Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
She could hear a phone. The distant peal of sound penetrated the heavy sleep that had pulled Violet under. Dazed, she cracked open her eyes and reached out her hand.
The bedside table was empty beside her.
She jolted upright. Not the guest room. Royal’s room. Only Royal wasn’t there.
Darkness filled the room. Still night. They’d had a second round of sex. She’d had…three, four orgasms? Violet wasn’t exactly sure. But she’d gone to sleep in his arms.
And he was gone now.
The peal came again. Demanding.
She knew that ringtone. Didn’t she? Still a little confused, Violet climbed from the bed. Her gown was on the floor, and she put it on automatically as she followed the sound. Her gaze darted to the bathroom.
Dark.
Where was Royal?
The phone stopped ringing.
But she kept walking. The rings had been coming from the guest room. From her phone.
Voicemail. No, no, no, no! He’d put the phone on speaker, so Simone’s abductor knew that Violet hadn’t picked up. As soon as the voicemail started, his finger pressed down to end the call.
One hand on her phone.
One hand still gripping the knife.
But then he dropped his hold on the phone, and the knife lowered so that the blade pressed to her throat. Tears spilled down her cheeks. “I-I can get her,” Simone stammered. “Give me another chance. I can get Violet for?—”
The phone rang. A loud jangle of sound. The ringtone she’d assigned to Violet long ago. The cry of the phone shocked Simone, and she jerked. The blade sliced over her neck. A gasp broke from her at the pain, but then she was grabbing for the phone and ignoring the knife. Or trying to ignore the knife. “It’s Violet!” The screen had lit up. Violet’s picture smiled back at her. “I’ll get her! I’ll get her! ”
“Say exactly what I tell you.” A low order. “Or I will cut you from ear to ear.”
Three thirteen a.m. A call that late was never a good sign. Violet gripped the phone tightly in her hand as she called Simone back.
One ring.
Two.
Three—
“Violet?” Simone’s voice.
Violet’s breath shuddered out in relief. “I was so scared something had happened to you!” Another long exhale. “I was worried?—”
“Violet, I need you to come meet me.”
Violet blinked. “Now?”
“Yes, right now. Now. I’m in trouble, and I’m scared, and I-I need you.”
Violet spun toward the doorway. Still no sign of Royal. “What’s happening?”
“Micah…got rough. Crazy. I’m…I’m afraid, Violet. Come get me. Please. Please, come get me.”
She put the phone on the bed and turned on the speaker so that she could ditch the gown and throw on real clothes and underwear. “Give me the address. Royal and I will be right there.”
“No!”
Violet stilled with the jeans half-way up her legs. “No?”
“The cops came back,” Simone said quickly. “That detective. He told me things about Royal. Royal is dangerous, Violet.”
She jerked up the jeans. Hauled on a bra and her top and toed into her flats.
“You can’t trust him,” Simone continued with her voice breaking. “You…you aren’t with him right now, are you?”
“I’m at his house.”
“Get out of there!” A fierce demand. “Get in your car and come meet me. We’re both in danger. Ah!”
Violet swiped up the phone. “Are you okay?”
“N-no…” A gasp. “Micah dropped me off…middle of nowhere. My phone battery is dying, and I don’t know how long the call will last. I need you, Violet.”
“My car isn’t here.” Was it still at the theater? Or had Royal gotten the vehicle taken to her house? Her temples throbbed. “I have to tell him. I need his car?—”
“ Just take the keys!” A screech. “Violet, Violet, I’m desperate. If you don’t get here…I-I’m dead.” A quick gasp. “I just need you.”
Violet grabbed her bag. She shoved her new knife inside it and then spun for the door. She rushed forward and nearly slammed straight into Royal. He filled the doorway, broad shoulders stretching to nearly rub the wood on either side of him. Surprised, she staggered to a stop. The phone was still on speaker. Still clutched in her hand. Violet knew he’d heard everything.
So why was he blocking her path? They needed to go.
Violet began, “Royal is?—”
“You can’t tell him!” Simone cried out, her words cutting through Violet’s sentence.
Because Violet had intended to say… Royal is right here. He can hear you.
“The detective…I told you that he said Royal is dangerous. A criminal. A killer. The cop thinks…this is going to terrify you, but he thinks Royal might be the man who abducted you!”
She stared into Royal’s eyes. He didn’t so much as blink.
“Royal has ties to some other women who were abducted and murdered. He knew a victim in Atlanta. One of his gang banger friends dated her, and Royal had some crazy jealousy thing going on because he wanted her for himself.”
Royal slowly shook his head.
“You’re his type, Violet!” Simone rushed to say. “He wants you because you look like her, and he is obsessed with the woman. The detective thinks…he thinks Royal killed her in some jealous rage. The Atlanta PD and the local cops are working together. They are going to bring him down.”
Violet didn’t look away from Royal. For just a moment, she could have almost sworn that she heard someone whispering in the background of the call. Talking behind Simone?
