Page 81 of Hero Worship

“Not this time,” I promised.

He sighed and looked at me with a sad smile. “You should go. Before they find you in here. It’s one thing for them to find me in here. They’re used to my…wandering. But if they find you? They’ll kill you.”

“Misha,” I started, but he shook his head.

“Please go. Leave this place. Get out before they…Before Roche gets their claws in you too.”

I crossed the room, stopping in front of Misha. “I’m not leaving without you,” I promised.

Then I slipped past him, my chest tight. I was more determined than ever to save Misha now, and to make Roche pay for what they’d done to him.

I swayed slightly as I made my way back from Roche’s study, trying to keep my trembling under control. My heart was still pounding out a wild beat in my chest, and the USB drive felt like it was burning a hole in the secret pocket in my dress where itwas hidden. Thirty seconds of access was all Xavier had needed. Now we just had to maintain our cover long enough to spring the trap.

Ash’s laughter echoed down the hall, the sound dark and creepy and so unlike him that I shivered. When I entered, I found him standing with Roche near the window, both of them holding crystal highball glasses of some amber liquid. Ash seemed right at home with Roche. The sight made me uneasy.

“There you are, pet,” Ash said once he noticed me.

“Sorry,” I mumbled demurely and pressed against my side. “Everything here is so pretty. It’s hard not to get distracted.”

Roche tilted their head, studying me. “Are you feeling better? You seem a bit more…coherent than before.”

A chill ran through me, but I put on a lazy smile. “A little.” Then I leaned forward and cupped my hand next to my mouth, speaking in a fake whisper. “Daddy gave me some special pills.”

Roche chuckled and set their glass down, moving closer. “Misha calls them his vitamins. He finds the stress of life so unbearable, and I can’t stand the idea of it marring his beautiful features. It’s so important that beautiful things be kept beautiful. Wouldn’t you agree, Ash?”

Roche’s hand slipped under my chin, tilting my face up so that my eyes met theirs. I wanted to recoil. Instead, I let my eyes flutter half closed, playing the perfect, demure, docile pet.

“Tell me,” Roche purred. “You’d do anything to please your daddy, wouldn’t you?”

“Whatever he wants.”

Roche smiled and withdrew their hand. “That’s how my Misha is, too. So obedient. So lovely and willing to please. Speaking of him…Where is my Misha?”

Roche lifted a small silver bell from their desk and rang it once. The delicate chime echoed through the room, and within moments, Misha appeared in the doorway.

“You called, sir?”

“There you are, my treasure.” Roche beckoned him closer. “Come, it’s time for us to give our guests a proper tour.”

Misha glided toward us, but I caught the tiny tremor in his hands, the flash of terror in his eyes before they went vacant. He was a better actor than I’d realized. The drugs might’ve made him pliant, but they hadn’t broken him completely.

As soon as Misha was close enough, Roche closed a hand around his throat. Misha let him. “I thought we could show our guests our special art room. Where the magic happens.”

My stomach turned. His special art room? More like a torture chamber. The weight of the ceramic blade strapped to my thigh felt heavier with every passing second, but I maintained my stupid smile. Just a few more minutes and Roche would be mine. If I gave them only a glimpse of the suffering he’d put others through, this would all be worth it.

“I’d love to see that,” Ash said, setting his drink aside.

Roche clapped their hands together. “Wonderful! Follow me!”

We followed them to a bookcase on the far side of the study where Roche stood up on their tiptoes to pull down a worn hardcover ofFrankenstein. A section of the bookshelf groaned and slid aside, revealing a hidden staircase.

A blast of cold air struck my face, carrying the scent of antiseptic and something distinctly morgue-like. The place smelled like my older brother, River, when he got off work, which didn’t bode well for us. River was a mortician. Until I met Roche, I didn’t think anyone could love caring for dead bodies more than River.

I bet they’d have some interesting conversations, I thought as Ash placed a steady hand on my hip.Right up until the point where River shoved his trocar in Roche’s belly and gave them a taste of their own medicine.

As we started down the stairs leading into Roche’s private hell, a cold certainty settled in my bones. Roche thought they were leading us into a trap, but really, they were walking right into ours.

The door clicked shut behind us with the finality of a coffin lid closing. But this time, I wasn’t afraid. This time, I was the monster in the dark.

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