Chapter Thirty-Four
Charlotte
M y sense of smell comes back to me first. A stale stench, like an old room that hasn't had fresh air in years, but I smell something familiar too.
Suddenly, I can feel my limbs again. Except, I can’t move them as freely. I’m connected to something by my wrists. Something hard and tight digs into my skin as I try to move my arms. My eyes still feel so heavy, but I try to open them. It’s a struggle but I flutter them open a little to darkness. I try again and again until they fully open. I continue blinking through the blurriness and my watery vision finally clears.
I’m in a dark room, lying atop a bed. Zip tied to the bed-posts.
Shit .
I continue to look around the room. The door stands tall at the wall in front of me, mocking me. Closed and out of reach. It's a large, fairly plain room. Tall white walls, a small sitting area with white leather chairs, and a little black table. Double doors made of glass that lead out to a balcony. Only the faint glow of the moon shines down through the sky.
It’s hard to tell how long I've been here. Is it the same day I went to Lily’s?
Oh god, Lily. Her bloody body and face were the last thing I saw before everything went black, and I woke up here. She was bleeding out. With no one there to call for help, she’s… she’s probably gone. No.
No. No. No.
I yank at my restraints relentlessly. Falling numb to the pain of the zip ties cutting into my flesh.
“Well, well, well. Welcome back to the land of the living, little minx.”
My blood runs cold at the familiar voice dripping with a charming southern accent. I snap my eyes to the farthest corner of the room, scanning the darkened area for another sign of him. A sudden shift in the darkness, like something or someone moving to their full height. Then, he steps forward, revealing himself.
The Southern Poisoner saunters toward me. His bright, light-colored hair looked nearly silver in the glow of the moon shining through the balcony door. A black dress shirt is buttoned all the way up and fits tightly on his top half, looking very similar to how I first saw him in France.
“You.” I scowl.
“Me,” he says with a devilish side smirk.
“Let me fucking go! What the fuck do you want?!” I struggle against my binds again.
“Easy there, darlin’. You're hurting yourself.” He strolls even closer to me, then sits on the bed with his thigh covered in a dark denim nearly pressing against my torso. He leans forward and touches my wrist, inspecting it. The cool touch of his fingers sends goosebumps rising across my whole body. I try jerking away, but it’s no use.
“Shhh. Relax.”
“Don’t fucking touch me. Get the fuck away from me!”
He ignores me and continues inspecting my wrist.
“You’ve broken through your skin. You’re bleeding,” he states, looking actually concerned. I internally scoff.
“Yea, well, maybe next time, don’t fucking kidnap me and tie me to a fucking bed, you lunatic!”
“I wasn’t the one to take you, darlin’. Though I do admit, I did lead them to you.”
“Who’s them?!”
“Shhh.” He presses a cool finger to my lips, then draws his attention back to my bound hand. He pops something into his mouth, and to my ultimate surprise and horror, he begins licking at my fresh wound, seeming to savor the taste of my blood.
What the actual fuck.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?! Are you some kind of wannabe vampire?”
Once again, he ignores me as he continues. His demeanor, his touch, his voice, it's all cool, but his tongue, it’s the warmest thing about him. He finally pulls away after literally making out with my freaking wrist. His blue eyes pierce into me as he licks his lips.
“It will help,” he says smoothly.
“What?”
Then I feel it. The burning cut on my wrist begins to tingle and cool until I feel nothing. No pain.
Oh.
“Quit fighting and I won't need to attend to your other wrist. Unless you enjoyed it as much as I did, then please, continue.” He grins.
“You’re fucking insane!”
“I’ll take that as a thank you. You're most welcome, darlin’.”
I grunt.
“What am I doing here, Marcus? What is this about? Are you after Reaper? Because I have some news for you. We aren't together anymore. He dropped me. So this little plan of yours isn't going to work. We’re over.”
He tips his head back, laughing.
“Oh, precious thing. He’ll come for you. I guarantee he’ll come for you. I know I would.”
I try squirming again, kicking out my free legs, trying to land a hit on him.
Marcus grabs a hold of my legs tightly, digging strong fingers into my bare thighs.
“My, my, you're such a feisty little minx.”
