Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
LILY
My sheets are tangled around me, and I haven’t moved. I’ve been up for a few minutes now, staring at the ceiling. The dream I had lingers, and I know last night fueled it.
Now I know what it’s like to be pinned under Tristan. His weight on me, the hard press of him against my hip, his mouth so close I felt his breath. He had my hands pinned to the bed. There was nowhere to go. I press my thighs together, willing the ache away. This is ridiculous. He’s ridiculous.
But I can’t stop thinking about it. The real version, not just the dream. The way he looked at my mouth like he was starving. The way his body felt against mine before he pulled away.
For a brief moment, I thought maybe he saw me as more.
But it doesn’t matter now. I’m not going to let this throw me off.
Even if he did have those kinds of feelings for me, he can fuck off.
That would mean he’s choosing not to want me.
It’s one thing if there is no attraction on his part.
I can’t force that if he’s fighting it. I don’t know why, but it only pisses me off more.
I shower in cold water. It barely helps.
The kitchen smells like coffee. I thought he might have left already.
I’m late, not hurrying to my mandated breakfast. But he’s there, reading something on his tablet, the picture of calm control.
Except I can see his right hand wrapped around his cup—red, swollen, and with the knuckles split.
What the hell? He punched something. I grew up around enough soldiers to know what a busted knuckle looks like.
I pour my own coffee, keeping my eyes down. The silence stretches.
“I have a lunch meeting today,” he says casually. “I’ll be leaving within the hour.”
I nod, staring into my cup. My emotions are scattered—anger, confusion about yesterday, and beneath it all, the memory of his weight pinning me down. He wanted to kiss me. I wanted him to.
“Did you sleep well?” he asks.
I ignore him. Let him think what he wants.
He exhales but doesn’t push. I hear him leave, footsteps fading. I count to sixty, then a hundred.
When I think it’s clear, I hurry back to my bedroom. He might have busted my gaming system, but I use my laptop. I don’t have much of a choice. Hopefully it won’t matter. By the time he tracks it, I should be gone.
I quickly log in, needing to talk to Teddy right this second. Time is ticking, and we’ve only got so much of it today.
Teddy’s face fills the screen with big eyes and a giant smile that makes her whole face light up.
When she gives you that smile, it’s impossible not to return it.
When Julie Becker said something rude to Teddy that year at camp, making that smile fall away, I punched her right in the face. She wasn’t smiling then either.
“You know how close we are?” Teddy is about to burst with excitement. I’m a mix. Sure, I want out, and I’ll get to be with Teddy, but will Tristan forever be out of my life?
“I know,” I agree. She doesn’t know just how close. Tristan has handed it right over to me. “Listen, Tristan has a meeting this afternoon. That will be our chance.”
“Today?” Teddy sits up straighter, her expression turning serious.
“Well, I know he has a meeting, and I’m going to spring it on him that I have a checkup with the doctor. He’ll send Nathan up to take me. When I get down to the lobby, that’s where I’ll give him the slip.”
“While I make chaos!” Teddy shouts, bouncing in her seat. Okay, she must have a plan in that head of hers already.
“I’m not sure I want to know what this chaos is.” A small laugh leaves me, but I’m guessing it will involve a crown, and I don’t mean a fake one, and possibly a lightsaber. You never know with Teddy.
“All we really need is to get you to the lobby. Then no one can truly stop you from leaving.” Teddy nods along to her own words, like that solves it all. It’s that simple. I don’t think it will be.
“Oh, he can and he will,” Killian says to Teddy.
I still can’t get over the two of them. Killian, well, he matches his name.
“Tristan is a powerful man now, not only in this city but also in the state. Which is one of the things we need to speak about.” Killian’s tone is dead serious, but I think he always is.
“That doesn’t sound good.” Both Teddy and I speak at the same time. Is this plan dead before we’ve started? Killian keeps going.
“Any plane I would be able to get at the last second would be military. Tristan’s ties are thick there.”
“We’re driving,” Teddy reminds him.
“We need to get out of the state as quickly as possible and back to Colorado. Once we’re on the ground there, things will get a whole lot harder for Tristan.”
“Military ties?” I ask. I thought he worked with the FBI, with my father. I know so little about this man, I swear. So much of his life is hidden from me while he wants to know every detail of mine, even the ones inside my head.
“I don’t want your name on it either,” Killian says, staring down at Teddy. The hardness that’s been etched into his face lessens, softness peeking out for her. It’s adorable.
