Page 104 of Two Sides of Sin

“I’m going to sleep for twelve hours straight in this giant bed, go to my classes tomorrow, and by the time my two days here are up, I’ll be back to normal. And you’ll be closer to coming home.”

“Lock the deadbolt Sage, please. Don’t open it for anyone.”

“I won’t,” I smiled, reassuring him as I leaned back against the fluffy pillows.

We stayed on the phone for a little longer, the steady rumble of Julian’s voice acting as an anchor while I ate and watched the movie. The terrifying phantom of the stalker began to fade eventually, replaced by the warm, domestic hum of our conversation. I felt untouchable up here on the twelfth floor, barricaded behind steel and glass.

Eventually, the exhaustion won. My eyelids grew heavy, the movie blurring into a kaleidoscope of light and shadow until I finally slipped off into a deep, heavy sleep, the phone still warm against my pillow.

Chapter 58

Cain

Money is the single most effective skeleton key in the world.

It had taken only ten thousand in cash, slid quietly across the polished marble counter of the hotel lobby, to convince the concierge to immediately evict the current occupants of Room 1204 and hand the keycard directly to me.

Now, I was standing in the dimly lit hallway of the twelfth floor, leaning back into the deep alcove of my doorway. I watched with silent amusement as a bored-looking teenager in a maroon hotel uniform pushed a silver room service cart down the plush carpet.

The kid stopped in front of Room 1205. Sages room.

He didn’t even wait for her to answer. He simply rapped his knuckles lazily against the door, abandoned the tray on the floor and turned on his heel, pulling his phone out as he headed back to the elevator.

Pathetic work ethic. But incredibly convenient for me.

I stepped out of my alcove, my footsteps making no sound on the thick carpet. I walked over to the tray sitting on the floor. The smell of greasy meat and fried potatoes wafted up from the porcelain plates.

I reached into the inside pocket of my coat, my steady fingers pulling out the familiar small, glass vial.

I uncorked it with my thumb and carefully lifted the top bun of the cheeseburger and let three clear, tasteless drops fall directly into the centre of the meat. It absorbed instantly, leaving absolutely no trace. I replaced the bun perfectly, ensuring the plate looked untouched.

I reached out and delivered a sharp, authoritative knock to the wood of her door, making sure she knew her food was waiting.

In a fraction of a second, I melted back into Room 1204, pulling my own door shut with a soft, barely audible click.

I walked over to the adjoining wall—the thin layer of drywall and insulation separating my world from hers—and sat down in the velvet armchair pressed right up against it.

I leaned my head back, closing my eyes. With my immortal hearing, the wall might as well have been made of paper.

I heard the scrape of the heavy chair she had dragged in front of her door. I heard the frantic, paranoid clicking of the deadbolt and the chain lock being undone. A brief pause as she pulled the tray inside, and then the satisfying sound of every single lock being shoved back into place.

Good girl, I thought, a dark, wicked smile curving my lips. Lock us both in.

A moment later, my brother’s voice echoed through the wall.

I sat in the dark, my hands resting casually on the arms of the chair, and listened to Julian beg. It was music to my ears. He was desperate. He was terrified. He was practically ordering her to run to his fortified estate, fully aware that her pathetic little apartment locks meant nothing to the man hunting her.

And then, I listened to Sage seal her own fate.

“Julian, I’m really starting to think I’m just losing my mind,” she murmured.

Even after leaving the undeniable evidence in her car today, she was still doubting herself.

I could hear the subtle, soft sounds of her chewing. She was eating the burger. The sedative was already slipping into her bloodstream, mixing perfectly with the false sense of security this hotel was providing her.

I listened as she flawlessly gaslit herself. She rationalised the SUV. She rationalised the power outage. She even managed to convince herself that she had simply misplaced the black lace panties I had stolen from her bed. It was a masterpiece of psychological self-destruction, and I hadn’t even had to say a single word to her.

“I am perfectly safe,” she promised my twin, her voice already starting to take on that faint, heavy slur of chemical exhaustion. “I’m going to sleep for twelve hours straight in this giant bed…”