24. Raegan
Chapter twenty-four
Raegan
Hype is packed by the time I get back. I’m ragged and worn with blood still spattered on my clothes and now soggy as well. The storm must have rolled in soon after we got to the safe house, because it was raining the entire way back. Thankfully, my stalker shadow was nearby after only a few minutes in the freezing rain, and then the rain simply fell around me for the rest of my walk.
I force my way up to the bar and almost collapse against it. “Porsh!” I groan aloud before the music in the room swallows it up.
She appears like a damn fairy godmother in her colorful skirt and netted top, all covered in glitter. On her back are sheer purple butterfly wings. One might think it would look silly in a nightclub, but the outfit brings it all together and she pulls it off.
“Rae?! What happened? Are you okay? You look terrible!”
I huff from where my chin is resting on my arm on the counter. “Gee, thanks friend.”
She squats so we’re face-to-face and studies me. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost. ”
Panic flares in my chest, and I squash it back down. None of that.
“I did,” I mutter. I can’t think about him right now. I need to forget everything that happened tonight. Just enough so I can get some sleep and then I’ll figure shit out in the morning. I know if I try to sleep now, though, I’ll only wind up trapped by nightmares.
“I don’t want to talk about it now. I need drinks. Lots of drinks. Shots.”
Portia smiles and strokes my hair. It’s not in a condescending way like I feel it would be with others. It’s warm and sweet. “I’ve got you, Rae Rae. We’ll get you fixed up.”
She turns and shouts down the bar. “Ethan! Give my girl that cheeseburger you just brought back!”
“I don’t want to take his food,” I mumble, and she runs her fingers across my head again.
“Come on. I have a change of clothes in the back you can use to clean up.” Portia brings me back to the employee room and helps me change and fix my hair and makeup so I don’t look like a wet, bloody mess anymore.
Once we’re back out to the bar, she brings me to a spot where a plate of food is waiting for me. My stomach growls when the smell hits me.
“Wow, what happened to you?” Ethan asks worriedly.
I lift my head and frown, tucking hair behind my ear. “You’re really making a girl feel good about herself, Ethan.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. Just…are you all right?”
“I’m alive and here, aren’t I?”
And isn’t that the truth? I should count my blessings for that right now. For Jackson showing up in time.
Ethan knocks his knuckles on the counter. “Well, let me know if there’s anything else I can get you.”
I force a smile that I’m still not ready to feel on my face and nod. Then I shovel in my burger like I haven’t eaten all day. Wait, maybe I haven’t.
Portia gets back to taking orders until my plate is cleared of the large cheeseburger and fries and then returns with an entire tray of shots. “Let me know if you want me to walk you back to your room once you’re sufficiently trashed.”
“I’ll be all right. The apartment’s just upstairs,” I say, and she laughs.
“We’ll see. Have some fun, girl, so you can fill me in on everything tomorrow.”
I take the shots one after another, flipping the glasses over each time one is emptied. I lose count of how many I’ve done, but once the warmth of liquor slides under my skin like a blanket and bees begin to buzz in my head, I know I’m good.
I head out onto the dance floor to release some of my stress and anxiety and leave it behind.
I dance until my body is hot and languid, my mind dark and spinning. I have no idea who I’m dancing with, only that I’m lost in the crowd as another slave to the music.
My current dance partner breathes on the back of my neck with their closeness, and I grind back into them and throw my head back into their shoulder, eyes closed. I’m pulled taut against them. Their hands roam down my thighs .
I’m dizzy and clumsy, so when I start to push away from them before this goes too far, it’s a weak attempt, and I’m tugged back in place. “No,” I mumble, pushing at the person’s—a man’s—chest as I turn to see who it is. I just want to dance. And then pass out alone in my bed.
“I’ve got you, sweetheart.” The man leers at me and yanks me back against him.
“Don’t touch her,” a smooth, male voice threatens from behind me. I’m pulled away from the first guy and stumble into a firm body. The smell of cinnamon fills my nose, and I inhale deeply. It’s familiar, but I can’t place it while my head’s still spinning from all the movement.
