Chapter 23
twenty-three
Sparkles of light fall from the sky as the rain patters in gusty waves. Thunder rumbles behind the clouds, promising a storm with teeth. It’s almost November, and the cold is crashing in.
As I wander into the alleyway to take up a spot on the metal fire escape, I pause. Someone’s already here. I slow my steps to a crawl, creeping around the stinking dumpster filled with leftovers from the Italian restaurant next door.
A glimmer off a puddle shows a shadowy figure on the other side. I’m early, but this looks like—
Olivia jumps out with her knife at the ready and attempts to hold it at my throat, but I snag her forearm, twisting it up and over her head, then gather her wrists into one of my hands.
The force of my chest pressing into hers causes a little woof to escape from her lungs. It’s so cute, I want to swallow it.
“Stalking me now?” I ask. “Tsk, tsk, Monarch. You’re starting to act like me.”
She growls, “Fuck you! Fuck you for making me do that!”
“Do what?”
Tears line her lower eyelids. Maybe tonight wasn’t the best for this plan… I thought she’d already be past this.
“I hurt him.” She blinks at me, and then, as if it’s the last thing she wants to admit, she shoves out her bottom lip and does. “And I hurt myself in the process.”
“You chose me. You chose wisely,” I tell her, though I can’t keep the smile out of my voice.
“You think this is funny?”
“I think it’s inevitable.”
If her arms were free, she’d slap me—and gods, I hope she does. I want her wild. I want her real. Unhinged and free.
Seductive whimpers slip past her lips, along with her frustrated grunt. “I was safe with Elliot.”
I can’t help but snort a laugh. “Were you?”
Her jaw clenches. She’s unraveling, and it’s the most beautiful she’s ever been. “I hate you.”
With a shrug, I answer, “You will.” I let it hang for a beat. “And then you’ll forgive me. And then you’ll beg.”
“You arrogant—”
“Honest,” I finish for her. I step closer, pressing my rising erection against her belly. As she gasps, her plump lips part, but I interrupt her before she can say a word. “You don’t need me to be safe. You need me to be true. And I’m the only real thing you’ve got left.”
As if she’s giving in without further argument, she grimaces. Our bodies press flush together as I hold her wrists above her head… I can’t help my hard-on. So I shove it deeper into her until she senses the entire length. Her breathing accelerates as she looks down.
“You feel that?” I murmur. “That’s not regret. That’s not guilt. That’s obsession.”
She’s breathing me in like smoke, even as it chokes her. “I should walk away right now,” she whispers.
With a glance at the end of the alleyway, I nod toward the parking lot. “Then why aren’t you?”
Her silence answers everything.
It tickles when I lean close enough for her lashes to brush the edge of my mask. Dropping my voice, I whisper, “You’re mine. You’ve always been mine. Soon, you’ll realize it and hate yourself for waiting this long.”
With a sigh, she relaxes in my hold, giving herself up to me. Her expression is sad when she finally gazes into my face. “You broke my heart. You broke his.”
I clench my jaw. Because I know exactly what I broke—and why I did it anyway.
“Maybe. But I’m still going to give you justice.” As I take a step back, I release her arms and place the hilt of her blade into her palm. “Focus, Monarch. You’ve got work to do.”
She looks at the weapon and slowly nods. “He’s coming, isn’t he?”
With a crooked finger under her chin, I lift it. “Yes. He is.”
Green eyes meet mine—unwavering now. No fear. Just grit. “And you’ll be…?”
“Watching. Like always.” I point toward the top of the building. “I’ll back you up if you need me, but this is all for you.”
She blinks back a tear, tongue flicking across her lower lip. Then she exhales and crouches beside the dumpster, steadying herself.
A crack of thunder roars through the sky until we both jump. I head up the ladder. It’s probably not safe for me to be on this metal fire escape. But it’s the best view for observing everything below.
She looks terrified when she finds my position.
With a nod, I encourage her. She’s compliant. This time, to my word alone. And I’ll take that, for now.
Until she needs to betray me.
The tension in her shoulders relaxes as she pulls on a mask like mine, then presses her back against the brick wall.
Sheila leads Representative Blackwell from the restaurant down the alley, walking him to his car for payment. My only concern is, will he stop to hit her? Hurt her in some way?
His steps creep closer to the midway point as Sheila giggles at something he said, the sound bouncing off the walls in haunting waves. Olivia’s body tenses, her knife held firm. She’s ready.
Unease strikes me when another woman stumbles forward from the street. This one is bleach blonde and clearly drunk. “Wait for me!”
My breath catches.
This isn’t part of the script.
The second woman trips over a crack in the asphalt, losing a high heel. Sheila tugs on Reggie’s arm, but he turns to wait for the blonde, who’s gathering up her shoe. “Wait! I’m coming.”
Olivia glances up at me with her palms out wide, asking what to do.
And as I lift my head to the sky to think about a quick answer, I freeze.
A caped figure perches on the roof of the building opposite me. And he’s holding something in his hand. The black mantle and hood he wears cover his face, but I can tell…
He’s staring right at me.
Friend or foe?
As the intoxicated woman laughs like a siren, the voices below startle me back to reality. Olivia is still at a loss, but I can only shrug in answer.
Reggie moves closer to her location just as the cloaked figure drops something, perhaps a stone, right over Olivia, causing a splash around her.
Fuck!
Reggie whips his head to the other side of the dumpster and takes a step toward my queen. I’m already climbing down the ladder as quietly as I can, my movements concealed by thunder.
“Oh! I left my phone in our seat… We need to go back!” Sheila tugs on Reggie’s arm in a retreat to the restaurant and latches onto the woman struggling to keep up. The three march toward the street and away from us.
As soon as they’re gone, I drop down and rush toward Olivia.
Glancing up at the top of the buildings, I don’t see anyone. The cloaked man has vanished. As usual.
“I didn’t know what to do,” she pants, her whole body trembling.
I grab her upper arms and rub them to soothe her. “You did fine. We just… We’ll have to try something else.”
“You mean…all this for nothing? He gets away with it one more night?”
The pain behind her mask is palpable. And it’s my own. I fucking hate that she’s hurting. “We’ll get him another time.”
She stands, her knife shimmering at her side.
“No, we won’t.”
Then, she takes off toward the back parking lot.