58. A Message from Hell
A Message from Hell
Kate felt like a bomb had gone off in her body, shattering her mind in a thousand different directions.
With everything that happened over the last couple of days and the change of scenery, she had pushed all thoughts about the threats to the back of her mind.
But it was still out there, waiting for her and Lucien to trip the wire.
She slipped her sweat-slick hands out of the pink gloves, wiping them over her black training trousers in a useless attempt to hide the trembles.
“Hey.” Her eyes flew to his, where nothing but grim determination stared back at her. “We’re okay. I have… done certain things to throw them off our scent, this…” He flipped up the phone, catching in again with a fast hand. “is no more than a step up to the ladder that I’ve placed for them.”
Her ears perked up. Certain things? She almost asked what it meant before he dropped the next bomb.
“But for it to work, I’m going to need you to go to the sanctuary.
In fact.” Lucien popped up his wrist, checking his watch.
“We need to leave in no more than fifteen minutes for me to make it back here on time.”
The sanctuary. She hadn’t been back there since… Isabel. And even though things were different between her and Lucien now, not being present during this meeting meant it would leave her with Lucien’s version of answers…
“No.”
He looked up from the tiny screen, eyes scouring over her posture. And she knew what he found there, the defiance that seemed to intrigue him as much as it bode an obstacle to his plans. “I beg your pardon, sweetheart?”
“No.” She crossed her arms over each other. “I’m not going back there, and the time where you dragged me somewhere kicking and screaming is over.” I hope.
He raised an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t place my faith in that, Kate. Because if you’re not planning to get in the car on your own two feet, I might just have to help you a little bit.” His head tilted, a challenge waiting to happen. “Whether it happens screaming is up to you.”
All she could do was stare at him, that tiny bit of hope squashed. His eyes fluttered closed for a second before a pained smile took over. But he didn’t attempt to take back his words.
The alter ego had reared its head again. She turned away from him, gaze shifting to the mats where mere minutes ago they had been playfully bashing each other as if there wasn’t a worry in the world.
A hand fell on her shoulder. “Kate, I know why you don’t want to go. I understand that… Hell, if I could drop you off anywhere else I would. But we have to go.”
Her arms went heavy beneath Lucien’s touch. She bit her lip, trying to fight the hold he had over her. Firm and gentle, threatening and kind. Lucien switched between the two like he flipped a coin every couple of minutes, deciding which side he would show.
He drove the point home. “I’m waiting for you, you know.” Her skin tingled as he squeezed her gently. Waiting, he was waiting for her to set her legs in motion. Letting precious seconds, a minute, go to waste to let her decide.
An idea formed. She would go alright, would face the nightmares that waited for her in the sanctuary, but there would be something she’d leave behind… because she deserved to know.
“Fine.” She sighed. Half turning to leave when his hand clenched around her shoulder, stopping her for the briefest of moments.
“We good?”
Kate forced her lips into a weak smile. “Of course we are.”
***
It took two minutes for her to shrug herself out of the still soaked clothes, one minute to throw water over her face and freshen up before she stood in front of Lucien’s room. Time to see if this plan of mine will work.
“Lucien?”
“Yes?” His voice sounded distanced behind the wooden door, and was that the tap being turned off?
“My, uh, my phone is flat.”
Not five seconds later the door in front of her clicked open to show a still dripping wet Lucien standing in the opening, with a towel wrapped securely around his lower abdomen, leaving his eight pack and pectorals wide open for scrutiny.
“Oh, my God, Lucien…” Kate’s hand flew up, shielding her eyes from the view. A teasing laugh rippled out through the hallway, taunting her ears.
“What’s wrong?” A coy smile played over his lips. “You know you did mend my shoulder when I was in the same state, right? I didn’t see you shrinking away and squeaking like a shy schoolgirl then.
What’s wrong? Literally nothing’s wrong with that display.
“You were covered in blood and to be honest looked quite pathetic.” She kept her hand firmly plastered to her temple while he kept chuckling.
“I’ll have to tease you about this some other time, but for now.
” He shut the door behind him, crowding her in the slim hallway.
Kate jumped back, as fast as if a rattlesnake was thrown at her feet with its mouth snapping and hissing at her.
Lucien merely shook his head at her behavior, tutting like one would to a child.
“Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy.” He brushed past her muttering.
“Follow me, miss can’t keep her phone charged. ”
If she wasn’t about to take a huge risk that could end with her damaging the fragile trust between Lucien and her, she might have taken the chance to admire the honed man in front of her.
As it were, Kate kept her attention strictly on the wildlife pictures framing the walls.
Wondering what the hell Lucien would do if he walked in on her a couple minutes from now.
Would it stop with her being dragged out to the car, as he had promised her would happen, or would he be more creative?
I honestly don’t want to know.
As much as she was winning ground in martial arts, she was still easy prey when it came to the man in front of her. Even though it pained her to admit that tiny fact.
Fuck. Kate almost crashed head-first into said back when he stopped in front of the study, throwing her a mocking side-eye. “Better watch where you’re going.”
