Page 3 of He Will Always Love Me

I make my way up two stories to the vault even though I have next to no money to deposit. Maybe it’s wishful thinking. Maybe I’m just jealous and don’t want to look at Maisie anymore. Doesn’t matter. I figure at least it’s a chance to stretch my legs.

I almost quit and head back to the floor when I realize the hover pad elevator isn’t working. That’s weird. It’s not the kind of equipment that normally breaks down. I don’t know if it’s ever stopped working in the three years I’ve worked here, to be honest.

I almost turn around right then and head back to the floor. It’s not like I actually need to go upstairs. Then I shrug and decide I might as well take the walk. I’m bored anyway, and I’ve made it this far.

A guard nods at me as I pass him on my way to the stairwell. He pushes a couple of buttons and scans his thumbprint. The door slides back into the wall, letting me pass.

I’m out of breath when I reach the vault room. Normally, we just insert our credstick into a data port next to the door. I’m already holding my credstick out as I approach when I notice the door is cracked open. It’s almost imperceptible. If I had only glanced down the hall from a distance, I’m not sure I’d have noticed.

“That’s really weird,” I mutter, a funny clenching feeling in my chest. Slowly, as though it could burn me, I put one hand out to push the door open a little wider.

It gives easily, creaking a little as it rolls open. I hold my breath, trying to get the courage to look inside and see what’s going on.

It’s probably nothing. Most likely, it’s a manager in there or something. It’s not like people don’t go in there just because I never have.

I don’t think my shoulders are even past the threshold of the door when a hard, muscular body bumps into me.

“Ouch!” I say reflexively, stunned by how much it hurts. I’m practically seeing stars, just from a tiny collision. I take a step back, trying to gather my wits about me.

That’s when I take in the person before me. He doesn’t belong here. He definitely doesn’t belong here. I want to scream, shout for a guard, anything, but I can’t. There’s no air in my lungs.

Only a split second later, it’s already too late. He snatches me by my ponytail and drags me into the vault room with him. Then he clamps his hand over my mouth. I try to bite down, desperate for anything that will make him let go of me, but he only laughs.

“Are you serious?” he scoffs. His breath is warm in my ear as he presses into me, my back tight to his front so that he can hold me still.

I try to look at my captor out of the corner of my eye. His skin is black and thick, with jagged teeth that seem to form a perpetual grimace. His silver hair is short, showing off a thick, muscular neck that matches the rest of his hard form.

For some reason, my only thought is that he looks like he used to be handsome. I don’t know why it occurs to me at all, considering it’s regarding a person I saw for the first time about ten seconds ago. But when I look at him, it seems like a fact that he was once very, very handsome, and still perhaps is. But it’s hard to see it underneath all his anger.

He must feel my eyes on him. He spins me around and pins me against the wall, shifting so that he can lean down to look me in the eyes. His hand is still covering my mouth, the meaty pad of his palm shoved between my teeth so that I can’t make a sound.

His red eyes probe mine, and I can’t look away. Even when he speaks, I don’t hear what he says the first time. I’m busy studying those eyes, feeling as though I’m lost in another world, one that lies behind them.

For just a moment, I can see him with golden skin instead, and then it washes away so quickly it’s as if it was never there at all.

I can’t help but shiver.

He pulls his head back, looking at me accusingly. Did he just go into whatever trance I did? Does he think I’m responsible?

But then the grimace settles over his face again, and he moves his other hand to the back of my neck. “You’re coming with me,” he decides. I’m tempted to ask him what that even means, but everything suddenly starts swimming in my vision as my head gets light.

Too late, I realize he’s pinching a nerve in the back of my neck. I squirm, trying to lift my leg to kick him away, but the fight is over before it even begins. My knee barely reaches to graze his thigh before the pulsing in my ears swells and everything goes dark.

“Why didn’t you just kill her?”

Whoever that is, they sound angry. I guess you’d have to be, if you were trying to kill someone.

“Are you questioning my judgment, Renari?” another voice snaps back. “You’re here to assist me, you remember.”

“Well, let me assist you in getting rid of her. She’s going to bring problems, Karvex. When did we get in the business of hostages? Especially ones who have no value?”

“Who says she has no value?”

The first voice snorts, but there’s no humor at all. “She’s a human. They’re all powerless and broke. What could you possibly get out of keeping her? It’s one more mouth to feed.”

It’s only at this point that the fog clears from my brain enough to realize they’re talking about me. Everything rushes back in a flood, and I open my eyes to figure out just where I am before I can think twice.

I realize with dismay that I probably should have pretended to sleep a little longer. I might have learned something useful.

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