I should be getting away from this one too, though.
“Hey! Find your own girl! This one’s mine tonight,” the first guy yells, grabbing my wrist.
I push off the second guy while trying to simultaneously free my wrist, which results in me flailing with the uncoordinated effort. The second one wraps an arm around my shoulders to secure me back against him, then extends his other arm toward the first man.
There’s a flash of metal that reflects the colored lights changing above the dance floor. I blink to clear my vision. Is he holding a blade against the guy’s neck?
Hang on.
I drag my head back to look at my current captor.
Aiden.
The first guy drops my wrist and curses. “What the fuck? It’s just a chick.” He backs up and disappears through the crowd. The blade shortens until it disappears up Aiden’s sleeve.
A giggle tickles up my throat, and I slap a hand over my mouth, even though it doesn’t stop it from coming out. Somewhere deep down, I know I should be concerned over what’s going on, but the idea that Aiden came to the nightclub to dance with me is hilarious.
Did I already fall asleep and this is a dream?
He frowns at me, but doesn’t say anything. Then he’s walking us through the throng of dancers and I realize he’s not here to dance. He’s making me leave.
“Hey!” I shout and try to twist out of his hold, but he propels us to the back of the club.
“Are you too drunk to walk up the stairs or do I have to carry you?”
“I’m not leaving—”
My stomach drops when I’m lifted unexpectedly, and I scream and throw my arms around him in a panic that I’m falling.
Aiden scoffs at my reaction, and I would snark at him for it if him running up the stairs with me didn’t give me the spins. I bury my face in his neck and close my eyes, willing my stomach to cooperate. His cinnamon scent helps.
I don’t poke my head up until we stop and there’s beeping, like the sound of entering a code to enter my apartment. I don’t know what his plan for me is, but I’m just drunk enough that the idea of sleeping with Aiden to end my night doesn’t sound terrible. I can’t think of a better distraction.
He sets me down as soon as the door closes behind us, then grabs my shoulders in a punishing grip. “What the fuck are you doing?! We all get attacked and this is what you do right after?”
I smile slyly and slide my hands up his dress shirt under his jacket. “What? You jealous?” I giggle again at the joke that would be, and then at the rise I knew I’d get out of him when he seizes my wrists and pulls them off of him.
“What’s the matter with you?”
I twist my wrists out from his grasp and then wrap them around his neck and press against him. “What’s the matter with you? It’s just a bit of fun.”
Aiden shoves my hips back, but I grab his tie and pull him with me. I hit the wall and gasp. “Tell me about what happened with Gordon. What happened to you after I left you on the island,” he demands angrily.
That man’s name out of his mouth pierces through the alcohol and makes my stomach turn. My entire plan to forget him flies out the window as I’m forced to remember that he’s alive. He’s here. No. No!
I shove Aiden back. “Get out! You’re ruining everything!”
He snarls and reaches for me, but I dive to the ground and crawl away from him. I grab my shoe from the ground to chuck back at him.
Aiden curses, but it distracts him for hardly a second before he flips me onto my back. I throw my hands and legs at him, hitting and clawing at him in my struggle. He swears again when I knee him in his thigh, just shy of my intended target. His legs pin mine down and then he wrangles my wrists over my head in one hand.
“Just tell me and I’ll let you go. I need to know. ”
“Why? So you can sleep better at night?” I spit out at him. “I don’t owe you any-fucking-thing, Aiden. You want to see all the scars I’ve got? You want to make sure I’ve been punished enough for what I’ve done? Because I promise you, I have. Does that make you feel better?”
Tears leak down the sides of my face to the floor as the pain and memories I’d tried to hold back start hammering their way back out. My lungs tighten until I feel like I can’t breathe. I’m going to be swallowed whole by the darkness creeping back into my mind and waiting to consume me.
My eyes squeeze shut. I can’t see him looking at me anymore. I can’t let him see all of my broken pieces as I begin to shatter.
