by Amelia Shaw
“I did buy you.”
Touché.
I lifted my chin, still staring at my barbie-like face in the mirror. “You’ve rented me, payment to be delivered in full upon completion. Now go flatter his ego so when I come back out, he’ll be fluffed up like a turkey.”
Another snort, and I couldn’t help the smile curling my lips. I let it stay when I exited the bathroom. Let Esteban believe he inspired it.
Fin faded back into the crowd as I approached.
“I was beginning to worry you weren’t returning,” Esteban said, and handed me a fresh drink.
How much did this guy expect me to hold? I took it but didn’t sip.
The beautiful sequined woman hovered nearby, glaring at me. I needed more information.
I folded my mouth into a pout and leaned into him. “I think your ex is upset at all the attention you’ve paid me.”
I met his eyes and directed his gaze toward her.
“Oh, she’s not my ex, and don’t worry. She doesn’t know how to smile. Her face is always in a scowl.”
She sounded like my kind of woman. If she wasn’t currently shooting daggers at my face in her imagination, anyway.
A new song started, and Esteban led me onto the dance floor again. I downed the drink this time because, hell, I needed it, and he whisked it away with a passing server. He pulled me into his arms, closer and tighter this time. I maintained the stupid plastic smile while inside I wanted to knee him in the soft parts and rough up his pretty face.
We whirled, his arms tighten around me.
“You feel very good in my arms,” he whispered, practically against my ear.
What was Fin thinking about this right now?
“Thank you,” I said, absently trying to keep from pushing him away.
“After this dance, why don’t I show you my private art collection?”
Oh, playboy Esteban was making his move. If I allowed him to touch me, would creepy magic Esteban come out?
“Don’t you dare, Zoey.” Fin said into my ear via the microphone speaker. “You aren’t invulnerable to magic. What if he can steal your mind?”
I cleared my throat to keep from saying some choice thoughts to Fin.
Then I stared into Esteban’s eyes. “Thank you, but perhaps another time, if you’d invite me to come back to your beautiful home.”
He stopped dancing and tugged me fully against his body, hands on my hips. “What is the harm? Your date is probably long gone, and no one here will miss either of us.”
“No one is going to miss the host? I highly doubt that.” I let some of my annoyance tinge my words, but they didn’t faze him.
Instead of waiting for me to say yes, the bastard dragged me off the floor toward the edge of the ballroom. I stumbled behind him and searched for Fin in a panic. He’d been watching the entire time, and strangely I felt comforted at the thought.
Esteban stopped near a door leading off the ballroom and reached for the knob.
I held him back. “Please. I love parties I’m not ready to leave yet.”
He gently cupped my cheek and pulled me closer by my waist. “You are exceptionally beautiful, mi reina. I can’t wait to make you mine.”
Funny. Me too. Except, I couldn’t wait to rip him to shreds.
“One more drink,” I said, instead.
His eyes hardened, and his fingers tightened around me, digging into my skin. Fin edged closer to us and I waved at him from behind my back not to come closer. I would not ruin an hour spent entertaining this fool because Fin felt the need to protect my virtue.
Esteban leaned in, slow enough to allow me to escape, if only his hands weren’t locked around me so tight. The thought of kissing him made bile rise in the back of my throat. At the last second, I turned my face away and his warm lips met my cheek.
My mistake became obvious when his mouth trailed over my jaw onto my neck.
Oh, no. Psychos don’t get to be near my erogenous zones.
“Esteban, please. We’re in public. Someone will see.”
He hummed against my neck and continued a trail to my bare left shoulder. Oh man, I so needed a shower now. “Please, we can continue this when we are alone.”
As if he didn’t hear a word I said, he continued his exploration over the top of my shoulder and then back around to my neck. His touch was slimy and wrong and somehow still pleasurable. Esteban had to be the 9Volt battery of men. It hurt so good.
