41. Lilith
CHAPTER FORTY ONE
I was sprawled across the couch, head resting comfo rtably in Silas’ lap when the sharp chime of the elevator cut through the air.
“ Lilith!”
I barely had the chance to crane my head over the armrest before a blur of copper hair and bright clothes came barrelling towards me at full speed.
“Oof—” A half-yelp, half-laugh escaped me as I was yanked up from Silas’ lap and smothered in a tight embrace.
“Oh, my sweet girl,” Molly murmured, her voice cracking slightly as she pulled back just enough to cup my face. Her gaze landed on the cut on my temple, and she winced, her freckled face crumpling.
“I’m so sorry, Lils,” she said softly, her thumb brushing lightly near the stitches like she was afraid to hurt me.
I tried to smile, reassure her, but before I could, a voice broke through the moment.
“Oh, come on, it was a compliment!” A man stepped out of the elevator, a thick folder tucked under his arm, sandy blond hair a complete mess, tie askew, trailing in with an exasperated look on his face.
She glared daggers at him. “That wasn’t a compliment, you insufferable frat house reject!”
This guy looked completely unfazed. “Insufferable? Really? I meant it in a good way!” He looked to Silas and gestured wildly at Molly with the folder. “Look at her! She’s hot dude!”
Silas stood abruptly. “Finn, what the fuck did you do?”
“What did I do?!” The guy—Finn—shot back, pointing at himself indignantly. “I paid her a compliment, that’s what!”
Molly’s jaw dropped, green eyes blazing. “A compliment ?” she repeated.
She turned fully toward him, hands on her hips, ready to seek and destroy.
“I’m standing in the elevator, minding my business, on my way to see my best friend who has just gone through some serious shit, and this overgrown toddler jumps in ogling me like I’m a steak and says—” she deepened her voice into a mockery of a frat-boy drawl, crossing her arms and slouching.
“‘ Those jeans are doing God’s work, I think I just found my new religion in that ass.’”
I struggled—genuinely struggled—to not laugh at whatever fresh hell was unfolding in front of me.
“What the hell?” Silas barked. “That’s completely not okay!”
Finn looked genuinely confused. “I meant it in a good way!”
Silas pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling sharply in a suffering sigh that told me this was something he’d seen a hundred times before. “No. Stop talking right now. You can’t speak to women you don’t know like that.”
Finn stepped forward, brows furrowing, his tone turning defensive. “Hold on, hold on. I’ve had at least…” he held up his fingers, counting them one by one, “… twenty more girlfriends than you have. I think I know how to talk to women.”
Silas glared at him. Arms crossed. Full disapproval mode. “That’s not as impressive as you think it is, Finn.”
He then turned to face Molly. “I’m so sorry about him. He’s just… wired wrong.”
She waved him off with a flick of her hand. “Whatever. I’ve handled worse.”
Then just like that, she dismissed them entirely, turning back to me. The fire in her eyes softened instantly, shifting back to something I knew.
She grabbed one of the bags she must have dropped by the couch when she launched her attack of affection on me.
“I brought everything I could fit,” she said, lifting it up.
“Your comfiest stuff, obviously,” she continued, then shot me an exaggerated wink and whispered, “I snuck in some of the good underwear too.”
“Of course you did.”
“I’m just looking out for your best interests.”
I laughed, but it didn’t do much to smother the frustration under my skin. I’d been actively trying to keep my mind off that side of things, and considering he wouldn’t let me take things further than little kisses, I was seriously contemplating throwing myself out of one of the windows.
She let out a slow whistle as her gaze drifted over the penthouse. “Okay, so this is insane.”
“Define insane.”
She turned back to me, gesturing wildly at everything. “The windows. The view. The marble. The bookshelves that look like they belong in an old-money estate where a butler named Reginald serves whiskey in crystal tumblers.”
“I don’t think he has a butler. ”
“No, but if you told me there was a secret underground bunker filled with high-tech surveillance and a fingerprint scanner to get in. I wouldn’t even blink.”
She turned her attention to Silas and Finn, who were now standing in the kitchen, flipping through the folder Finn had brought. Then she gasped dramatically. “Oh my God. You’re Batman.”
Finn’s head shot up. “Oh, shit, is he Batman? That would explain so much.”
“Think about it. He’s rich, broody, lives in a literal penthouse fortress, and—” she pointed at me, eyes widening, “—he stalked you. Bruce Wayne behaviour if I’ve ever seen it.”
Silas lifted his gaze from the folder, unimpressed. “I’m not Batman.”
She waved a hand. “That’s exactly what Batman would say.”
Finn nodded sagely. “Classic denial.”
Silas let out a huff. “Finn, we need to go over these reports,” he said flatly.
Finn shot us a final smirk before they both settled back into their conversation.
“How are you doing?” she asked.
I fiddled with the edge of the blanket draped over my legs. “I don’t really know,” I admitted.
More and more flashes had come back to me over the last few days.
The rain.
The darkened alley.
A fist to my face.
A boot to my ribs.
“I can’t believe they haven’t caught him yet,” she sighed.
I let out a sharp breath. “I know, it’s ridiculous.”
“To be fair, I’d probably be deep in hiding too if my face was plastered all over the news.”
