Page 73 of Wretched Soul
I sip my beer as Toby tries to strike up a conversation. He has to lean in close, and I shiver as his nose brushes my hair. He isn’t great at small talk, and I don’t make it easy with my one-word answers. My shoulder presses against the wall of the booth, and I’m starting to feel hemmed in. I down more beer as I look longingly towards the dance floor for signs of Kaitlyn’s return.
“We could dance,” Toby suggests, his hand stroking my bare arm.
“Maybe,” I say, shuddering. At least I’d have more space.
When my cell buzzes in my purse, I fumble with the clasp to reach it. I squint at the screen. It’s a missed call, and I can guess who it is. I picture Shade tapping furiously on his cell, and I’m not surprised when a text message appears seconds later.
Shade: Tell me where you are, Slayer.
Toby reaches for my cell and turns it so he can read the message too. “Who’s Shade?” he asks.
“My boyfriend,” I say. I smack my lips together. They feel slightly numb and my tongue isn’t moving as it should. “I should reply…” I frown at the screen. I could actually reply. The number hasn’t been withheld. And my phone identifies Shade as the sender. Did he add himself to my contacts list when he had my phone at the lodge? Have I had his number all week and not noticed? That thought alone makes me dizzy.
Toby pulls my cell from my grasp and shoves it back in my purse. “That’s very careless of him, losing track of a beautiful woman like you,” he says. “Do we need to teach him a lesson?”
That makes me laugh. Yes, I do, but not with Toby. “You have no idea who you’re dealing with.”
“No, because he’s not here, Lily,” Toby reminds me. He puts his hand on my thigh and squeezes. “But I am.”
“Not inter… rested,” I say, forcing the words out as I peel his fingers off me.
I peer through the darkness, searching for Kaitlyn to save me from this creep. My vision swims. I feel drunk from half a beer. That can’t be right.
That isn’t right. Oh, fuck.
“What’s wro… wrong with me?”
“Nothing’s wrong, baby. I’m here to look after you.”
I ignore the beer bottle Toby slides in front of me, and look towards the dance floor. I think I see Kaitlyn. She could be dancing, or is she trying to escape the crowd to get to me? I can’t tell, and then the dance floor consumes her again. The strobe lights bring on a wave of nausea.
“I feel sick.” But I want to cry.
“Come on, it looks like you need some fresh air.”
Chapter 24
Mace
Anyone who knows me, knows that I don’t take kindly to being told what to do. So, when my mother’s last words were to play nice, of course I put all my energy into doing the exact opposite.
I spent the flight home from New York with my brothers, planning our next move against Barrett. Even the news, when it came through, that Alice had passed away didn’t disrupt our plotting for more than a minute or two. We poured ourselves some whiskey, and when we clinked glasses, the grief I’d been dreading didn’t come.
By the time we arrive back in Chicago, we’ve agreed our next move. The plan to run interference and delay the completion of works at Barrett’s estate is simple enough, and gives me time to make Lily my number one priority. I even get Ash’s approval. He’s going to need me on my A-game and for that, I need to resolve my feelings for the only woman I’ve ever considered opening myself up to.
I need to see Lily. And if she wants to know my name, I’ll tell her myself. All she has to do is ask. Whatever happens after that, will happen because we’re both fully informed. My firstchallenge is getting her to meet me, but it’s not going to be as easy as it was before.
Lily’s mad at me, even more so now that she’s found the tracker on her car, but when I’d kissed her outside the motel, she’d kissed me back. If I’d known my last-ditch attempt to find resolution with my mother would fail so miserably, I would have dragged Lily all the way back to the mountain lodge.
With that opportunity missed, I come up with another plan. It’s going to risk igniting Lily’s fury one more time, but I’ll take my chances.
Jake, our head of security, had sent one of our men to collect everything I’d left behind at the lodge, minus the items I’d already slipped into Lily’s bag. There was no way I was going to leave behind her used underwear for someone else to collect, but I still needed to give Lily back the dress. The easiest way to do that was to drop it off at her apartment.
Technically, I’m invading her space again, but Lily knows me better than Alice. I haven’t played nice with her from the very start. After leaving the dress and invitation, I park close to her apartment and wait for her to come home. I tap into the listening device in her living room so I can hear her reaction. And it’s as colorful as I’d imagined.
“If you’re still here, Shade,” she says, “I should warn you that this latest stunt has royally backfired. I don’t care what your intentions are, or what’s in that damn envelope.” She hisses out a breath. “I want to punch you so badly right now!”
Her voice grows louder as she leaves the bedroom. She opens the fridge and I’m smiling as I picture her looking at the chocolate I’d left. “I swear, I might just kill you,” she says, but there’s a hint of affection in her tone.
