Page 4 of Seducing Jenny
I was already rising to my feet. “Let me change and then let’s go.”
CHAPTER 2
Mal
My mouth was filled with soft, dry fibers and the realization made me cough. I smacked my tongue to the roof of my mouth, trying to produce any kind of moisture. It was then that I remembered everything all at once. My eyes flipped open, and there was no serenity bag on my head anymore.
I had been taken from my home by palace guards. An old-fashioned needle was jammed into my neck to deliver some kind of drug. As I had drifted away from the injection, I had hoped to wake up. I had not given any thought to where I might wake.
I’m in a bedroom not a prison.
The sunslight looked like afternoon light as it poured around the edges of the heavy blue curtains. Two pairs along each outer wall, almost next to each other.A corner bedroom. The bedroom’s interior walls were coffee-black wood panels, the way older mansions used to be built.
I sat up on the bed and discovered I was not bound to it in any way. The manacles they had put me in were gone. My wrists weren’t even chaffed, so I hadn’t worn them for long.
A desk matched the wooden walls, and there was no interface. Not even a vintage computer. Only paper and an inkwell with a feather for a pen. Instinctively, I reached for my gauntlet driver on my left forearm, but that was long gone. There were no other visible forms of communication in the room.
I stood up and pressed along the walls, hoping to produce a monitor or a drop driver or anything that would be of use. But there was nothing at all. Where there weren’t wooden panels, there were bookshelves stuffed with old, musty, leather-bound books. But the air did not smell like the library at my mansion. It smelled of the sea.
Throwing wide the curtains, the windows revealed a vast sparkling blue ocean. I cracked a window open and listened to the waves crash against the rocks far below.This house must be three or four stories high. Seabirds chirped and shouted over the waves, while large fish sprang up to eat them.
I closed the window and studied the room for weapons. Break the desk chair apart, hone the legs against the floor for a stake. Take the books apart, use the bedsheets to wrap them around the torso for a decent armor. Shatter the windows to sharp powder and put that at the door, so no one can sneak in. But then I remembered what an ex of mine had once told me to do in a tight spot.
He was a professional bastard and had spent a lifetime getting into and out of trouble, so when I found myself at any kind of a crossroads, I thought of him. Even after we had broken up, we had remained friends. Kind of. He was despicable in the truest sense, but I still had a fondness for him, and more importantly, for his advice.
Listen. He had always told me I did not listen enough.
So, I took his advice. I silenced my mind and stowed the encroaching panic for later. I tipped my head to enhance my hearing. Waves crashing. Birds squawking. I tried to hear inside the house and failed, which left me with two options.
Stay and prepare for battle or explore my new location.
There were no good options, and my body was desperate for both water and a bathroom, so I looked for quick weapons while my mind raced.If Justice brought me to the coast to kill me, I’m not going to make it easy for him.
I yanked two pillowcases from the bed set, then wrapped them around my fists. I did not want to take the time to make book cover armor, but I knew I should protect my hands.
Slowly, I turned the doorknob, in case of a guard or trap. When it unlatched, I expected a fight, and every muscle in my body tensed.
But there was nothing.
Cracking the door, I peered out the edge and into the hallway. No guards. No visible traps. Both relieved and a little insulted, I opened it all the way and my hackles jumped when the hinges squeaked.
I froze. But no one came.
The hallway was the same dark wood. Antique portraits hung on the walls and were in dire need of repair. But a jade vase of fresh white seablooms sat in the corner near another closed door. The flowers were said to clean the air of bad spirits, an ancient custom of those who lived near the ocean. Coastal Ladrians tended toward the superstitious more than city dwelling Ladrians, so I was not surprised to see the exotic flowers, but it was always a nice reminder that even flowers were often taller than me.
I was shortish for a Ladrian, just over seven feet tall, but at least I was not a half-size, like Surge. My eyes squeezed shut at the thought. I could not think of my friends because thoughts ofthem would make me think of the people I loved and if I thought of them, I could not do what I needed to escape this bizarre seaside prison.
As I made my way down the hallway, I listened for any other footsteps. There was nothing. No sounds in the hallways. No hint of machinery. No hum of electricity.
I looked around, slowly realizing there were no outlets or electric switches on the walls.Where the hell am I?
At the end of the hallway, stairs led down. I tensed, jaw set, my body already bracing for a fight. Each step betrayed me. Squeaks and groans. If I had to battle my way out of here it wouldn’t be a surprise attack. It would be blood and splinters and bruises.
Shoes scuffed below me. My arms retracted, ready to strike. As soon as I hit the next floor, a voice rang out—male and startled—and I swung. Hard.
My fist connected with his jaw. The younger man landed on his ass, slumped against the wall.
He held his hands up. “Whoa, hey, no need for all that.”
