Page 5 of Pretty Monsters

Finally, the whine of the motor sounds, and we wait until she's pulling past us to slip out of the gate just before it slams shut. We move through the woods, again silently this time more out of habit than necessity.

Once we make it to the car Lucien slumps forward leaning against the hood. Whatever he found inside the basement is weighing on him.

"That bad, huh?" I ask and light up a cigarette.

"He was my dad's fucking business partner," he bites out and kicks the tire of the car.

I only nod. Honestly, it's what I've been expecting. "How long are we going to continue to follow his orders? I'm sure it hasn't escaped your notice that your dad fits the same profile of the guys we go after. The ones he sends us after."

He hangs his head. "It hasn't, and I don't think it's escaped his either."

"You think your dad is going to have me killed soon, don't you?" I ask, but with as much interest as you'd ask after the weather. I'd come to terms with the fact Damien likely saw me as expendable.

"Listen to you. You just asked me if my dad was going to have you killed like I'd ask what was playing at the theater."

I smirk. "He'd still have to find someone to carry out his order. Even then they'd have to be able to do it. I don't know of anyone else who's been trained since kindergarten to kill, do you?" I take a long drag of my cigarette and blow out the smoke waiting for his answer.

He looks at me as if I'm a mythical creature just risen to devour the earth. "Most of the time you are just my friend, I forget how royally fucked up you are."

I salute him. "You should thank me for that shit. If it wasn't me, it might have been you. Your daddy dearest wanted the ultimate soldier. If he hadn't bought me to join the family, it might have been you."

"Speaking of things that might be me. I don't think it's so much as my dad is going to put out a hit on you as he is going to put a hit on us."

I can accept I'm easily replaceable to Damien, but Lucien is the prince of his dark kingdom. No way is he going to throw away his only son.

"I can see you don't believe me, but I found the proof he wanted destroyed."

"Well, don't leave me hanging, what is it?"

He takes a deep breath. "My birth certificate, two of them actually. One of them is the one I've seen with him and my mother listed as my parents. There was another one though, with a teenage girl named Natalie listed as my mother, and father listed as unknown."

"Fuck." I toss my spent cigarette on the ground and snuff it out with my boot. "What are we going to do?"

Lucien tips his head up. "We're going to fucking survive, and bring the house down on his head."

"Sounds great, do you have an actual plan?"

"No fucking idea. We do have an hour ride back to hell though."

I open the passenger door and jump in. "Sure, let's go back to the place people probably want us dead."

My Personal Ghost

Raven

Like last night,I wait until the giant guarding my bedroom door steps away from his post. I haven't been explicitly told not to leave my room, but the fact there's a sentry posted outside makes me assume I'm not meant to go out.

This time though, I'm going wearing more than the stupid night gown that was set out for me. Ever since my father brought me back here after my graduation from boarding school maids have been choosing my clothing. There's no accounting for my actual taste. Instead, I've been dressed like a doll in overly feminine clothes that seem to be more appropriate for a young girl, not a mostly grown ass woman.

For example, right now I'm wearing a knee length pink dress with fucking ruffles. I had clothes I'd packed and brought back with me from school, but I haven't seen them since I moved to this house. I'd call it home, but I don't have a single memory from this house. If I ever lived here, which I doubt, I haven't been back since I was sent to boarding school in elementary school.

I sneak down the back staircase and hear loud chatter going on in the main room of the house. No one seems to be heading this way, so I take the chance and slip out the back door. This time the sun is setting, and I can see a well-worn path through the trees. It must be where my intruder was hiding last night.

Curiosity wins, and I decide to follow the path. I'm totally not looking for my personal ghost. That would be silly. His look screamed danger. Granted, he is wrapped in a delicious package, but then the sweetest sins usually are. At over six feet tall he moved like a hunter, all his leonine muscles working together to help him stalk his prey without them even noticing.

Thinking of him makes me look over my shoulder, but I'm alone with my thoughts, as always. One day soon I'll walk out that door and not return. Something tells me I'd be much better off forging a life for myself alone than to wait and see the reason I'm being treated like delicate porcelain inside my father's house.

I walk past an old cabin, and the sound of water babbling over rocks lures me further. At the end of the meandering trail there's a weathered dock jutting out over the creek swollen with the early summer rain. It's peaceful here, and the perfect place to watch the sun dip below the horizon.

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