
Corpses and empty rooms. Blood-soaked towels and my forgotten tatty rucksack.
He’d think I was dead.
And I might end up that way if he ever hunted me down.
Chapter Twenty-Three
THE SLEEK SILVER PLANE LOOKED FAR smaller than the one I’d flown in when Marcus dragged me to England. Back then, as a nine-year-old, everything had seemed so huge—
“That concludes the extraction part of our service, sir,” the masked man—who hadn’t shown us his face, even in the one-hour car ride—pointed at the plane and awaiting airhostess by the open stairs. “The crew works for Sovereign Retrieval. You’ll be perfectly safe. A helicopter will take you the rest of the way when you arrive.” Backing up, he added, “Is there anything else you require before we depart?”
I tried to answer him but...the outside world was too much. Too bright. Toonoisy.
Having twenty men surrounding me set my system on a razor-sharp edge.
The entire drive, Rook had been in the backseat with Whisper, while I’d been up front, which meant I hadn’t been able to touch her.
And the burning was getting bad.
Even now—even on the cusp of vanishing from Marcus’s control forever—I was still fucking weak...just like he’d made me.
Something feral snarled inside.
What if I got on that plane and they flew me back to hell?
What if they betrayed me like everyone else?
“Lucien.”
I flinched as Rook’s dainty hand slipped into mine, wrenching me back onto the private airstrip in the dead of night.
Her touch.
Fuck.
I could breathe again for the first time since we’d left the room.
I could move without flames chewing my joints like I’d somehow ingested the sun.
Whisper chuffed and headbutted me, sensing my pain as Rook squeezed my fingers. “Whatever you’re thinking about...stop.”
The heat in my blood cooled as if she had the ability to pour ice directly into my veins.
I shuddered.
All those moments where I’d relied on her in Cinderkeep reminded me all over again how dangerous she was.
She could calm my heart and quieten my mind just by touching me.
She could leash and control me with a single orgasm.
