“No!” I say, but they don’t hear me. No one ever does at first. The orderly grabs her arm firmly and something inside me—snaps.
“Fix it,” the voice breathes.
“Show them who you are.”
“Yes, please…”
My feet move faster than my brain does. “Let her go!” I command. They turn, looking at me with an annoyed expression.
“Sit down, Davenport,” one says, and I smile.
“No,” I say coldly as the second orderly tightens his grip. She doesn’t fight, and that’s what does it. That’s what ruins everything, because she should be laughing, biting—she should be doing something. Instead, she looks—gone.
“Break them,”the voice whispers, and behind me a chair scrapes heavily. Jagger. Perfect.
“You heard him. Let the clown girl go!” he growls so deeply it vibrates under my feet. I know the danger behind his words. I’ve seen it, and these fucks have no idea what the animal within is capable of when provoked. Killian stands, hands flat on the table as he continues to watch. Calm, precise. Eyes locked on the orderly’s hand gripping Lolli’s arm.
“Your hold is incorrect,” he says quietly, and the orderly scoffs.Big mistake.Everything fractures at once. Noise spikes. Someone screams. A tray crashes. Jagger moves first. Fast and violently. A blur of motion that ends with one orderly slamming into a wall hard enough to rattle the room. He groans as blood smears down, along with his body, to the ground. The second one shouts, but Killian steps in smoothly. His hand closesaround the man's wrist and twists, causing the grip on Lolli to loosen. I’m there before she can fall, and her weight hits me. Her head lolls against my shoulder as she looks up at me. Her eyes are void of life.
“…too quiet,” she slurs as my hand slides up her back.
“I know,” I whisper.
“She’s yours now.”
“Fix her, keep her.”
“Break anyone who tries to take her again.”
“Yes,” I breathe as the room erupts. Guards shouting. Patients laughing. Someone climbs onto a table, howling like it's a full moon. I smile as chaos ensues. Jagger stands between us and the rest of the room, shoulders squared, breathing heavily like he’s waiting for someone else to do something stupid. Killian steps closer, eyes scanning Lolli’s face.
“She’s sedated,” he says calmly, but from the look on his face, he’s completely fascinated by her.
“No,” I say, grabbing her chin and forcing her to look at me. “She’s missing something.” Then her pupils flicker. She’s struggling internally.
“He’s gone,” she whispers.
“Good,” one voice says.
“Now you can be the only voice she hears.”
“It’s what you wanted after all.”
I smile. “Then we’ll bring him back,” I tell her as Jagger glances at me.
“How? Who?” he asks, and I look down at her. Her fingers move like they are reaching for something that isn’t there.
“We’ll remind her who she is.”
Killian's lip curves just a tiny bit. “This should be interesting,” he says as a guard rushes forward—Jagger steps in and stops him cold in his tracks.
“No one touches her,” he states, and the room stops.
“Get out of our way, Holmes,” the guard orders, and a sinister smile spreads across Jagger's face.
“Make me,” he says as I pull Lolli closer, letting her rest her head against my chest.
“Say something,”one of the voices encourages.