Warm breath fans across my face, and I angle toward it instinctively. Lips touch mine, and time comes to a standstill.
The kiss is soft, almost comforting, before his lips coax mine apart. My body tingles and heats with every slow and deliberate stroke of his tongue. It’s like he’s breathing life back into me, and the darkness recedes from my mind.
I return his kiss with greater fervor, seeking to banish the thoughts that will drown me until I’m only heat and desire. I barely graze against him, and he snaps free of the kiss.
Aiden releases me and stands, leaving me bereft and angry. His hand rubs across his mouth as he stares at me in shock. “I shouldn’t have—” he starts as I push back to my feet and wobble a little. Then I slap him.
He scowls and grabs the back of my neck to yank me against him. Our lips smash together in hate or passion, I can’t tell, because now we’re scrambling at each other with bruising grips and scraping claws. I’m desperate to feel his skin against mine and tear his shirt wide, the buttons snapping and popping and falling to the floor while my hands are busy running up and down his chiseled abs and chest.
His hand in my hair tightens hard enough to bring fresh tears to my eyes, and I dig my nails into his chest in return.
He lifts me up and my legs wrap around his waist without hesitation as I grind against him and push deeper into our kiss. There’s nothing soft or nice about it. We’re a clash of teeth and tongues and a battle of wills as we each fight to consume the other first. My hands scrape at his back and slide through his hair like I have to mark and touch every inch of him.
We swing around the room, and he crashes me back into a mirror on the wall that shatters. My dress blocks most of the damage, but shallow cuts nick my upper back, and I groan into his mouth as the bit of pain mixes with pleasure.
There’s no more room in me for anything but, and I’d happily drown in this feeling every night rather than where I’d been about to go.
We’re moving again, this time to the small table against the wall like he means to sit me on it, and the knick-knacks that Elias had on there for aesthetic are swept aside and shatter on the ground. My ankles lock behind him as he leans forward, crowding me against the wall and table. I rub my hungry pussy against him.
My fingers scramble for the button on his pants. Our kiss breaks and it’s like a spell is broken and the realization of what he’s doing kicks in. Frustration swells in my chest when he steps back and shakes his head.
I drop my legs back to the ground and throw my entire body into shoving at him. “That’s right. Leave. I hate you anyway. I’ll just go find someone else downstairs who can actually give me what I need.”
His face darkens, likely with the same hate he has for me. Aiden stalks forward and then we’re kissing again. I’m confused as fuck, but not totally complaining, as we’re thrown back into a kissing frenzy that has us moving to the bedroom. He lifts me up and carries me over to the bed, then covers me with his body.
He grabs my hands and locks them above me and my body arches and curls up against his.
Something cool and hard slithers around my wrist and I pull away from it. The jingle of a chain answers, and my eyes snap open.
Aiden smirks above me and slides off the side of the bed. “I’ve left your one arm free if you need to finish before going to sleep. But the only one getting you off tonight is yourself.”
I look up and find one of my wrists handcuffed to the bed. Except it’s no ordinary handcuff, because it’s chained directly into the bed. Like it’s a part of the bed.
Because that’s exactly what it was before Aiden created a handcuff from the metal frame.
“You fucking bastard!” I snarl at him, and his smirk widens.
“Have a good night and we’ll chat some other time when you aren’t drowning in alcohol.” He walks over to the bedroom door, and I snatch the lamp on the bedside table and chuck it at him.
He laughs and closes the door in time for it to smash against it.
A knocking noise rouses me from sleep, and I groan, hoping it’ll go away. “Knock, knock!” a soft voice sings through my bedroom door.
The door opens, and I open my eyes as Portia pokes her head through.
“If there’s a guy in here, cover up because I’m coming in for my Rae Rae!” she calls out. Then she gasps and rushes over to the head of the bed. “What happened to your bed?” Her eyes widen and she looks at me in awe. “Was it that good?”
I roll onto my back and cover my eyes with the back of my arm. “You know, when we traded codes to get into each other’s apartments for emergencies, this isn’t what I meant.” It comes out grumpier than I intended, but I’m still spitting and hissing internally at what happened with Aiden last night.
