by Zoe Chant
What if Garrick wasn’t as cowed as he seemed? she thought, a chill passing along her spine. What if... what if...
She clenched her fists.
She couldn’t think about this now, she told herself. And yet, now that the thought had entered her head, she couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Mercy closed her eyes, feeling the breeze play through her hair.
Dante, where are you?
Where had he gone? And was he okay? Mercy bit her lip. It wasn’t like Dante couldn’t take care of himself, but...
The sound of Roy’s voice jerked her out of her thoughts. Opening her eyes, she glanced around, expecting to see him standing in the doorway, but it was empty. She quickly realized that she was hearing him through the open window of another room of his suite, where he had gone to take his phone call.
Curiosity sprung up beside her unease. She realized eavesdropping was extremely rude, but she suddenly wanted to know very much how the kind of people Roy rubbed elbows with now talked. The Roy of now was so different from the one she’d known in high school that she couldn’t help wondering.
She crept slightly closer to the open window, standing against the wall beside it, cocking her head to hear better.
“... Yeah, she’s here. She doesn’t seem to think anything’s wrong, so I don’t think he told her anything. She’d know by now if they’d sealed their bond.”
Mercy frowned. Roy was speaking rapidly and quietly. She’d thought for a moment that he’d been talking about her – she was here, after all – but the rest of what he’d said didn’t seem to have anything to do with her. Still, there was something about his tone that set off warning bells in her head. She wasn’t sure why – she’d known Roy a long time, after all, and had no reason to be suspicious of him – but it didn’t change the fact that suddenly, her heart was thumping in her chest, the sick feeling of unease that had been inside her all day mounting.
“I told you what you needed to do. If you didn’t follow my instructions to the letter, there’ll be trouble.”
There was a pause, while Roy evidently listened to what the person on the other end of the line had to say.
“If he shifts, we’re all fucked. Give him more dragonsbane if you have to. I don’t care.”
Mercy frowned. She couldn’t make head nor tail of that – though something about his words made her gut begin to churn. She couldn’t understand what it was. Dragonsbane? That sounded like something out of a fairy story. But nonetheless, Mercy felt a pain in her heart at the words, as if something were trying to warn her of some very great danger.
But what?
Before she could examine the feeling more closely, Roy started talking again.
“I’m so close to getting the silly cow on my side – I’ve dosed up the drinks with the serum, and after that she’ll be susceptible to anything I tell her to do. If I can get her to sign on the dotted line then the land’ll be mine. She’s the only one who’s not gagging to sell after everything Garrick’s been doing over the past year or so. I don’t know what I’m paying him for sometimes.”
Mercy stood stock-still, feeling as if her heart had stopped beating within her. Her blood had turned to ice. She could barely believe she had heard correctly.
Roy... Roy wants to buy the land my restaurant is on?
It was more than that, though – he’d said Garrick’s name, said that everyone was gagging to sell after what he’d been doing. After what Roy had been paying him to do.
Because that was what he’d said. Mercy felt as if someone had slapped her across the face. The part of her brain that was still functioning was quickly putting two and two together – and realizing that everything that had happened had been Roy all along.
He’s been paying Garrick to terrorize the storeowners so we’ll have no choice but to sell up cheap or go under. He’s probably been bribing the cops to turn a blind eye, and that’s why Garrick has been able to run riot. He just wants the land for himself...
Her knees felt weak, and it was only with effort that she stopped herself from sagging against the wall.
Land in Hainesville had to be a lot cheaper than buying in the city, or here in Bondsville. God only knew what Roy was planning to build, but she supposed it’d be something that would start spreading the wealth of Bondsville across the river – and eventually start pricing the people who’d been born and raised in Hainesville right out of the area.
I won’t let it happen, Mercy thought, suddenly feeling determination surge through her. He’ll get away with this over my dead body. I will never fucking sell Mercy’s Kitchen – not to him, not to anyone.
But it was a second punch in the gut to realize that Roy had probably never intended to help her out by making a donation to her community work. That had all been a front to get her here, to do whatever he had to in order to get her to sell. He’d talked on the phone about dosing the drinks and a serum. Mercy didn’t want to know what that was about, but she could guess.
Rage flared through her. She wanted to punch Roy in the face, and keep on punching him until her rage died down – which wouldn’t be for a good long while. But she forced herself to push the thought from her mind. She couldn’t do anything if she was in a jail cell after hotel security called the cops.
No, she had to be smart about this. Or smarter than she’d been so far.
Dante. I wish you were here. I don’t think you ever trusted Roy from the start.
She felt sick.
And she knew she had to get out of this hotel room.
How much longer would Roy be on the phone? Swallowing, Mercy silently made her way back to the door, closing it behind her as softly as she could. Roy was still in the other room. She knew she ought to go straight to the exit, and run to the elevators before Roy knew she was gone.
