Didi
Talia grabs my hand, and we bolt down the darkened stairwell, and she pulls me through the second floor and straight to the girls’ washroom.
We hear footsteps and yells behind us just as two security guards rush up the stairs in the opposite direction, missing us by a hair.
The professor must have called for help.
“I can’t believe we just did that,” I whisper. Every nerve ending is on fire, especially where Talia is touching me.
“Stay quiet until we know it’s safe. Bax is waiting for us in the Shaggin’ Waggin’. We just need to get to him, and we’ll be okay.”
We don’t move for a few seconds, and we freeze when we hear the heavy thud of footsteps outside the washroom.
Tasting the metallic tang of his blood on my lips, I’m shoved into a dark stall by Talia.
She quickly hops into the next one as the door opens, and a flashlight slices through the shadows.
If they find us, everything ends, and I’m terrified of what they might do to me. I’ll be blamed for everything.
The guard shines the light throughout the washroom, and I don’t dare to breathe.
“All clear in here, Frank,” a male voice drawls out, and he closes the door again, leaving us in the dark once more.
A few seconds go by, then a few more.
“Talia…” I gasp.
She’s dead quiet before she says, “Quiet. Let’s give it a few minutes before we sneak out.”
My heart is like a hammer on a brick. “Okay.”
Everything is hazy as I stumble toward the outline of the sink, turn the faucet on, and splash water over my face just as the fluorescent lights flicker on.
I scrub my face, arms, and hands, getting every inch of that man off me and glance at Talia in the mirror, who looks untouched in her short dress and knee-high boots with only a small drop of blood on her hands—unlike the streaks of blood all over me.
She stares down at the ancient book like she wants to devour it, flipping through its pages. Her eyes are working overtime, like the words themselves are made of honey. To me, it looks like one of Mama’s old Bibles.
Finally, we make eye contact through the mirror, and she bursts out laughing, dropping the book to the side. “I cannot believe you did that, Diana. You stabbed him, you savage little creature.”
She should talk. After all, she’s the one who castrated him.
I stare at her in the mirror and wipe the remnants of his blood from my mouth. “He deserved it. His mouth tasted awful.”
She blinks at me, gripping her precious book to her chest. “I’m well-aware of what that man tastes like. I’ve been pushing him off me for two years. I only gave into him when he promised me the research assistant job, and as soon as I did, my allure ran out.”
Her reassurances make me feel better. “Do you think he’ll talk?”
She merely shrugs. “Only if he lives to tell anyone about it. He lost a lot of blood and a rather important appendage.”
“Does Tommy know that you’ve been fucking him?” I ask, sipping on more water.
A devious smile forms on her lips, and her eyes focus on whatever is written in that old book. “Why would I tell Tommy I’ve been fucking my professor? Tommy doesn’t understand things like that, Diana. Besides, it’s not like Tommy hasn’t been fucking you.”
I lean my hands back on the counter, feeling more alive than I have in a long while. “So, do you finally trust me?”
She tilts her chin but can’t stop reading. “Yes, Diana. You did good, my little pet.”
I beam, knowing it’s wrong, but I can’t help it—her approval means everything to me. I’d kill anyone for her.
I tweak my head to the side. “Pet… Is that what I am to you?”
She stops reading and steps toward me, twisting a lock of my hair and smiles. “That’s what everyone is to me.”
“I guess I can live with that.” I smile coyly, and she continues to ignore me, devouring the scripture.
“I don’t like them,” I say to her.
“You don’t like who?” she says, lifting her eyes as she realizes the seriousness of my tone.
“Stephen or the professor. I don’t like that you slept with them.” In fact, the thought of them together sickens me. It sickens me more than anything.
She shrugs. “I won’t sleep with Stephen anymore—I have no reason to. I have Tommy and you and my book.”
My stomach twinges. “I think…”
She arches her eyebrows. “You think what?”
“Never mind.”
She lets the book fall to her side, and she touches my face. “I’d kill to know what’s going on inside your head, my little sacrifice.”
I can’t seem to control the dark thoughts swirling in my head.
The blood, the darkness, the pain, and the anger…
it’s all forming into something beautiful.
A powerful, addictive lust. Talia is addictive, and I completely understand why Tommy and Remy are so devoted to her.
There’s something about her that’s indescribable.
“I’d kill all of them for you.” My hand whips to my mouth, and she doesn’t say anything.
She leans in and kisses me, and my stomach explodes.
I smile and let her tease my tongue with hers, enjoying how she tastes like candy.
The sensation is so different from Tommy and Remy; she’s so tiny compared to them.
I don’t know how they’d feel if they knew we were doing this, but they’ve both voiced their loyalty to Talia. They should want this.
The kiss lingers, then she pulls away.
Her eyes dance. “Let’s go home,” she whispers and grabs my hand, leading me away.
Home.
We sneak out of the building, and Bax is waiting to pick us up in the parking lot just as the sun hides beneath the horizon. He doesn’t say a word as we climb into the back, and smoke snakes out of the vehicle.
He turns and faces us, lanky legs hanging off the dash, and he’s looking up at the sky. “Far out, ladies.”
Talia leans up and snaps the curtain shut. “Not now, Bax.”
“Whatever, man. Totally tubular.”
Talia and I crawl into the back and continue our kissing.
I’ve lost all sense of self beyond her, this mission, or whatever this shared purpose really is.
I’ve welcomed the chaos that stirs inside.
My former life feels like a fading dream.
I’m not an innocent little lamb anymore—and truly, I don’t know if I ever was.
My fate, it seems, is entirely in her hands.