I pressed away from his chest, hoping he would finally get the hint and let me go, but the move only seemed to excite him more. Fin stood a couple of feet away, watching us intently, no doubt witnessing the disgust on my face.
Esteban pressed his teeth into the soft part where my neck and shoulder met and I’d had enough.
I roughly shoved him back. “I said stop.”
His smile a little darker and crueler now. It seemed to fit him much better than the magnanimous lady’s man.
Ah, there you are, you bastard.
He reached out to trail his fingers down my cheek, but I shoved them away. Nope, we had both shown our cards now.
He held up that hand in front of my face and snapped his fingers.
The music stopped. Didn’t fade, or peter out; it disappeared. The crowd and the noise were gone.
Only Fin, Esteban, and I stood in the cavernous ballroom which was even bigger now without the crowds.
I swallowed and met Fin’s eyes. He approached and placed his hand at the small of my back. We stared down Esteban, who smiled that wicked grin. Part of me wished I had some pithy remark prepared. After all, if I was going to die, I wanted to make my last words memorable.
My parents’ killer stood before me.
Esteban was the Black Mage.
Chapter Fifteen
Between my realization and a blink, Esteban disappeared along with Fin. I stood alone in the empty ballroom.
I rushed to the nearest door. Locked. I snagged a couple of pins from my hair to pick the lock, but my hands shook so badly I couldn’t line the pin with the tumblers. I threw them down and turned back toward the room. There had to be a way out of here.
“Fin,” I whispered, praying he could hear me through the earpiece.
No response.
“Fin,” I said, louder this time. “Please, answer me.”
Damn it. I crossed the room, my heels clicking on the floor, and I stopped by another door. Quickly, I unbuckled my heels and tossed them away. I couldn’t run if I kept them on, and if people wielding magic showed up, I needed to run.
“A knife or two would be excellent right about now, Fin,” I said. Even if he didn’t respond, I kept talking. Maybe he could hear me and needed my voice as much as I needed to hear him right now.
Of course, this door was locked as well. I knelt in the satin dress, pulled two more pins from my hair, and tried this lock. Once I steadied my breathing, I could focus on sliding the pins into the lock and turning the knob. It clicked, and I jumped up and pulled the handle. It didn’t budge. Must have something like a deadbolt on the other side.
“Who the hell puts a deadbolt lock on a ballroom door? Someone who is preparing to commit a mass murder, maybe,” I told Fin.
Still no answer.
I skirted the room and checked every single door. Then I began looking under artwork, behind sculptures, around the decorative curtains on the walls.
“Why does this dick have curtains on his walls?” I asked Fin. “You’re rich, you should know the answer to this, Fin. Come on, tell me I’m rude, crass, and an asshole so I know you’re alive.”
A pressure built in my chest at the thought of Fin dead. I still owed him a good beat down or two. No one could kill him. Not yet. Not ever.
I marched back toward the main doorway. As I reached it, the door opened and a swarm of men entered the ballroom.
I backed up only so I could keep them all in my sights. Most of them were dressed in tuxedos. A couple of them were wearing black fatigues like Fin’s men.
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“Oh hey, Fin,” I said, sizing them up. “Looks like the Black Mages harem used your same uniform man. Might need to rethink the black on black scheme for the next fashion update.”
One man stepped in front and I put my hands on my hips.
“Are you the guinea pig?” I asked. “Send you out first to get the beat down to see what you’re dealing with?”
I casually pulled a couple more pins from my hair, its length beginning to sag in the back without the support. The man didn’t answer, so I smiled at him and then put the pin ends into my mouth and ripped off the rubber nubs with my teeth.
Then I stretched behind my back and spread the pins across the undersides of my fingers, so the sharp points pressed out of my knuckles. It wouldn’t do as well as a knife would, but it would sting and leave a mark.
If I moved quick enough, I could get around them and out the open door. In the mansion there were more places to hide and regroup. Also, various household goods I could fashion into weapons.
