Page 32 of Beautiful Prey

I sat in my car, staring up at St. Agnes as the sunset cast orange fire over the building and through the trees. My next session with Emery was starting soon, but I was so anxious I’d arrived early, only to sit in silence now, afraid to go in.

The last day and a half felt like a lifetime. I took to focusing on my work, my thesis, anything to keep my mind off what had happened a few nights ago. The nightmares were in full swing now—rabbits screaming like children, being buried alive. The cries woke me up in a sweat. Emery’s presence was there as well, a twisted shadow in my dreams. “Help me,” he whispered in a child-like voice. And then he was that little boy again from the picture.

I stared at the photo several times, imagining what it was like for him in those rooms, away from the light and from the happiness any child deserved.

Then I thought back to what Liam had told me. About Emery being locked in a narrow cell. Only to wait to die.

Even if it would be the perfect justice, I couldn’t feel an ounce of happiness. In fact, I only felt worse.

And it had a lot to do with the warehouse. I thought over where I might find the code to the safe or what it might be. Iknew at some point I’d have to go to the other storage unit and look around.

With the nightmares, the roadblock that was the safe, and the unraveling of what my father’s company had been doing, my mood wasn’t chipper to say the least.

Seeing Liam had only aggravated that more. I didn’t need another unstable guy in my life. And still, I worried what he was up to. Why he was back. Why he felt the need to tell me anything. I didn’t trust him.

“I honestly didn’t think he would show up,” Lena had whispered when she saw my look of death as I went to say goodbye the night of the party. “And honestly, didn’t think you would either! Give me a break.”

Liam had hardly been a boyfriend anyway. We had only gone on a few dates before I found the bastard had been hired to investigate me by some source only known to him. All so someone could get the inside on the girl who went through a night of hell. He wouldn’t even tell me what they wanted to know and why. It was confidential.

Fuck him. And whoever hired him.

He was Jamie’s cousin. Jamie was sympathetic at least. And made sure Liam knew how he felt about what he did to me. Even stopped talking to him for a while. When I told Jamie goodbye that night of the party, he said he was sorry for not telling me Liam might show up and I forgave him even if he didn’t deserve it.

As a few leaves fell on to the windshield of my car, I unbuckled my seat and grabbed my bag.

Eager to start my session with Emery, I almost didn’t catch the blue Mustang that sat a few car lengths down. I’d only ever seen the car peeling down the road opposite me. Always on Emery’s bad days.

Rigid, I walked up the small steps, waving to the few maintenance men working out on the yard. As I pulled open the door, a warm breeze pressed my blouse and skirt to me.

“Ms. Eve,” John greeted me at the security station inside. “Dr. Langley wants to talk in his office.”

As John took me down the hall, past the security point, I heard a low painful moan from one of the rooms that made the hairs on my neck stand on end.

“Eve.” Dr. Langley’s gaze looked concerned despite his attempt at a smile when we entered his office. He stepped aside to let me in and that’s when I saw the red-headed woman in a rose-colored dress sitting behind him. She gave me a tight smile, her icy blue eyes sharp and not friendly at all. “This is Dr. Hannah,” Langley said. “Emery’s case worker.”

The older woman stood and offered her hand, fingers covered by silver and onyx rings. I took her hand, noticing how cold it was. “You’re Ms. Layne? Wow, so young,” she said more to Langley than to me. “And this is your first time interviewing a patient?”

I took my hand back as I sat in the chair next to hers and Dr. Langley sat at his desk. Dr. Hannah took her seat again, crossing her legs.

“Not my first time,” I said.

“But definitely not someone like Emery, I’m sure.” She laughed. “But I have to say, I’m shocked he met with you. Or that you were so inclined to see him.”

“I’m doing a thesis on him,” I explained.

“Ah, right. Jeffery mentioned you were a student,” she said, peering back at Langley with that tight smile.

I looked between them, then said, “Is there an issue?”

“Not at all, Eve. Dr. Hannah just wanted to meet you in person when I informed her how well you were doing with Emery.”

“I’ve been his case worker for a year now and I’ve never seen this much progress in his mood,” Dr. Hannah added, her eyes intent on me. “I’ll admit, I was concerned about letting a student near him. He hardly responds well to my treatment. But Jeffery was convinced you could help somehow.” She touched my shoulder and it took everything for me not to flinch back. “I’m glad it’s working out. But who knows how long this might last. His moods are always changing. Still, we should take advantage of this situation while we can.”

I frowned. “How do you mean?”

Dr. Langley cleared his throat. “Dr. Hannah has been very adamant concerning Emery’s need for psychiatric treatment, including the need to prescribe him medication.”

“Which he refused to take,” Dr. Hannah said. “No amount of persuasion will move him. He throws them down the drain with every meal. When we tried to stop that, he’d crush them and throw them in a corner. We tried to keep meals from him if he didn’t take them but he stopped eating.” She shook her head, as if despaired. “We tried to administer them through his food in secret and he could somehow taste it and make himself sick. We’ve tried multiple times by physical force and each time he became violent.”

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