She huffed. “Honestly, Lucy, the pictures are more interesting than whatever you.” She moved her eyes up and down his form with a cruel smile, not shrinking away from his attention zeroed in on her. “have on offer.”
A laugh bounced against the walls before he leaned in closer, putting his lips beside her ear and smirking at the goosebumps rising along her skin.
“I beg to differ, sweetheart, judging from that wiggling of yours.” He winked at her, glancing between the door of the training room and her, telling her he knew exactly where her mind had strayed during their showdown.
“Oh, if only we had more time to test that theory.” He shook his head in regret.
“We’ll get back to this soon though. Don’t worry. ”
Kate would in fact put his promise on the shelf of things to start worrying about. But first things first.
Lucien pushed into the study, heading straight for his desk to open a drawer.
She followed him in, peeking over his shoulder to see a false bottom, whorls and all perfectly matching.
She raised her eyebrows while he flipped out the wooden board, showing multiple burner phones waiting to be used.
Two seconds later he pressed one of the phones into her hand, folding her fingers over it as he held her gaze steady, all attempts at a smile had faded from his face. “Keep it close no matter what.”
Oh, I will. She nodded, but had to ask. “But… why the fuss? I mean, a step up the ladder, right?”
His head lifted to the clock on the wall, eyes narrowing to see how much time they had left.
Minutes… it had to be enough. “Preparation is everything, but shit can always go sideways. In case it does.” He reached into the drawer again, pressing a passport and a thin plastic card into her hands.
“I wanted to do this another time but… congratulations on passing your driver’s test, miss Willows. ”
“What?!” Her eyes snapped to the card in her hands. A photo of her, the same one she had on her old I.D. peered up at her. And a driver’s license with another name on it. Haley Willows.
“You might not have passed the test yet, but Haley sure did.” He clicked his tongue.
“I’m confident you won’t smash any car into a brick wall, or cause an accident on the highway or—” He stopped his teasing when she shot him a surprised glance, not knowing whether she should show irritation at his jests or be thankful because this…
wasn’t just help, it was planning for whatever lay ahead of them.
“Thank you, Lucien. I mean, I don’t know what to say.” He’d just handed her a key to her freedom.
“You don’t have to say anything.” He strode past her, holding the now slipping towel up with a hand as he stepped into the hallway. But not without a final glance in her direction. “You coming?”
Kate was left staring at the plastic card resting in her palm. And all the things it signified. She had a permit to drive the car. Had the skills to drive it too, could… drive herself to Mexico if that’s what she wanted to do.
But somewhere in the background a tiny voice whispered at her to hurry up.
I have to see if phase two of the plan will work. Even after what he just did for me.
She bobbed her head. “I’ll be there in a sec. I lost something last time I was in here.”
Drops were still racing down his tanned skin, and with a curse he folded the towel firmer around himself, leaving her alone with a last joke. “I better go and dress before I scar your eyes for life.”
His echoing chuckle gifted her with the possibility of pinpointing his location. Almost back to the door and… yes. It fell shut behind him.
The further the better.
Kate conjured up her ‘flat’ phone out of the back pocket of her faded jeans, forcing down the guilt that sat at the back of her throat. She bent down, grabbing the grey duct tape from inside her boots. That last one she’d managed to swipe out of the kitchen during Lucien’s shower.
One… she stopped, ears straining to pick up the slightest of sound, but only silence reigned in the house.
Thank God for small mercies.
two… bending down to her haunches, she bit off four long straps of the tape, sticking them to the desk’s edge, ready for use.
three… next was ticking in her old number on the new phone.
Fuck me. She typed in a wrong number. Pressing the red button, she stared out the hallway. Still no Lucien. Huffing, she released a breath through her nose, in and out. Better take a second to gather herself rather than fall to the ground because she’d forgotten to breathe.
four… ticking in the number again, she picked up her own call with the new phone.
Desperately shoving her thumb over the little speaker to muffle the sound of the call before answering it.
Grabbing a piece of tape, she had no choice but to shove it between her teeth, ignoring the way it made her tongue curl up.
five… She rolled aside his desk chair, craning her neck to fit below the desk. She held up the phone to the worn wood, tearing the grey strap from her teeth to plaster it over the device.
Almost there. Just a couple steps left…
Nearly dropping the next piece of tape, she swallowed a curse and ripped off the remaining pieces, using it to cover up the old phone. Checking with a hand to make sure it wouldn’t fall in the midst of their conversation.
“Found what you were looking for?”
Kate nearly bumped her head against the desk. Hallway, he was in the hallway.
She shoved herself up on trembling hands. Grabbing his chair, she whirled it around and threw her weight down in it to rest a hand on her chin. Pretending to stare out the large window all the while calming the heartbeat that was throbbing in her ears.
“We’ll be alright, Kate. It’s not healthy to stress yourself like this.”
She glanced over her shoulder with a demure smile. Lucien was fully clad in his usual black clothes, with the hood resting on his shoulders. The very same look as when they had first met. Only his eyes told a different story now.
Telling her that he mistook the flush on her cheeks and the nervous twitches in her fingers, luckily.