At myself for letting it get as far as it did.
At him for stopping it.
Ugh. I hate him so much.
She sits on the edge of the bed and tsks at me. “Nonsense. You love my visits. I brought you water and medicine for the hangover. I also snagged us some breakfast sandwiches.”
My arm flops back onto the bed, and I look at her like she’s the fucking moon goddess. “You’re right. I fucking love you. Don’t ever leave me.”
She smiles, but there’s a tinge of sadness to it that sets off alarm bells. She hands over the cup of water and pain relief without a word.
I sit up and take them, then jump on that look before she can get away with it. “What was that look? Please tell me that you aren’t actually thinking of leaving here.”
Portia sits on the bed with me, legs crossed while holding her ankles. “I don’t know yet. What was it like traveling on your own the last couple of years?”
“It was hard, Porsh. I never knew where I would be eating or sleeping some nights. You can meet some people who will take advantage of you the first chance they get.”
She chews on her bottom lip. “But weren’t there fun times? Didn’t you feel…free?”
I frown. That’s not…really how I would have put my time hopping around from one place to the next. “What’s this really about? Why do you want to leave?”
“Well, I’ve been here for two years and haven’t gotten a single memory back. I was thinking…maybe if I went off and explored a bit, something might bring them back. Or I might remember something.” She fidgets in her spot. “I’ve been leaning on Elias too much and it feels like I’ve become…trapped. And then when your goons showed up, I’m trapped even more between the club and this apartment.”
My heart sinks in my chest. This is all my fault. If I hadn’t come here, she wouldn’t have to worry about GE. She was only brought to their attention because of me.
“No. That’s not what I meant, Rae!” She leans forward and puts her hands on my legs. “I’m so happy I’ve met you. And it was like this before you showed up. Elias just made things so…easy. And I thought I was happy with that. But now that he’s been gone for a bit, I realize that I’ve been using him as my crutch. An excuse to not go out in the world and discover who I am.”
“Let me go with you, then.” I grab her hands in mine. I don’t want to lose her friendship. And I know how bad the world can be out there. At least if I’m with her, I could help protect her.
Or would I just draw more danger to her?
“Or wait until I deal with GE, and then we can go together,” I amend.
Portia shakes her head. “I think I need to go before Elias comes back. Because…I don’t know if I’ll be able to leave if he’s here,” she adds, her face flushing at the admission.
My face splits into a grin. I try to keep my cool, but inside, I’m cackling. “You like him, then?” I’d suspected when she was upset he’d left, but I didn’t want to put my hopes there. It could have been wishful thinking after learning about Elias’s secret crush and how sweet they would be together. At least the two of them can give me hope for nice relationships.
She smiles, embarrassed, but her voice is strong when she answers. “Yup. A lot. Too much.”
Cue internal screaming.
I clear my throat. “I see. Well, have you talked to him about it?”
“About liking him?”
I grin at her. “No, I meant about wanting to go see the world. I guess that, too, but I’m sure if you asked him, he would help you with that. Maybe even go with you. Just…don’t go rushing off too soon, yeah?”
Portia smiles and tucks her hair behind her ear. “All right. I’ll think on it some more.” She pauses. “So? Where’s the man I saw bring you upstairs last night? And why is half of your headboard gone?”
I chug the cup of water until it’s empty and set it on the nightstand. “That was Aiden ruining my night.”
Portia crosses her arms over her chest. “That was rude.” She inhales sharply. “Wait, so then did you two—” She points at the headboard.
“No! We didn’t. I mean…we almost, but then we remembered we hate each other, so he handcuffed me to the bed and left me. I turned it to dust of course, but I was so angry that I overshot it a bit.”
She snickers and falls back on the bed, spreading her arms out wide. “Handcuffing you sounds like foreplay to me. Or, so I’ve heard at least.”
Heard?
“Portia…” I drawl slowly.
She hides behind her hands.
“Have you had sex?”