But at the same time, she wondered if she ought to try to find some proof of what Roy was up to. Everything sounded too… fantastical to be real. It was the kind of thing she saw in movies when she was a kid: unscrupulous property developer tries to take on small town with dirty tactics, tries every underhand trick in the book to get his way…
…And then the small-town folk take him down with nothing but pluck and determination on their side, Mercy thought grimly. Well, she could only hope that just this once, a Hollywood ending would come to life.
Licking her lips, she cast her eyes over the room. There was a massive wooden desk by a window on the far side, with an expensive-looking laptop on it, along with some neatly stacked papers. Without stopping to think too much about what she was doing, Mercy crossed the room.
She glanced over her shoulder before she started rifling through the papers – not that she believed for a moment that Roy would be so careless as to leave anything where she might see it. No, everything would be password protected on his computer… or, she thought, her eyes drifting down the side of the desk, in a drawer, under lock and key.
Pulling in a deep breath, Mercy wondered how much she was really willing to risk… before deciding that she was willing to put everything on the line if it meant that maybe the people of Hainesville would start fighting to keep what was theirs.
Growing up in a shady area had its benefits, Mercy thought as she slid a bobby pin from her hair. She’d decided to try to tame her wild curls in the name of looking professional, but that had always been a losing battle. The pin wasn’t serving any purpose where it was.
She could put it to far better use.
Straightening it out, she slid the end into the keyhole on the desk drawer, shifting it this way and that until she felt the lock give way. Then, silently, she opened the drawer.
Mercy could hardly believe her luck – if she wanted to call it that. There, sitting on top of a neatly stacked pile of papers, was the very thing she was looking for: Application for Planning Permit: 210 – 1067 North Way, HAINESVILLE –
Mercy stopped reading. It was one thing to suspect it, but it was quite another to actually see the proof of Roy’s bet
rayal, even if she’d just overheard his plans from his very own lips. Her hands shaking, she pulled her cell phone from the pocket of her blazer, taking a quick snap of the planning permit – asking for permission to build right over the lots where Mercy’s Kitchen and the other small businesses she shared the strip mall with were located.
She was about to put the phone away, when some kind of sixth sense made her reach into the drawer, checking the stack of papers beneath.
Her blood froze in her veins. Beneath the sheaf of papers applying to build over her restaurant and the other businesses in the strip mall, was yet another planning permit application... but this time, the address Roy was asking permission to build over was –
Hainesville Elementary and Middle School, Mercy thought, her head swimming. That was definitely the address she was looking down at. And not only that, but for the adjoining lot, too – in other words, the library that Jessa had worked so hard to make an integral part of the students’ lives, and which she was using to foster an interest in reading and learning that she hoped would set them up for a better life.
Without the school and library, Mercy didn’t know what would happen. The kids would have to go somewhere else – which meant a longer bus ride, a new, unfamiliar place to get used to after all the hard work Jessa had put in getting them to the library, and naturally no time for the after-school activities Jimmy had spent so much time organizing. It meant there’d be no time for the kids to come by her restaurant to pick up their lunches. It was taking away a place that Mercy knew a lot of the kids felt safe and happy at, and which she and others had spent a lot of time getting them to show up to in the first place.
Fury made her hand shake as she raised her cell phone once more. Wanting to knock down a strip mall was one thing, no matter how attached she was to the place.
But wanting to knock down a school… well, that was just plain evil.
Mercy didn’t know what kind of permits Roy would have to secure in order to get permission to buy the land the school was on, but she was certain that he’d have no trouble bribing whoever needed to be bribed to do it. Maybe it was wrong of her, but she didn’t have a lot of faith in the authorities around here.
I have to get out of here before Roy comes back. I have to – I have to find Dante –
She didn’t know why, but somehow, she knew that no matter how hopeless she felt, with Dante by her side she could get through it. She’d fight this – she’d fight Roy – tooth and nail. She’d do whatever she had to do to stop him.
Closing the drawer, Mercy shoved her phone back into her pocket and hurried back toward the door of the suite, her heart hammering in her chest. Suddenly, everything Roy had done had taken on a more sinister aspect.
Did he come and tell me about Dante’s criminal record to try to separate us? Did he know that Dante suspected him? Oh, God, Dante – I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry –
“Going somewhere, Mercy?”
Roy’s voice from the other side of the room stopped her cold in her tracks. Her heart in her throat, Mercy turned to face him, forcing herself to smile.
“I – well, I just wasn’t sure how long you’d be, and –”
She watched his face as she stuttered out an explanation.
Does he know? How long was he standing there?
Nothing about his expression told her anything.
“I’m sorry I had to take that call – but I’m back now. Let me fix you a drink.”
Mercy’s heart started pounding.
I’ve dosed up the drinks with the serum, and after that she’ll be susceptible to anything I tell her to do. Those had been Roy’s words only moments earlier. No matter what she did, she couldn’t drink or eat a single thing Roy offered her.
“No thanks,” she said quickly. “In fact, it’s getting pretty late. I could just leave the proposals here with you and come back another time. I know you’re busy.”
“Not too busy for you, as I said,” Roy replied, crossing the room. He glanced at her, and Mercy saw something cold in his eyes. “You’re not planning on leaving so soon, are you?”
