Page 6 of Deadmen's Queen

“Come on, baby,” I said. “Let’s get you out of here.”

I led her down the hallway, and back out to my car. Her body was shaking though she walked without stumbling. She seemed so small, so fragile. I just wanted to wrap her up in my arms and carry her, but it was getting to mid-morning and more students were appearing around the dorms, and I didn’t want to draw any more attention to her. She was unnaturally quiet, her hands clutching onto my arm with a death-like grip.

Outside, the skies had turned a stormy grey, heavy clouds rolling and rumbling overhead, as though reflecting my dark mood. The wind whipped around us, tugging strands of Paige’s hair loose. My heart pounded and I could almost taste the fury boiling in my veins, but I kept my face calm and my grip on Paige steady as I led her to my car. I opened the passenger side for her, gently guiding her in.

She climbed in mechanically, her body moving without any sign of conscious thought, and settled into the seat. I reached over, pulling the belt across her body and clicking her in.

“Thanks,” she whispered. I touched her face gently, then closed the door. I walked around the car, but stopped as I reached the back end, leaning against the car as I sucked in some deep breaths. Losing my shit wasn’t going to help Paige. Looking down at the red envelopes in my hand, I flicked open a couple. Most were more flattering than the most recent, but I didn’t give a fuck.

I reached for my phone then dialled Nate's number. It rang just twice before he picked up. His voice was sharp and no nonsense as always.

“Bast.”

“Nate, let them know we won’t be at the meeting this afternoon. Something’s come up.”

There was a pause on the other end. “He won’t like that, Bast.” He being Nate’s father. Anyone else, Nate would tell them to get fucked, but around his father, he was a different man. Not for the first time, I wondered why he was clearly so fucking terrified of a man that he was a foot taller and a foot wider, but right now I had other things on my mind.

“I don’t give a shit. Tell him it's an emergency. Just let him know.”

“Alright. What happened?”

“There's a situation with Paige.” There was another pause on the other end of the call, this one longer.

“What kind of situation?” Nate asked.

“She's been getting threatening messages. Notes under her door at night. She thought they were from the Club. Turns out she has a fucking stalker.” My lips twisted in the semblance of a smile at the irony of the girl we were stalking has an actual fucking stalker.

“What?”

“We just got back to her dorm, and he’s left the word “slut” on her door, and her room’s been trashed. Left a dead bird on her bed with a knife sticking out of it. She’s a fucking mess. I’m taking her back to ours.”

“Fuck. Do you need me home?”

“No, not yet. I’ll be sending you an address shortly. Meet me there. Be discreet.”

“Got it.” His voice turned cold, and I nodded, even though he couldn’t hear me.

“We’re going to track this fucker down, Nate,” I said. I disconnected the call and then dialled another number.

“Tristan.”

“Bast? Shouldn’t you be back by now? Is everything ok?”

“No, not exactly.” I filled him in briefly.

“Shit, is Paige ok?”

“No, I think she’s in shock. I’m taking her back to ours, but I need a couple of things from you.”

“Anything.”

“Did you remove all the cameras around Paige’s dorm?”

“Yes. As soon as we decided she was in, there was no need to keep an eye on her.”

“Fuck, I was afraid you’d say that. Ok, I need you to organise a couple of guys to come over to her dorm, see if they can figure anything out from what he left behind. Then her stuff needs removing, anything not saveable put in storage, anything that can be rescued, get it cleaned up and brought to ours. She’ll be staying with us permanently from now on.”

“Got it, I know a few good guys who’ll be ideal. Is that it?”

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