“I’ll fucking kill you. I swear I’ll fucking kill you!”
“There’s someone else you might want to direct your sexy rage toward. After all, I was simply hired to assist in luring out The Bone Reaper. Normally, I would have passed, but when I laid eyes on his little pet, I simply couldn’t resist.”
“Who hired you?” He just smiles at me. “Please, Marcus.”
“Call me Venom, darlin’. We’re friends, after all, aren't we?”
“Do you tie up all your friends?”
“Only the ones who enjoy it,” he drawls. I scowl again. “If we’re friends, Charlotte, I can tell you what I know.”
I roll my eyes. This fucking guy and his games.
“Fine. Please, Venom. Who hired you?”
His smile widens even more at his favored name.
“It appears you and Reaper have upset your former boyfriend’s father.”
My eyes widened.
“Mr. Doyle hired you?” I ask, surprised.
He nods .
“The boy is dead, is he not? Reaper killed him. Good ol’ Freddy had his suspicions and began looking more into you which led them to your pretty friend—What’s her name again? Lyla?”
“Lily.” I glare at him.
“Yes, Lily. Well, they found a rather interesting search history on her laptop. Various searches for how to contact The Bone Reaper. It was all put together rather quickly after that. My services were requested when Fredrick Doyle needed a more skilled person to assist in his plan.”
Oh my god.
“And what exactly was the plan?”
“To find how to lure out The Bone Reaper, get him to this location, end him. I must say, it was quite a pleasant surprise to find that he had taken you under his wing, turned you into a killer.”
“Did you already know in France? Were you hired before then?”
“Yes.”
I slam my head down on the bed and grunt in frustration.
“It was clear as a bright summer day that he had feelings for you, and in that, he revealed his weakness.”
I laugh. “Yea, I don't know about that. His feelings weren’t strong enough to keep me around, so you and Mr. Douchebag are going to be really disappointed. Hope you weren't planning on getting paid.”
“We’ll see about that, darlin’.”
Suddenly the door opens and Venom pushes off the bed to stand. Fredrick Doyle strolls in with a heated expression. He flicks on the light and says, “I’d like to have a word with our captive here. Privately.”
Venom gives me one more look with a wink and then saunters out the door, closing it behind him.
Why do I wish he stayed ?
“Charlotte,” he says as he stands over me. “It’s unfortunate it has come to this. You lied to me. I’m very disappointed.”
“Yea, well, I’m disappointed but also not surprised that you're a piece of shit just like Jason.”
Fredrick strikes out, back-handing me across the face.
“Like father, like son.” I spit out the blood in my mouth at him.
“My son should have done a better job at putting you in your place. This is a man’s world, sweetheart.”
“Fuck you.”
“Such a vile mouth on a pretty thing like you.” I look away from his condescending stare. “You know, if you had told me the truth, that The Bone Reaper killed Jason, I might have spared you. But then you had to go and spread your legs for the man who took my son from me. What kind of sick bitch are you? Did you ever love my son, Charlotte?”
“I’m the sick bitch who killed your son. Reaper didn't do it. I did. And I would do it again!”
He laughs.
“Nice try, dear.”
“It’s true. I beat the bastard in with a hammer until he was unrecognizable. I wish you could have witnessed it,” I taunt.
Another slap strikes across my cheek.
“Lies. Quit trying to save your precious Bone Reaper. When he comes, I will have my vengeance. Then, I will decide what to do with you. Kill you quickly or let my men have some fun, fucking you to death.”
My stomach lurches, but I don't let him see his words pull a reaction from me. I turn and stare at the wall.
He doesn’t know I've become a trained killer. That might have some advantages. I wonder why Venom hadn't told him that part.
“I've got more preparations to make before our guest arrives. Any attempts at escape will be futile. I have security everywhere.”
With even, heavy steps, he walks away, turning off the light and out the room. The door closes, and I'm left alone in the dark with nothing but my wild thoughts to keep me company.
Is Lily dead?
Does Reaper already know I've been taken?
Will he really come for me?
Will he die if he does?
My heart aches at the thought. He can’t come. He needs to stay far away from here. Away from me. Maybe he was right. I am his weakness.
Love is weakness.