“He doesn’t want you,” Simone told her fiercely. “He wants the lover he killed, but he can’t get her back, so he is going through this insane routine over and over again. He is insane. Get away from him, Violet! Steal his damn car if you have to do it, but get away from him! Come to me. We’ll be safe together. I’ll be safe when you get here!”
It was hard to pull in a deep breath. Royal showed no sign of getting out of her way.
He raised a hand to his lips.
Shh.
Her breath heaved out.
“I-I am near an old gas station. I’m going to ping you my location from my phone before it d-dies. There’s just freaking miles of farmland out here. Micah just left me here. He was driving and saying wild things, and I had to get away from him.”
Miles of farmland. “You should call the cops. Now.”
“I can’t! Micah will fire me if I do, and I need this job! Violet, I am begging you— begging! ” And the tears were in her voice. “Come get me. We’ll be safe together. You get away from Royal and I get away from this…this mess.”
She lifted her chin and stared straight into Royal’s swirling eyes. “I’m coming.”
“Thank you.” A long exhale. “And…hurry? Please.”
The call ended.
A moment later, the phone pinged with Simone’s location.
“I’m going to need you to move, Royal.” She thought the words came out surprisingly normal. Very level.
He didn’t move.
Her chin lifted. “Royal…”
“Your friend is a liar, Violet. And I think she wants you dead.”
“Done.” Euphoria filled Simone, making her a little dizzy. Or maybe that was the insane amount of fear and adrenaline flooding through her body that made her dizzy. Either way… “Done,” she repeated. “I said everything you wanted. I gave her the location just like you asked. Violet will come here. You’ll get her, so…let me go?” Please, let me go.
He removed the knife from her throat. She sucked in some deep, gulping breaths. While the blade had been pressed against her jugular, she’d been afraid to breathe too deeply. Every word she’d spoken had made her acutely aware of the knife. When she’d begged Violet, Simone had felt the blade dig into her skin.
And she’d felt the blood trickle down her neck.
“You’ll trade her life for yours.” His voice was still a soft rasp. That was all it had been the whole time. He’d been talking in that low rasp while she’d been on the phone. He’d told her what to say. And she’d followed his orders because she wanted to live.
Simone still didn’t look at him. I won’t. If I don’t see his face, then I’m safe. Simone nodded.
“I want to hear the words. Tell me that you’ll trade your life for hers.”
But she didn’t want to say them. Saying them…saying them made her feel like she was killing Violet. Except I’m not. I’m not the one with the knife. He is.
“Say the words.”
He’d taken the phone away.
And the knife came toward her again.
“I’ll trade my life for hers!” Simone cried out before he could bring that blade any closer. “I’ll do it! You can take her, and I swear, I won’t tell anyone about tonight!” How could she? The world would hate her. They’d say she killed her friend.
But I’m not killing her. I’m not even going to touch Violet. He’s the one with the knife.
And who wouldn’t do the same thing? If given a chance to live, she was sure even precious fucking Violet would turn on a friend. Yes, yes, Violet would sacrifice me. It’s just about survival. Nothing personal.
Nothing.
Personal.
“I haven’t seen your face,” she whispered. “I don’t know you.”
“You can’t see my face, bitch. I’ve got on a mask.”
She was too scared to look. What if he was lying? What if that was a trick?
And then…on the heels of that thought…
What if he’s been lying to me this whole time? What if he isn’t going to let me go, even when he gets Violet? A sob caught in her throat.
He backed up.
The trunk slammed down. Total darkness consumed her again.
“No!” Simone screamed. She slammed her bound hands into the metal roof of the trunk.
“Don’t worry,” his grating voice told her. “Once I see Violet, you’ll be free.”
Her breath shuddered out.
Don’t be a lie. Don’t be a lie. Don’t be a…
“You’re lying,” Violet said. Her chin was up. Her hair a gorgeous tangle around her shoulders. She’d dressed. She stood facing him with her back perfectly straight and with fear and determination both blazing in her wide eyes.
In that instance, Royal almost wished that he could be lying. He didn’t want to break her heart.
But breaking her heart was a whole lot better than letting Violet die. You could keep living with a broken heart. You couldn’t keep living if, say, some psychotic asshole shoved a knife into your chest and carved out said heart.
“I need you to get out of my way, Royal. Simone needs me.”
“Simone watched you get thrown into the back of the sedan on the night of your abduction, and she didn’t do a thing to get help for you.”
Her eyes widened even more. Did her skin turn paler?
I’m breaking her heart.
“You don’t know that,” Violet whispered. She inched closer to him. “I don’t have time to waste. She’s alone, and she’s scared.”
Fine. They could talk on the way. “I’m coming with you.”
She blinked.
Hell. Had Violet truly thought he’d let her leave on her own? “She’s lying, ” he snapped. Dangerous tension pooled through him. “I didn’t hurt Marcella. I’m not some sick stalker who is hunting and killing the same woman over and over again.” Why is Simone trying to frame me? But the hard twist in his gut told him the reason why. “I didn’t fuck you because you looked like Marcella.”
