Page 44 of Vicious King

“I am centered,” I said indignantly.

He held up his palms in the same placating gesture he’d aimed at the couple earlier. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it in a bad way. I just meant that you’ve obviously been through some trauma, so it might be good to take a few minutes to relax and collect your thoughts now that you’re finally in a safe place.”

“Okay,” I said in a small voice. He had a point. I was still teetering on the edge, barely used to my newfound freedom. It might take a while for me to fully accept it.

“Is there anyone you want me to call?”

For a split-second, I was struck with the urge to ask him to contact Elias. I wanted him to know I was safe and warm and so very sorry for drugging him. Leaving him.

No.I dismissed the notion immediately. Not sorry.

The chief sat with his hands clasped on the table, waiting patiently for a response. I stared down at my lap, trying to figure out who he could call for me. Obviously not my parents. They got me into this horrible situation in the first place. Not my friends, either. They were mad at me over the bullshit my parents told them, so they’d probably think it was a crank call and hang up if I gave the police their number.

In fact, everyone else I could think of right now would think it was a crank call too. My story sounded completely insane. But there had to be someone who would listen…

“Henry Davenport.” I finally looked back up. “He… he’s a friend of mine. I don’t want to talk to anyone else. Not even my family.”

I didn’t actually know Mellie’s brother, but I had a feeling he might help me. He’d once tried to warn me about Mellie, after all. On top of that, he was the only person in the world who would immediately believe what I had to say, seeing as he’d gone through a similar nightmare with the secret society.

The chief picked up a pen and scribbled down the name. “Number?”

“I don’t remember it off the top of my head. But he lives here in Connecticut. If that’s even where we are.”

He nodded. “Yes, we are. I’ll try to track down your friend. You sit tight.”

He stood and left the room. Fifteen minutes passed. Then another five. I slowly sipped at the coffee and nervously twiddled my thumbs, waiting, waiting, waiting…

Black horror suddenly struck me, and my stomach dropped. I’d made a cataclysmic mistake. Mellie told me that Henry was always being tracked and monitored by Crown and Dagger to ensure he kept his mouth shut about them. That meant they were listening in on his phone calls too. As soon as the police called him and told him about me, the society would know exactly where I was.

Shit, shit, shit!

How could I be so stupid?

I ran out of the room, but I knew I was probably too late. Chances were high that they’d already called him. Still, I had to try and stop Henry from getting in trouble because of me. I could say I misspoke, and that I meant to give them a different name. Harry, not Henry. Something like that.

“Hello?” I headed back out to reception. There was no one there. I shouted louder. “Hello? Please, I got tongue-tied and said the wrong name! Not Henry Davenport. Harry. Harry Devon! I was just… I was confused!”

A door opened, and the chief appeared again, a frown on his face. “Miss Marris, please go back into the interview room. Everything is fine.”

“Didn’t you hear me? I said the wrong name. Please don’t ask Henry to come here!”

“Calm down. I didn’t call him,” he said soothingly.

My shoulders slumped. Oh, thank god.

“Your father is coming to pick you up,” the chief went on.

My eyes widened. A cold black stone of pure fear dropped through my guts. “No!” I shook my head wildly. “Please, you can’t let my parents come here. It was their fault! They sold me to the society in the first place!”

“He’s already on his way. I know how confused you are, Miss Marris, but everything will be fine.”

I sank to the floor. “No, no, no!” I wailed. “You don’t know what you’ve done!”

“Trust me, I do. This is my job. Everything is going to be okay,” the chief replied in that annoyingly peaceful voice. He had no idea.

I decided to make a break for it. My father probably wouldn’t get here for at least an hour and a half, given how far away we were from the coastal city he lived in with my mother, so if I could get the hell out of this place and find a ride to another town, I could start over there. Find a smarter police chief. Not this idiot who’d found and contacted my fucking family against my will.

I got up and dashed toward the main station door. Then I froze in my tracks.

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