Page 32 of Seducing Hope (The Hope Legacy)

I screw my face up, feigning confusion.

“Speaking of kidnapping, what about yours in New York?” Archan demands. My entire body stiffens as flashes of Eve’s crushed skull skip across my mind. Very few people know I was kidnapped; the SIP erased any trace of my involvement in Eve’s murder.

“What do you mean?” I snap. Zac tilts his head.

Archan’s eyes harden. “I mean when you were kidnapped by ‘bad things’ and your friend’s skull was crushed.”

Turning to face Archan, he mirrors me while running his hand along my waist. I glance down. A cold sweat breaks out across my skin as I imagine black claws extending from pale, translucent hands, crimson blossoming across my abdomen. I know I’m imagining it, but burning bile still rises up my throat.

I flick my gaze up. My mind flashes between Archan’s bronzed face and the sickly pale skin with black eyes that haunts my dreams. “It’s true, my friend was murdered. What about it?”

Archan’s grip on my waist tightens. “Lawrence?”

My jaw drops, and I slam every bit of energy I have into my mental shields. He winces. “Get out of my head,” I hiss.

“Then be honest. How did you escape Lawrence?”

“With injuries,” I grind out.

Archan frowns and glances at Barney. “Wait. This was four years ago?”

“Yes, August.” I guess Barney must have been investigating my life. Archan holds my chin in his hand and stares into my eyes.

“You’re her,” he mutters.

I tuck some hair behind my ear. “Excuse me?”

Zac barks out a laugh. “Of course she is.”

I scowl at him, and Nathan explains before I explode. “Lawrence is looking for a girl that injured him about four years ago. Long blonde hair, toned, curvy body, and blue eyes.”

I shake my head. “Impossible—he’s dead.”

Archan’s grip tightens. “No, Natia, he is not. He was injured and pissed, but not dead. He’s been searching for you for four years. Recently, he put a bounty out for you. My question is why is he so obsessed with finding one girl?”

Gold eyes pin me in place, demanding an answer. “Maybe I left a lasting impression and he wanted another date?”

“What are you hiding?” Archan demands.

“Nothing you need to know.”

Barney starts laughing. “You’re right, she is excellent at interrogation. Not one lie or straight answer.”

My head is reeling from the news that Lawrence is alive. I huff. “Is he some drinking buddy of yours?”

All four men laugh silently. “I have been known to have a drink with hell’s royalty, but no, I’m not his ‘buddy,’” Archan chuckles.

“Royalty?” I squeak.

“Lawrence is the prince of the seventh level of hell.”

“Violence,” I mutter. Archan nods. Lawrence is alive, he’s theliteralPrince of Violence, and he’s hunting me. It’s too much to take in, so I box it off to deal with later.

“Tell me why you took the files,” Archan demands.

I glance at all four men—correction, four powerful beings. They know and have even admitted to socializing with hell’s royalty. Evidence of their malicious intent is mounting, but I can’t come right out and declare, “because I suspect you of kidnapping seven people.” So I opt for the less inflammatory reason.

“I want to know what you are.”

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