Page 76 of Tower

“Peter,” she cried out, unable to see through her tears. Where was he? “Peter!” she cried out again.

“Shh, I have you. It’s okay, Azalea. Everything’s going to be okay.” Damien’s voice, his hands on her wrists. “Shit! This is deep!”

She was lowered from the restraints, laid on the platform. Fabric pressed against her neck.

“It doesn’t hurt.” She rolled her head to the side. “Peter,” she whispered.

Someone turned off the lights again. The spotlight didn’t return. Voices faded.

Everything faded.

Chapter 24

“Peter.” Ashland Titon brought him out of his haze of pain medicine and sleep.

Peter opened his eyes. “What are you doing here?” he asked his cousin and sat up in his bed.

“First of all, I live here, asshole. Second—Daniel called me.”

“I told him not to do that.”

“Well, he works for me, not you.” Ash sank into the armchair in the corner of Peter’s bedroom. “He also told me you haven’t come out of this room in three days.” Ash leaned forward and pressed his hands on his knees. “Just gonna lay up here and lick your wounds?”

“Shut up.” Peter threw the covers back and stood up, letting his head stop spinning before heading to the bathroom to take a piss. He stubbed his toe on the hope chest and let out a curse.

“Yeah, you’re going to have to watch that. Depth perception takes two eyes,” Ash called after him.

Peter touched the patch over his left eye. They’d tried to save it, but there had been no hope. He was lucky to have his life; if he’d jerked in the other direction, he would have had a face full of bullet instead.

“Fuck you.” Peter waved a hand at his cousin and made it to the bathroom without further incident. The pain had dulled enough not to keep him on edge, but he still needed to get used to his vision being only one-sided.

When he returned, Ash sat in the same spot, same position.

“What do you want?” Peter asked with a huff.

“I wanted to make sure for myself you were okay—and given your asshole attitude, I’d say you’re fine. Physically, at least.” Ash leaned back in the chair, resting his left ankle over his right knee. Obviously, settling in for a long talk.

Peter grabbed a pair of jeans from the end of the bed and stuffed his legs into them. “Well, since you can see I’m fine, why don’t you be on your way?” Peter waved at the door. With Ash back, he could move into the penthouse right away. Maybe today.

“Got a call from Jansen. He’d like to know what happened to the shipment of girls he was supposed to get in exchange for getting you asshats into that auction.” Ash wasn’t one to mince words.

Peter snagged a T-shirt from his dresser and shoved it over his head, pushing his arms through the sleeves. “You’ll have to ask Hunter that question.”

“I suggested that—seeing as he’s his nephew and all. Hunter’s claiming there were no girls. Said the cells under Bellatrix’s house were all empty.” Ash tilted his head.

Peter wanted a cigarette. Strange since he hadn’t lit one since high school.

“You really want to know?”

Ash shook his head. “No. I don’t. But I’ll choose to assume the missing girls from Bellatrix’s house have nothing to do with the increase in Annex staff in the last few days.”

Peter looked up at his cousin, tired and sore. “Good choice.”

“And I’m sure every one of the girls we’ve just hired has been given a choice.”

“Every last one of them. A few will be working with Daniel to find their families. But they aren’t staff, they’re guests.” Peter sat on the edge of the bed, wanting to sink back into the softness of the mattress and try to forget the last few weeks.

“Now.” Ash sighed. “The girl.”

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