“No problem.” Teddy grabs the phone, and I already know what she’s up to.
“Who are you reaching out to?” Killian asks.
“Ro,” I say before Teddy can.
“Yep, that man can get anything.” She clicks away on the phone, and it dings.
“He said it will be done within the hour. Let him know which airport.” Once that is sorted, Teddy and Killian fill me in on their plan. I mean, it sounds great in theory, but I’m up for doing whatever I need to.
I tell her she can go ahead and text me when they are moving. Tristan should be across town by then, so if he sees my phone activity, he won’t be able to do anything about it. By then I should be in the air.
I hurry to make sure I have what I need, not much but a few things. When I’m ready, I sit down on my bed and watch the minutes crawl by.
The penthouse is quiet. I keep waiting for Tristan’s footsteps, his voice calling my name, or some last-minute change of plans that will stop my plans right in their tracks.
Then I hear it. The front door and the ding of the elevator.
He’s gone.
My fingers fly across my phone screen.
Me: He’s gone.
Teddy: You sure?
Me: Yeah, I’ll wait ten and then message him about the doctor’s appointment.
I count. Six hundred seconds of pure agony, my knee bouncing the whole time, waiting for any sound to come. But it doesn’t. No footsteps, no elevator, no Tristan bursting back in to catch me mid-escape.
Me: Ten minutes. Clear.
Teddy: Go time. Remember the back stairs, not the lobby.
That had been the change of plan they told me about. I thought I’d be going out the lobby, but Killian had other ideas. I go with it. Teddy trusts him.
Then I do my part.
Me: Forgot I have a doctor’s appointment this afternoon.
The reply comes faster than I expect.
Tristan: I’ll send Nathan. Be ready in 20.
I stare at the screen. That was easy. Too easy? He must be distracted with his meeting. What if it wasn’t a meeting, but he went to meet Sasha?
The thought sends a strange pang through my chest and helps light a fire under my ass for the small amount of guilt I was having over doing this.
Me: Thanks.
I shove the phone in my pocket and head for the back stairs. I push through the door and come up short. Killian is standing there. He’s even bigger in person.
“This is not going according to plan,” I say, hating the change of plans.
“Keep moving.” He orders me down the stairs. If I thought Tristan could be cold, Killian could give him a run for his money.
“I’m not a hostage, you know?”
He grunts a response. My heart sinks when we pass men lying on the ground. I don’t see blood.
“Are they dead?” I ask, stepping over one. Please don’t say they are dead. I would not have done this if we were killing people! What is Killian, a freaking hitman? That thought doesn’t land in my mind as absurdly as it should.
“No,” he says flatly.
“Would you tell me if they were?”
He grunts another response.
“I don’t think those grunts are as sexy as Teddy told me,” I mutter, making him only grunt again.
“This way,” he orders me as we enter the parking garage, freedom close. Killian pulls out his phone. I watch as he calls and calls again. I shift on my feet. What’s happening?
Suddenly Killian’s full attention is laser-focused right on me. His eyes are almost black. Holy shit, he’s fucking scary. “How did you know Tristan had a meeting today?”
“He told me. Why?” I glance back toward the door we exited out of. “Shouldn’t we—”
“Was it on his calendar?” He fires off another question, and I can tell we’re not moving from this spot until he gets his answers.
“No.” I shake my head.
“Fuck,” Killian grits out. “We’re going back in.”
“What?! No.” I start to back up, and he reaches out, grabbing my forearms. Instinct takes over, and I wrap my hand around and grab him right back. He’s quicker to lock me in his deadly hold. It was a stupid move on my part. He’s too big for the move to work.
“Now you’re a hostage.”
I feel the blood drain from my face. What’s happening?
He spins me, locking his hold on me tighter. “Holy fucking shit, asshole,” I hiss, already thinking about what my next move will be because he’s lost his fucking mind.
“Tristan has my Zolotse. Let me be perfectly clear with you.” His eyes bore down into mine. “There is nothing or no one I won’t sacrifice to get her back.”
“What?” I whisper and stop fighting him, letting my body relax so he knows that. “Why didn’t you just say that? I’m not leaving Teddy behind.” He’s completely lost his mind if he thought I’d leave without her.
He releases his hold on me. “Next time, don’t hesitate. I felt you prepare for your strike,” he informs me.
“Thanks,” I say dryly.
“Follow me, no questions,” he orders, heading back through the door we just exited, pulling out two guns in the process.
“Oh shit,” I whisper; shit just got too real.