Page 106 of A Violet Obsession

Nora steps in, serene as ever, and stands with her hands folded as if she’s about to bless us. “Mr. Tate is so pleased you performed so well, and that you helped him locate the necklace.”

The bottom drops out of my stomach when the buzzing starts in my hands.

“However.” Her smile doesn’t waver. “We think it would be best if you stay here with us, for your own safety, of course, until the amethyst is recovered.”

Finn turns to stone beside me. “That wasn’t the deal.”

“There was no deal,” Nora says gently. “There was an understanding. And now our understanding has grown.” She turns that radiant calm on me. “We think it will be valuable to see how the amethyst enhances your natural abilities with the proper direction.”

“I don’t have abilities.” My voice betrays my irritation. “I don’t have powers. I’m tired, and I have a headache, and I want to leave.”

“Mr. Tate doesn’t have long.” Nora says as if I hadn’t spoken, “He will need all the high-frequency universal energy he can gather as he crosses over. To achieve his heart’s desire.” Her eyes are luminous and absolutely frighteningly sincere. “We believe you’ll be able to help with that.” She looks at Finn. “Mr. Markham is free to leave if he would like.”

Something snaps loose in me at her ridiculous calm as she talks about controlling my life. “I did what you asked.” My voice shakes, but it’s loud. “I told you where the necklace is. What exactly do you think this… does for your precious universal energy?” I wave my arms at the surrounding room. “Kidnapping people. Refusing to let me go. What kind of frequency do you think that puts out? Because I promise, if you keep me here, I will be putting out some seriously negative energy.”

Nora regards me with something that might almost be pity. “We’ll see.” Then, in what might be the scariest thing that’s happened today, she smiles blandly at me like we’re guests and says, “I’ll walk you back to your room so you can rest. I’ll have someone bring you food.”

I open my mouth to argue, but Finn finds my hand and squeezes.

The walk back to our room is quiet, and this time when the door closes behind us, it’s followed by a distinct click. Finn tries the door. He doesn’t have to tell me. They’ve locked us in.

He puts his arms around me, pulling me in tight, his mouth at my ear. His stubble rasps against my temple. Finn’s voice is barely a breath. “Don’t say anything out loud. I need to make another sweep to make sure they didn’t plant something while we were gone.”

I nod against his chest, my hands fisting in his shirt.

“I told you last night.” His lips tickle my ear, and even with his mouth that close, I still have to strain to hear him. “I got a message out. We were due back in Atlanta yesterday, and we’ve been dark for over a day now. With the tracker chip every operative got last year, they’ll know down to the room where we are.” His arm tightens, banding me against him, solid and warm, and the only real thing in this entire nightmare. “Trust me, Vincent and Brady are already building us a way out. We just have to be ready when it comes.”

I press my face into his neck and breathe him in. The buzzing disappears.

“How long?” I whisper, the words muffled against his skin.

“I don’t know.” His lips graze my hairline. “Soon.”

A knock on the door signals our food has arrived, and once the young woman in beige robes places the trays on the small table, the door is locked again.

Neither of us eats much.

Finn methodically goes through the room, retracing his steps from yesterday in search of surveillance. Satisfied, he lowers himself onto the edge of the bed beside me, close enough that his arm runs the length of mine.

“It’s clear. We can talk.”

Hera pads across the coverlet, and sensing my tension, she settles on my lap. For a moment, neither of us says anything at all.

Taking a deep breath, I gather my nerve. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” I tell him. “In front of everyone.”

His face is still blank. “What I said. When I was hypnotized.” I force myself to hold his eyes, even though it’s harder than it should be. “I don’t think I can lie when I’m hypnotized, so, I’m not going to pretend I didn’t mean it, because I did. I’ve loved you in some form or fashion for more than half my life. And I know, I didn’t know you then, the way I know you now, but that doesn’t⁠—”

“It didn’t make me uncomfortable.”

“I don’t want to make you feel you have to say⁠—”

His hands cup my face, tilting it up toward his. For a long second, he just looks at me, something fierce and almost pained flickering behind his eyes.

“It doesn’t make me uncomfortable,” he says. “It makes me feel… honored. I don’t deserve it. But I’m going to take it anyway.”

My pulse thunders, and I feel like something has sucked all the oxygen from the room.

“I love you, Lily.” The words come out raw. “I feel so much that it scares me. I’ve never been good with words. Or people.” He wrinkles his nose. “I’ve never needed them before you. But you came back into my life, and everything changed. I’ll never have enough words to explain it to you. I know that after everything you just learned about the people you trusted, you might not be ready to believe it yet. You might not trust it. But I’m going to spend every single day proving it to you, proving to you how special you are. How precious you are to me.”