The chief’s voice flashed in my head with a pang of regret. Use what you have, Zoey. Almost anything can hurt you if you mold it correctly.
I sauntered closer to the head henchman and met his eyes. He had at least fifty pounds and half a foot of height on me, but it wouldn’t matter in such close proximity.
“Are we going to do this? Or are you here to join my dance card? I’m sorry to say I think it’s full considering how many friends you brought me to disable.”
He reached out, but I moved before he could touch me. I scraped the pins across his face, while I grabbed the outstretched arm. I twisted hard and popped his shoulder out of the socket. When I pushed him away, he stumbled into his friends.
Red faced, he surged forward, along with his five goons. I punched, dodged, kicked, and batted their hands away. But I knew I couldn’t hold out for long, not against so many of them at once. Not without a lethal weapon to use against them.
Too quickly they crowded tighter and tighter, capturing my arms, and then my legs. They lifted me between them as I struggled and scrambled to get free. It didn’t faze them when I screamed and lashed out.
They squeezed my limbs tighter and carried me away. Unable to escape, I shifted my focus on my surroundings. They carried me out of the ballroom and down a long hallway, through a door, and then down a set of stairs. The décor shifted from uptown to downtown: stark gray walls and a line of nondescript doors.
“Where we going, boys?” I asked, trying to catch my breath for the next fight. It was obvious they’d been sent to bag me, not to hurt me. Not yet anyway.
The man I’d scratched squeezed my arm tighter.
“Fine then, dick. I’ll wait and ask your boss when we get there. If I have time before I rip his head off,” I said, and then added quietly, “Please, Fin, come on.”
The guards and I continued the walk until we reached a room. They threw me on the floor, and I tried to keep the pain off my face but failed.
“You boys sure know how to show a girl a good time,” I grumbled.
One stepped forward and sank to his haunches. “You want a good time, bitch, I can help with that.”
I smiled sweetly and neatly punched him in the nose. Blood gushed down his face, and he fell back on his ass.
The men dragged him backward until they were out the door. They locked it behind them. The click echoed in the empty room.
“Fin. Can you hear me?”
Some sort of a static cut through the line until it squealed in my ear. I fished it out and tossed it away. Not like Fin had made a sound since all of this began.
I turned my attention back to the room. White walls, white door, three locks above the doorknob, and absolutely nothing else. The floor was covered in the same material gyms used, a soft black rubber.
My heart began to pound and adrenaline choked my veins.
No weapons, no way out, no backup... all at the mercy of a magical psychopath. Even I had to admit, these weren’t great odds. But where the hell was Fin?
I paced back and forth around the room and considered my options. Fight, obviously, but if they brought it another squad, I didn’t stand a chance without a weapon.
The doorknob rattled, and a voice called through the wood. “Stand back, Ms. Salix or you will force us to use more permanent measures to keep you contained.”
I shouted back, “Aw, you boys are such flatterers, scared of little ole me?”
I eyed the door but crossed the room to lean against the back wall. I crossed my arms over my chest and cocked one knee out. I was the very picture of nonchalance as I waited for them to enter. I felt like I would puke at any moment, and fear and rage tied up my insides.
One man, wearing a tux, opened the door slowly. When he caught sight of me, he pushed it all the way open and entered.
“Ms. Salix, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
“And you are?”
“You can call me Mr. Gregg.”
I waved my arms around the room. “Step into my office, Greggy Boy. What can I do for you?”
The man turned and waved into the hall. Some guys came in with a small table and two chairs. Time for interrogation. My favorite part. Except, Mr. Gregg didn’t realize while he questioned me, I would be taking information from him as well.
“Please sit,” he said.
I pulled the chair a couple feet away from the table, then sat down on the cold steel. It chilled my legs through the silk of my dress.
The door remained open. How many men were out there waiting to jump at Gregg’s order?
I focused on the new guy. He was only a bit taller than me, and had little hands. He was also super thin, like he needed a couple sandwiches. His eyes were deeply set in his face and his mouth was scowling.