“Why did you fuck me?”
His hand rose and his fingers skimmed across the silk of her cheek. “Because I’ve never wanted anyone more.” His hand slid down, and his thumb brushed over her lower lip. “You’re mine, Violet.”
“Get out of my way, Royal.”
A bite filled those words. Determined bite. He could admire that.
He could also think her determination was a pain in his ass.
His hand fell, but he did not get out of her way. “There’s no way that you are gonna leave this house without me.”
“She’s scared. ”
“She’s setting up a trap for you. I was just downstairs, accessing street cam footage from the night of your abduction. I’ve been searching through that footage for hours.” More like days because there had been so much footage to review. “I’ve been trying to figure out who might have been in that parking lot and seen you get taken. It was her. I found a street cam about four blocks over. Got a pic of her behind the wheel of her red Mustang. She was the only person from the theater that I could find near the site after your abduction. Everyone else left before that time period. I’ve looked at every bit of footage I could locate. It goes back to her.” Violet had to understand this. “Your best friend left you to die.”
The lower lip he’d just stroked…trembled.
His jaw hardened. “The detective didn’t tell her jack shit about me.” Another lie. One designed to destroy any trust that Violet might have in Royal. A lie designed to take you away. To put you far from my protection.
“How do you know that?” Violet asked. Her hair slid over her shoulder. “How do you know she didn’t talk to him?”
Easy. “Because Detective Curran Barlow is on my payroll, sweetheart. The man reports to me, so he wouldn’t sell my ass out.” No, something else was happening. Something far more sinister. “She’s luring you out in the middle of the night.”
“Simone was terrified.”
On that, they could agree. “It’s a trap.” Every instinct told him that truth. “I think he has her.”
She retreated a step.
“A three a.m. phone call?” Royal shook his head. “A desperate plea to meet in the middle of nowhere? To go without me? Come on, we both know this is a setup. You go alone, and you’re dead. Hell, she’s probably dead, too.” She may already be dead. He could have killed Simone the minute the phone call ended.
There was no stunned shock in Violet’s gaze.
His own eyes narrowed. “But…you suspected that already, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t believe her when she said you were a threat to me.”
His heart raced a little faster in his chest, but his pose didn’t alter.
“I didn’t believe her when she said that you were insane. I know you didn’t abduct me. But what she didn’t know—Simone didn’t know that you’d saved me. I kept that secret. I didn’t tell it to the cops. Not to my brothers. Not even to my best friend. It was our secret.”
Our secret .
“You wanted to use me as bait.” Violet squared her delicate shoulders. “This is our chance. We have to make it look like I’m going alone. Like I ditched you. But you’ll be there, won’t you? My backup.”
Your shadow, baby. Watching every single step you take.
“It could be Micah,” she said. Violet bit her lip. “He could have taken Simone. Forced her to make the call. They’ve been involved, but they try to hide their affair from most people.”
“He’s been screwing her, but the bastard wants to fuck you.”
She didn’t deny the words. She did raise her chin. “I have to go. Now. ”
Yeah, they did. “I’m driving.”
“ If he’s there, he can’t see you!”
“He won’t see me.” Royal was certain. “Trust me. Can you do that, Violet?”
Her hand lifted. Extended toward him. He looked down at her delicate palm.
“You’re my partner,” she told him. “Of course, I trust you.”
He took her hand, and then hauled her forward. His mouth took hers. Deep. Hard. Desperate. “Do everything I say,” he growled. “No hesitation. No questions.”
Her gaze held his.
“He’ll think you’re alone when you arrive. He won’t see me. ” Because Royal had a plan.
She licked her lips.
“He won’t kill you from a distance. He’ll want to get up close. When he gets close, you shove your knife into him, you got it?”
Violet nodded. “The knife is already in my purse.”
That was the kind of dirty talk he liked to hear. “I’ll show you where to cut him. The best spots to drive that blade ever so deep in order to bring him to his knees.”
Violet paled, but she didn’t back down.
“Going to be able to do that, Violet?” he pushed. “You really gonna be able to shove a knife between someone’s ribs? Or to drive it into a man’s stomach and twist the blade?”
“I’ll do what’s necessary. Especially if it means saving Simone and stopping a killer.” A pause. “How many times do I have to tell you? I’m not backing down.”
“Good.” Gruff.
“Nothing about this feels good,” she murmured. “But she needs me. And he can’t get away.”
“The knife will be step one.” An exhale from Royal. “And then we’ll take care of everything else.” Because the sonofabitch will not be getting away from me. Not this time.
Violet would never need to fear his attack again.
Royal wasn’t going to leave this perp subdued. This wouldn’t be like the last two hunts that he’d done with Beau. For those instances, he’d left the killers waiting for the cops.
Not this time.
No bow would be wrapped around this killer’s neck while he waited—bound—for the police to arrive.
This hunt was different. Personal.
You will be dead before the sun rises because you never, ever should have touched Violet.
Dead.