Something in my chest tightened. “Huh? What?”
She hesitated, her brow furrowing slightly. “You don’t know?”
“Don’t know what?”
She glanced at Silas, and I followed her gaze to where he was stood at the island, deep in conversation with Finn.
I turned back to her, my pulse picking up. “Molly. What?”
She twirled the ends of her hair between her fingers. “Look, it’s not the full thing,” she said carefully. “But it’s been all over the news since it happened.”
“What do you mean all over the news?”
She shifted uncomfortably. “I mean, there’s footage.”
A strange ringing filled my ears. “Footage?”
“A few people were there. They filmed it.”
“Seriously?”
She let out a b itter laugh. “Yeah. Instead of stepping in, they just pulled out their phones and recorded it.” Anger bled into her voice. “I swear to God, I’ll never understand people. They saw you get attacked, and they—what? Thought it’d make a great viral clip?”
My lungs constricted. “Molly—”
“They just stood there, Lils. Watched. Filmed. Like it was some kind of spectacle.”
Nausea rolled through me, saliva flooding my mouth. This wasn’t just something that had happened in the dark, in private. People had seen it. Recorded it. Shared it.
“Show me.”
“Lils…”
“Show me.”
Her gaze flicked over to Silas and Finn again before she sighed and pulled out her phone. Her fingers moved quickly, bringing up an article before she passed it to me.
SEARCH UNDERWAY FOR NEWS ANCHOR CLARK THORN AFTER brUTAL ATTACK ON EX-GIRLFRIEND.
Beneath that—a video link. I didn’t even think. I clicked it.
Shaky footage. Dimly lit. The moonlight barely casting enough glow over the alleyway. A figure—Clark. Standing over someone curled on the ground. It took no time at all to realise that someone, was me .
He kicked.
And kicked.
And kicked.
Over.
And over.
And over.
I needed— fuck, I didn’t even know what I needed. I just knew I couldn’t sit still. I shot up from the couch, heart hammering, breath coming a little too fast.
In the blink of an eye, Silas was there, hands hovering near my arms. “Hey, hey. What’s going on?”
I could barely breathe, let alone answer.
“What happened?” he asked Molly, his hand shooting to the phone still clutched in my hands. “Per l’amor di Dio! What the hell were you thinking, showing her that?”
He shoved the phone back at Molly, his attention snapping back to me, hands finding my shoulders.
“You’re safe. Right here. Right now. Can you breathe for me, sweetheart?”
In for four. Hold for four. Out for four.
“He will be caught, Lilith,” he said.
“And if he isn’t?”
“He will be. People can’t hide forever.”
“He’s right , Lils,” Molly chimed in. “They’ll get him. And when they do? He’s done.”
“And you’re safe here, right?” A voice chirped in from just behind us, and the three of us turned to face it. Finn stood a few steps away, hands stuffed casually into the pockets of his slacks.
“Hi, Lilith. Heard lots about you. Nice to meet you,” he said, flashing me a boyish grin like we weren’t in the middle of some post-panic attack intervention.
No one said anything.
He glanced between us. “Listen, I know Silas. You’re safe as long as you’re with him. No one gets into this place without his permission, okay?” His voice was steady, oddly comforting. “Me and Red over here can help on the outside. Whatever you need, alright?”
“Finn,” Silas muttered.
Finn held up a hand, his blue gaze locking onto mine. “No, man. You’ve got this place locked down tighter than a bank vault, and you’ve got me and Red here running backup. She’s safe.”
Molly nodded, her copper hair catching the light as she sighed. “As much as I hate to agree with frat-bro over here, he’s right.”
Finn’s face lit up like a dog hearing the word ‘walk.’ She pointed a finger at him without even looking his way. “Don’t get any ideas, Chad. I’m just agreeing with you.”
He clutched his chest dramatically, stumbling back a step like she’d shot him.
Molly ignored him. “The security is like Fort Knox down there. Mr. Stalker—sorry, Silas —had to give me actual special clearance just to get into the building. I’ll keep checking in on Katniss. You’re good for as much time off as you need. We all just wanna make sure you’re good.”
I nodded. Swallowing down the thick tangle of emotions winding around my throat. “I appreciate it.”
She gave my shoulder a quick squeeze, then sighed. “I’ve gotta get back to the store. Sorry, Lils.”
“I gotta head back to the office too. I’ll forward you those emails, dude.” Finn said, stretching as he nodded at Silas.
They both made their way to the elevator, bickering the entire way about God knows what before the doors slid shut, mercifully cutting them off.
Silas let out a slow breath, turned to me and enveloped me into a full-body embrace. “I’m sorry you had to see the video,” he murmured.
My hands gripped the fabric of his shirt. “It’s fine. I wanted to see it. It’s not like it didn’t happen.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“No. Absolutely not.”
I was done thin king about Clark. Done thinking about what had happened. I looked up at Silas, at the way his brows were drawn together like he was trying to puzzle out how I was actually feeling. Soft. Worrying. Always worrying.
So I leaned up and pressed a kiss to his lips. “I want to steal a book and eat leftovers.”
His lips tugged up into a smile. “Yeah?”
“Yeah,” I patted his chest. “I need carbs and historical romance. Come on, Batman.”