Her ears turn bright red and she shakes her head while still covering her face.
I pull her hands away. “Don’t be embarrassed. If that’s your choice, then it’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
“Well…I mean. I could have and I just don’t remember.”
Ah, right.
“Does anything ring a bell when you’re…flicking the bean? ”
“What bean?” She looks at me, puzzled.
“You know.” I bring my hand between my legs. “Petting the kitty. Playing the clitar.” Portia stares at me, confused. “Well, shit. You need to start on that first anyway. Otherwise, how are you going to know what you like? Or don’t like.”
I toss the blankets off of me and some fall on Portia’s legs. She grabs them and pulls them up to snuggle in. “All right, first things first. I have a little girl to rescue from an evil man. Then I can give you a little sex one-oh-one class. How’s that?”
I strip the dress off of me and start tugging on my black pants and shirt.
“A little girl?” She pops upright. “Let me help too. I’ll get the girl and you can distract the guy. Then you don’t have to worry about her while you’re busy.”
A refusal pauses on my lips as I consider her plan. Her gift really would come in handy for the little girl. She can stop her from putting us to sleep and get her out before either of them gets hurt. Leaving me alone with Joe.
A smile forms on my face and Portia bounces on the bed. “Is that a yes? I can help?”
“Just this once, okay? The girl sings people to sleep, so you’ll need to make her stop singing and then get her to go with you to safety. Bring her back here and I’ll pick her up after to get her some help.”
I try not to think about how my available help is most likely Aiden until Elias comes back. It feels like that trip is taking for-fucking-ever. Or maybe I’m just annoyed by how quickly I’ve come to rely on him even when I still barely know him .
“Got it.” She grins like the Cheshire cat and then hops off the bed. “You can tell me the full plan while we eat.”
After breakfast and hashing out the plan, I load up on guns and knives and give her one of each just in case as well. I shut my door and turn the handle out of ingrained paranoia that it’s locked behind me, then turn to stride down the hallway. A single set of heavy steps echo up the staircase, and I tuck Portia behind me at the top, pulling out one of my knives.
“Hey, beautiful. Where are you off to while the sun’s still up?”
I tuck the knife away and scoff. “I could say the same to you. I thought vampires couldn’t be out in sunlight.”
Kellan’s grin sharpens to expose his rows of white teeth. “You got a thing for vampires?”
“No.”
“Oh, so just me then?”
Portia giggles behind me, and I roll my eyes.
“What do you want, Kell? I’m a bit busy right now.”
He leans back against the stair rail and extracts a box of cigarettes from his pocket and picks one out to stick between his lips. He reaches for the lighter, and I snatch the cigarette and toss it.
He frowns at me. “Those are expensive, you know.”
“They’d be cheaper if you quit,” I counter.
Kellan laughs and runs his finger over the other cigarettes in the box. “Are we going to keep doing this?”
“So long as I’m standing here, yes. Or I can walk away and leave you to it.”
He laughs and shakes his head at me, but pockets the pack and lighter. “You win this one, beautiful.”
I raise a surprised eyebrow. “Oh? And why is that?”
“Because I’m coming with you.” His gaze drops down to Portia and then back to me. “Though I didn’t think you’d have company for this mission.”
“How do you know what I’m even doing?”
“Come on, beautiful. You told us last night that you were going to save the girl. I knew it would be the first thing on your mind once you got some sleep, if you didn’t try going out last night. But Jackson made sure you didn’t leave Hype or your apartment to do that, so here I am, to pick you up and drive you there.”
My brain glitches.
Did Jackson see what happened with Aiden last night? Did he watch me drunk dancing with strangers?
Portia squeezes my hand, and I jerk back to the present. “I’ve already got all the help I need, but thanks anyway.”
I start down the stairs and he grabs my elbow.
“I’m helping whether you want it or not. You pushed all of the blame for what happened on Aiden, but I was there too. I’m just as guilty. It’s my responsibility to fix this too.”
“Having someone watch your back while you’re with the icky congressman would make me feel better,” Portia adds in.