“Ms. Salix, I have a few questions for you.”
He drew a long knife out of his jacket and placed it on the table between us.
I raised my eyebrows at him. “Is this where you threaten violence, so I comply with your demands? You don’t need to. I’m sitting here, aren’t I? Ask me what you want to know, and I’ll tell you if I can.”
He shook his head. “You misunderstand me. I want to know about this knife. My men took it from your friend, the fae. This is an unusual weapon, a priceless one.”
I eyed the knife. It was long, with a carved bone handle. Pretty, but it didn’t look special. “I’ve never seen that knife before, so I don’t know. Fin hadn’t allowed me into his armory... yet.”
“Fin, that was your friend’s name?”
I shrugged. “The only name he ever gave me.”
“Why do you think he left you here?”
The old ‘get under my skin and break the trust of the team’ method.
I shrugged. “Maybe he had another engagement. Or maybe he just got bored. The party was pretty lame.”
My interrogator didn’t even blink, his face remained perfectly neutral. “Tell me what you know about fae.”
“Probably the same as you, Gregg. I’m human. The only thing I know is they are stronger and faster. Also, they can be assholes.”
“Nothing else? Are you sure?”
I waved at the knife between us. “You seem to know more than I do. Fin wasn’t exactly the sharing type. To him, I’m nothing more than an employee. You’re wasting your time on the hired help.”
His brow furrowed as he stared at me. I met his eyes head on. Greggy boy didn’t intimidate me one bit.
“And you don’t believe me when I say that he left you here? Where is he then?” Gregg asked.
I’d thought Fin had been captured as well. Not at the same time I had been, but quickly after. My revelation stayed in my head; I didn’t give Gregg anything.
“If he’s not here, then you better get ready because he’ll come back for me.”
“Didn’t you just say you’re the hired help? Why would he trouble himself with rescuing you?”
The man had been listening.
I batted my lashes at him. �
��I’m kinda cute and a wildcat in the sack?”
“Humorous, but doesn’t answer my question.”
Really? I thought that was enough for most men.
I crossed my arms under my breasts. “I answered. It wasn’t the one you wanted.”
“Ms. Salix, you are going to force me to use more persuasive methods of questioning.”
I gave him my patented unhinged smile. The effect was greater for my ripped dress and messed up hair. “Oh, Gregg, are you coming on to me?”
A vibration went through the air. I felt it and braced for whatever magic he threw my way. Within a second, the air in the room seemed to disappear. I couldn’t draw a full breath. I tried to suck in oxygen, but my lungs were locked. Nothing came in or out.
Then, as quickly as he’d enchanted me, he stopped. He looked smug, which made my new friend Gregg a sadist. He enjoyed inflicting pain.
Damn.
Not a delightful prospect for my future. I breathed slowly, letting the circulation of oxygen move back through my body.
“I thought we were going to be friends, Gregg.”
“Tell me where Fin lives.”
I swallowed hard. “In a giant house like this one. In the middle of nowhere. He didn’t exactly bust out the GPS to show me the way.”
Another vibration and I gripped the table, ready for the hit this time. The air disappeared. I focused on it like I held my breath intentionally.
If I tricked my mind into thinking this was my choice, my spiked adrenaline could settle in my veins. I needed to be alert, not charged up quite yet. There was no doubt in my mind Gregg was nothing more than a prelude to the final game the Black Mage played.
When the air returned, I bent over the table, fingers outstretched, gasping. He watched me, leaning down over the stainless steel so he could look at my face. The enjoyment written on his face unnerved me, which only made my next step easier.
I lay my cheek on the cold table so he could get a proper look at the way my forehead burrowed up and my lips gasped for the oxygen my body needed. I let him think me weak, pitiful, and helpless.
Like throwing a bag of bread at a pigeon, he ate it right up. He closed the door of the room and took off his tuxedo jacket. The tent in his pants made me want to puke, but I didn’t let him see my notice.