Page 42 of Black Hearts

“Loud and clear. Remember the basil.”

I reached into my left pants pocket and grabbed the handful of herb cuttings I’d taken from the basil plant we bought last week. If any of the inner guards happened to see me coming in from the greenhouse, they’d probably want to know why, and I didn’t have time to be picking around the plants in here. The basil was my little green lifeline.

I reached the door and tried the handle. “Shit. It’s locked,” I muttered into my collar mic.

“Knock. Say you got locked out when the guard shows up.”

I gulped. “Okay. Here goes.”

I rapped on the door. Five minutes later, the inside patrol guard showed up. He was tall and wiry with heavy eyebrows, an aquiline nose and a mean, shrewd expression.

He opened the door and sized me up. “What the fuck are you doing? How’d you get in there?”

It seemed my fake maid disguise was passing for now. He was addressing me as if I belonged here, instead of calling for backup and saying there was an intruder.

I gave him a blank look. “You let me out half an hour ago. At least I think it was you,” I murmured. I held out the basil. “I was supposed to get this for the kitchen, but someone accidentally locked the door behind me. I’ve been knocking for ages.”

He narrowed his eyes, coolly assessing me. Then he picked up one of the basil leaves and sniffed it before putting it back in my hand. My heart felt like it was going to explode. “I don’t remember that,” he finally said. “And I don’t remember seeing you before, either.”

I licked my lips nervously. “I don’t know what you mean. I see you all the time,” I said softly, lowering my eyes to his shoes. “I’ve been here for eight years.”

“Hm. Right. I think I remember you now.” He tilted his head to the side. “Anna, right? You had red hair before?”

I was opening my mouth for a fast response—Yes, that’s me, I’m a natural redhead but they made me dye it recently—but something in the guard’s expression made me stiffen and hesitate. It was the cock of his head, the glint in his calm, unblinking eyes. Something was wrong; he still wasn’t sure that I belonged here. The questions had to be traps.

I shook my head. “No, it’s Jessica, and my hair used to be brown. They made me change it a few months ago. William said he was sick of all the brunettes and wanted more blondes around the place.”

The guard chuckled. Apparently I’d passed his little test. “Sounds like old Bill, all right,” he said. He finally stepped aside to let me past.

“Thank you,” I murmured.

Before I could take a step forward, he stopped me. “Hold on. Show me your mark,” he said, regarding me with suspicion again. His left hand hovered just above his two-way radio.

I swallowed hard, terror dropping straight through me like a cold black stone. The hardwood floor felt like it was turning to water beneath me.

I knew I might encounter an overzealous guard while I tried to infiltrate the mansion, and so I’d been prepared to think on my feet, but I hadn’t expected any of them to be so fanatical that they’d demand to see my circle carving.

I didn’t have one, obviously. The second I lifted my shirt to show him my smooth, unscarred abdomen, it would be over. Shit, shit, shit. I was barely even in the house, and already I’d been burned.

“Fuck. I’m coming in,” Alex muttered, softly enough that the guard wouldn’t hear the voice coming from my earpiece.

I silently willed him to wait just five more seconds as something occurred to me. A possible way out.

“I….” I lowered my gaze shamefully and bit my lip. “My circle isn’t on my stomach.”

“Huh?” The guard’s brows furrowed.

“I was bad when I arrived. They couldn’t control me. So… so they decided to teach me an extra lesson by carving it somewhere… else.” I slipped the basil back in my pants pocket, then delicately fingered the zipper. “If you have to see it, I’ll show you.”

I undid the black button above the zipper and made a show of slowly unzipping the pants.

The guard thankfully fell for my bluff, turning up his nose in a disgusted expression and slapping my arm away from my crotch. “Jesus Christ,” he muttered. “No, I don’t want to see that, for fuck’s sake. Forget it. Just go back to the kitchen, okay?”

“Yes, sir.”

He stalked away, and finally, I felt like I could breathe again. I zipped my pants back up, and Alex murmured in my ear. “Good save. I was about to come in and shoot the prick, but I suppose that would ruin all our plans, wouldn’t it?”

“Yes. I’m sorry I used Lina’s story,” I whispered as I hurried down the hall.

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