“Fine. But if you mess this plan up for us, Kellan, then whatever trust we’ve been building back between us? Gone. Never coming back. Don’t fuck that up.”
He grins and drops a kiss on my temple. “I’ve missed you too, beautiful. ”
Portia ‘awws’ behind me, and I flush and start hurrying down the stairs before either of them can see.
I’m half expecting the congressman’s house to be difficult to break into, but after hopping the brick wall around the back of the property and Portia using her gift to convince one of the staff to let us in and gather the staff in the kitchen, we make it inside without much difficulty.
Having her on the team really does make the plan run smoothly.
It’s the first time I see, or notice, her using her gift. It’s so…understated?
I’m not sure if that’s the best way to describe it, but considering the flashiness and impact of my gift and the ones I’ve seen, I wouldn’t realize she had a gift even while she used it unless I knew about it.
It’s perfect.
Even Kellan looks at Portia more warily afterward, now that he realizes what she can do. I smile with pride at my friend. She looks excited and wired over helping and I have to calm her down so we don’t stick out too much.
Kinda hard to do when Kellan is as large as he is, and Portia is scantily dressed in neon pink.
We walk through the hall and pause in front of the lounge double doors where I’d seen the little girl last. There’s no guarantee that she’s still here and hasn’t been moved, but we’ll search the entire house if we have to.
“Remember, Portia. Don’t even look at him. As soon as we see the girl, make sure she doesn’t sing and then get her out of here and back to the car.”
She nods. Kellan steps up behind me so close I can feel his body heat. Having him here with me, on my side, is a comfort I never realized I needed until now. I’ve always done things alone, where I never had to count on anyone else and worry about them betraying me or having their own agenda. He’s here for the same reason as me. And I know he won’t let anything happen to us.
It's a different sort of strength that flows through me in that knowledge. I straighten with a dark smile.
“Let’s do this.”
I open the door and raise my gun to aim it at the chair behind the desk. Not to actually shoot but it’s a good threat that will hopefully keep him under control from a distance. The chair behind the desk is turned away from us. I slowly move around the desk, keeping my gun trained on the chair. Empty.
“She’s not here.”
“Beautiful, please tell me you checked his schedule today to know where he was going to be at this time,” Kellan drawls with his hands on his hips.
“Wait,” Portia speaks up before I can find something to say that doesn’t admit to how that’s exactly what I didn’t do in my rush to get this done. She fingers along the ridge of one of the wooden panels below the bookcases. “There’s a small gap on this side.” She pushes against it and nothing happens.
“You’re thinking it’s a hidden door?” I ask and move to stand next to her. I can feel the small gap when I run my finger over it and shrug. “Kell?”
He cracks his knuckles and stalks up behind us. We move aside and he knocks on the wall. There’s a hollow echo behind it, which erases any doubt that it’s hiding something. “If anyone is in there, back up, close your eyes and cover your head.”
Singing starts up, and we all look at each other.
“Portia, can you make her stop?”
Her green eyes are worried. “I’ve never tried when I can’t see them.”
“Just give it a try and we’ll see what happens.”
She nods and touches her hand to the door, then leans her forehead against it and closes her eyes. “It’s okay. You’re safe with us. Stop singing.”
We wait a beat, but the singing continues, and my body grows heavy.
Portia tries again, “Stop singing. STOP SINGING. ”
The girl’s singing doesn’t falter, and I pull Portia away from the panel, then give Kellan a nod to go ahead.
Kellan waits a few seconds and then his fist flies through the panel. His hand comes out bloody and battered, but it heals quickly enough and then he’s pounding more holes in until he can yank the false door off.
The singing crescendos, and we drop to our knees. Portia crawls through the opening and pets the girl’s hair until she looks up .
“Stop singing,” she commands softly.
The little girl’s lips snap shut. Portia smiles softly at her. “You’re safe now. No one’s going to hurt you.” She offers her hand out to the girl, and she stares at it. We all wait without a word, and finally, the girl reaches out and takes it.