Page 42 of Dolls & Daggers
He’s staring at my neck.
Why would he be…
Oh, fuck!
Wrenley
It couldn’t be.
“I need to get going. Consider your exclusive interviewover.” The Doll shakes her head, her hair falling back over her ear.
Call me crazy, but I could have sworn there was a bruise on her neck when she tucked her hair back—exactly where I grabbed Dove two nights ago.
“Wait!” I reach out but jerk back in alarm as she whips her dagger toward me, edging around before spinning and darting down the hall.
“Don’t follow me!” she snaps.
But I couldn’t even if I wanted to. I’m frozen in place, struggling to reconcile what I just saw. When she spun, her hair flew off her neck again, revealing the bruising once more. It wasn’t a trick of the light.
Was it?
No. There’s no way. She’s taller than Dove. Her body felt…
Memories of that night crash to the forefront of my mind. The Doll and Dove have the same curves. The same dips and crevices in their thighs and waists, the same swell of their breasts pressing against my chest.
At least five minutes pass before I snap into action, grabbing my cell and dialing Hunter’s number.
“Oh, are you speaking to me now?” he drawls, picking up after the second ring.
Annoyance floods my bloodstream. “No, and I’m going to rearrange your face the next time I see you.You can’t hide upstate at your parents’ forever. But that’s not why I’m calling.”
“Is everything okay?” he asks, only marginally more concerned than two seconds ago.
“Uh… yeah.” I can’t tell him about what happened with Dove. It’s got to be some sort of felony, and I don’t need him put in the awkward position of asking if she wants to file a report. But I also don’t want to share my suspicions about her just yet. “Can you email me the videos of the Doll?”
“Uh, no? You know that, Wren. What’s going on?”
I hear shuffling and a voice in the background that sounds strangely like Bunny yelling about why she has to be "there."
Where is there? Last I knew, he wasn’t in the city.
Shaking my head, I decide to ask about whatever is going on between him and his rabbit later. “Your boss knows I’ve seen some of them. Can’t you send me those? I got the chance to publish, and I want to make sure I get the details right.”
I hate lying to him, but honestly, I’m still too pissed to see him in person and not rearrange his perfect nose. Besides… it’s not like it’s the first time I’ve kept something from him.
Snapping open my laptop, I pull up a blank document and tap over the keys in unintentional strokes. As my fingers create a new language, Hunter sighs. “They were leaked. Why can’t you just watch them online?”
“Because the full versions weren’t leaked. I won’t tell anyone I have them, and I won’t reference you in the article.” I pause when I hear whoisunmistakably Bunny, close enough now to make out her words.
“I have a date to get to, so if you can wrap up your…mrffgh!”
“Sending them over now. Gotta go, bye.” The line goes dead.
“What the fuck?” I mutter, pulling my phone away from my ear to see my home screen staring back at me.
Why is he lying about where he is?
There isn’t much time to ponder because less than a minute later, an email comes through containing exactly what I need. I spend hours watching and rewatching, looking for any sort of clue that wasn’t caught before.
