Page 86 of Pretty Poisoned

"Nothing is going to happen to you, but I don't think you're going to like it; that's all. Please don't hate me for this."

"I won't."

He places a hand on each of my cheeks. "I love you, Teagan. I know you don't like it when I say that, but—"

"No, it's okay," I say. "I like it."

He kisses me, sliding his tongue into my mouth. I wrap my arms around his neck just as the door opens and Declan, also in a suit, climbs into the back and sits down.

"You need to blindfold her," Declan says.

"What?" I ask.

"Sorry, baby," Luca says. "It's just for the car ride."

He pulls a piece of black cloth from his pocket, folds it in half, and covers my eyes. I fist his shirt as he ties it behind my head, and the car starts moving. He pulls me into him, and I rest my head against his chest as the dome light turns off, and everything goes dark.

"I've got you," Luca says.

"You need to stop babying her," Declan says. "She'll be fine."

"H-how long is the drive?" I ask.

"Can't really tell you that," Declan says. "It'll be a while. I'm going to give you something that's going to help you, Teagan. Open up."

"What is it?"

"You're just going to have to trust me," Declan says.

"I've got her," Luca says. "Open your mouth, baby."

I feel his finger against my lips and open like he asked. He sets a chalky, bitter tablet on my tongue, and then I feel the rim of a glass bottle against my lips.

"This is just whiskey, okay?"

I open, fill my mouth with whiskey, and wash down the pill, then lean against Luca for the rest of the drive. I don't know how long it takes to get there, and I guess that's part of the point. If I had to guess, I'd say maybe an hour, hour and a half. But being blindfolded may have made it feel longer. I do know that when the car finally stops and they remove my blindfold, we're deep into the mountains. It's dark, and we're at an isolated home built into the side of a cliff.

A man in a dark hood wearing a gold skull mask, the mouth twisted into a smile, waits at the doorway. "Names?" he asks.

"Declan and Luca De Rossi," Declan says. "This is Teagan Townsend."

"She's not on the list," the man says. "What's her purpose?"

"She's ours," Declan says simply.

He seems to accept that as an answer. "We'll need to make a record of her," he says. He nods at another man, also wearing the same mask, waiting near the door who then approaches us.

"Come with me," he says.

I look at Luca, who grips my hand tightly. "Come on," he says. "You'll be okay. I'll be with you."

We enter the home, and he ushers me aside. "Sit," the man says.

I do as he asks, sitting at a desk. Luca sits beside me while Declan waits in the doorway, leaning against its frame.

"Identification?" the man asks.

I remove my wallet from my purse and, with shaky hands, thumb through the contents. I almost take out Blakely's ID, but Luca stops me.

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