“It’s late. I have an early shift tomorrow,” she said, watching him carefully. She was still closer to the door than he was to her. If she had to, she could bolt for it.
Roy raised an eyebrow. “You’re the owner, though. Surely you can close for the day.”
Mercy shook her head, taking a tiny step toward the door. “I’d rather not.” She swallowed. “Roy, it’s late. I’m going home now.”
She turned away from him. There was no point in being polite – he’d never intended to give her any money in the first place. The only thing she could do now was try to get back to Hainesville, find Dante, and figure out a way to foil Roy’s development plans…
Before she could reach the door, however, she felt a slight breeze, as if something had just rushed past her – and then Roy was standing in her way, a small smirk on his face.
What the… what the hell? How did he move so fast?!
Mercy stared at him, her brain unable to comprehend how he’d gotten across the room so quickly – though more important was the fact that he was now standing between her and the door, completely blocking her path.
“Oh, no, Mercy,” Roy said, and this time his eyes were icy cold, his voice sending a shiver down her spine. “I think you’d better stay right here.”
Mercy stared at Roy defiantly, hoping he couldn’t see her fear on her face.
“You can’t stop me from leaving, Roy,” she said, trying to keep her voice calm and measured.
Roy seemed amused by her statement. “I’d rather not demonstrate just how wrong you are about that,” he said, shaking his head. “It would really be my preference that you go sit down of your own free will, and we can chat about this like the old friends we are.”
“We’re not friends,” Mercy spat out, her anger and impulsiveness finally getting the better of her. “I don’t even know you, Roy. Not anymore. I heard what you said on the phone just now – I know what you’re planning to do.” She swallowed, feeling sick. “What happened to you? I thought I knew you, but –”
“That’s enough.” Roy cut her off with a shake of his head. “Nothing happened to me. I was always exactly what I am now.”
“A snake?” Mercy could hear her own voice crackling with anger. “Someone who’d lie and cheat and steal, just to get a bit more money? Don’t you have enough already?”
Roy shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips. “You’d never understand, Mercy. It’s not possible. What I am and what I want… it’s something a mere human could never comprehend.”
Mercy stared at him, incredulous. What? ‘Mere human’? Does he think he’s not… what the hell is he…
“You’re crazy,” she said, her voice shaking. “You’re totally crazy.”
“Am I? You really don’t know? That Dante of yours really didn’t tell you?” Roy looked at her searchingly. “No, I suppose not. It’s not the sort of thing you can just blurt out, I suppose. And it’s too late now. For him, anyway. Though it doesn’t have to be for you.”
Mercy blinked, feeling as if the room were spinning around her.
“What are you talking about?” she asked, her throat almost too tight for her to speak. “What’s – what’s Dante – what have you done –”
There were too many thoughts swirling in her head for her to complete her question. What hadn’t Dante told her? And what did Roy mean when he’d said it was too late for him?
He – he can’t be dead. I’d know. I’d feel it.
It was a nonsensical thought, but somehow, Mercy knew it was true. She’d know in her heart if Dante had been killed.
She stared at Roy. And – Roy might be a snake and a liar and a thief, but is he a murderer?
She had to get out of here. She had to get away from Roy, find Dante, and stop him getting any further with his plans. Her chest throbbed with pain.
Dante. Dante!
She couldn
’t stop the way her heart called out his name. Desperately, she tried to push past Roy to get to the door, but he caught her wrist in his hand, his grip like iron.
“He can’t help you now,” he said, his voice cold, as if he had read her thoughts. “And if you don’t want to end up just like him, I suggest you do exactly as I say.”
Chapter Ten
Dante
Dante. Dante!
The sound of Mercy’s voice cut through the fog in Dante’s mind like a knife as he came to slowly, shaking his head. He didn’t know where he was – he had no memory of anything that had happened after everything had gone black in the alleyway outside the restaurant. He only knew that he had to get free – he had to make sure Mercy was safe –
Groaning, he fought his way back up from the pit of darkness his mind had fallen into, forcing his eyes open.
“Awake, are we?”
A cold voice above him cut through the fogginess in his head. He shook himself, trying to force himself to full alertness. He could feel a rope burning against the skin of his wrists and arms; usually, that wouldn’t have been nearly enough to hold him, but right now he felt as if someone had tied leaden weights to all his limbs. His muscles wouldn’t obey him, and his mind couldn’t focus.
“Not feeling too good, I take it? Yeah, that’ll be the dragonsbane – we made sure to dose you up real good, keep you here until we’re sure we don’t need you any more.”
“Mercy –” Dante’s voice rasped in his throat.
“You mean your gal, or are you asking for actual mercy?” The man laughed at his own joke, his voice harsh. “Doesn’t matter either way – you won’t get either.”
Dante’s lip curled into a snarl. He still couldn’t see the man – his vision was swimming, his eyes unable to focus – but that wouldn’t stop him from fighting his way free and making his way to Mercy.
He reached inside him for his dragon – only to find it wasn’t there.
No. No, that can’t be.