Loving the Enemy (Seven Forbidden Arts Book 0)

by Charmaine Pauls

  He touched his neck and checked his blood-covered palm, disbelief and fury creeping into his heavy-lidded eyes. “You grazed me. You fucking cut me.” He reached for her, wrapping his hands around her neck. “You bitch.” He squeezed, cutting off her airflow. “You know what I’m gonna do? I’m gonna fuck you and kill you, and then I’m gonna fuck your corpse.”

  Her lungs protested. It burned. She clawed at his hands, his arms, and his face, but none of her attempts had an effect on him. She tilted her head back, fighting for air. Her gaze fixed on the light fitting that hung above them. It swung gently in the breeze, unfazed, as Lily battled to breathe. It was a trumpet-shaped porcelain cover with a bulb hanging on an electric wire. Lily lifted her arms and grabbed hold of the edges of the cover. With her last strength, she jerked down. The wires were old. They snapped easily, the fitting coming loose from the ceiling. The porcelain knocked her attacker on the back of his head. The bulb burst. Fragments of glass cut into his scalp.

  His back arched and his body jerked as he uttered a cry of pain. He lifted his hands to his head. Lily pulled air into her lungs, choking on the rush of oxygen her body craved.

  “What in God’s name…?” a voice cried from the door.

  No! Lily’s attacker pulled himself to his full height. He reached for the gun in the holster on his hip. Lily shouted in warning, but no sound came from her raw throat. She tried to sit up, but her stomach hurt, and her air-deprived body was trembling instead of cooperating. She forced herself to roll from the table, landing hard on the floor. She scurried on her hands and knees to where the rifle lay, sobbing as she looked up at Father Brice.

  “No,” she croaked.

  The soldier cocked the gun.

  Father Brice’s eyes widened.

  The man sneered.

  The shot fired.

  The priest fell to his knees, his hands folded over his chest like a corpse in a coffin. No, no, no, no, please God no. His body tilted forward, face down.

  Her fingers folded around the rifle. Lily flung around, half-lying on her back, aiming the rifle at the man who had shot her only friend in the world. She shook with hatred and rage. She wanted him to suffer, to die slowly.

  “Lily!” another voice shouted.

  Everything inside of her went cold.

  Jacob.

  She pulled the trigger. Two shots echoed through the room. The soldier’s body flew backward into the fridge, a splash of blood blooming on the white door. She couldn’t tell if it was she or Jacob who had fired the killing shot. She gasped like a fish out of water, battling to draw in air. She turned, and then her head fell back in agony.

  Jacob lay next to Father Brice on the floor, his arms and legs splayed out. She rushed to his side and knelt down next to him.

  “Jacob…”

  He groaned. He lifted his hands and moved them over her face. “Are you hurt, baby?”

  “I’m fine,” she said, even as sobs wracked her body.

  Jacob pulled her down onto his chest. “Shh, baby. I’ve got you. I’ve got you.”

  She fought his hold to sit up. There was a stain of blood on his jacket, just under the shoulder. She crawled around the room, looking for something, and finally got to her feet and ran to the bathroom for a towel. When she got back, Jacob was in a sitting position, his upper body propped up against the wall. He grimaced as she slipped his jacket from his shoulder and pressed the towel on the wound.

  “Argh….” He flinched.

  “Can you hold this?”

  He took the towel from her and nodded. Lily moved to Father Brice.

  Jacob shook his head. “I’ve already checked. He’s gone.”

  Forcing herself not to give in to grief, at least not now, Lily jumped into action. They were a little way out of the village, so no one would have heard the shots, unless they were passing by, but it wouldn’t be long before they were discovered. It was Friday. People who worked in the city would come to their country houses for the weekend, passing by the parish to drop off commodities. She went into the bedroom, grabbed a bag, and shoved clothes, the money she had saved up, and her fake passport into it. She pulled on her trainers without socks. Next, she went back into the kitchen and dropped the soldier’s guns as well as Jacob’s revolver into her bag.

  She paused when she saw Jacob’s face. He was so pale. “Give me your keys.”

  “In my …pants,” he said with a grunt.

  She fished for them in his pocket. “Come on. We’ve got to go.”

  “Clever girl.”

  “Shut up. Save your strength.”

  She helped him up and draped his arm over her shoulder. He was heavy, and it was difficult to help him across the yard. She stopped outside and looked around. There was no vehicle, only a motorbike with a travel bag strapped onto the back.

  “Where’s your car?” she said.

  He pointed at the bike.

  “Oh shit.”

  If the soldier had come by car, he had parked it at a safe distance, far away from the cottage, and anyway, she had learned from Jacob that it would most probably be tracked. She threw the bag over her head and arranged the strap under her arm.

  “You’ve got to hold on to me,” she said as she helped Jacob onto the backseat. There was only one helmet.

  When she tried to put it on for him, he shook his head. “You wear it.”

  She fastened the helmet, threw her leg over the seat, and started to look for the ignition.

  “Ever driven one of these?” Jacob said from behind.

  “No.”

  “That’s what I thought. Here.” He pointed at the slot.

  “It’s going to be a crash course. Hold on.”

  Lily took off with a jerk, frightened that she would kill them both before she could get anywhere safe, but it was easy to get the hang of the gears. At the traffic light she braked too hard, almost throwing them both off the bike. Jacob moaned loudly.

  “Sorry.”

  The light changed, and she took off again, too fast.

  She had no plan, and no clue of where to go. Suddenly, an idea occurred to her.

  “Where are we going?” Jacob shouted over the noise of the engine.

  “To the zoo.”

  Chapter Eleven

  ‡

  Had Lily really just driven them to the zoo? Jacob couldn’t believe it. He grimaced behind her as the pain immobilized his arm. He had to hold onto the backseat of the bike with one hand while she had been driving like a Hell’s Angel, coming to stop too fast, sending his body into her slender back and almost knocking them both to the ground.

  The thing was, he was dangerously close to passing out. He knew the feeling too well. It wasn’t the first time he had taken a bullet. And he couldn’t go down now. He had to protect her.

  She jumped off the bike and helped him to his feet, taking his bag that was strapped to the back. He tried not to lean on her too much. People making their way to the exit gave them curious stares. Not good. Too many witnesses.

  He stopped. “We need to go.”

  “Shut up and walk.” She had the nerve to give him a little push.

  “What are you doing, Lily? Trying to get us killed?”

  “I’m trying to stop you from dying.”

  A guard with a zoo uniform approached them as they started making their way up the steps to the entrance.

  “I’m sorry but we’re closing. Please make your way to the exit.” His words slowed as his gaze fixed on the red stain on Jacob’s shoulder. “What’s going on here?”

  “Quick,” Lily said, “help me. Take him. He’s heavy. And get us to a phone.”

  The guard paled, but he did as he was told. He took Lily’s place supporting Jacob and turned toward the office building. “This way.”

  Jacob shuffled along, grunting, too weak and in too much pain to argue. All his energy went into not blacking out on Lily.

  The guard swiped a card at the double glass doors of the office building. The woman who sat behind
the reception desk looked up when they entered. Her eyes widened.

  “Take us to your doctor,” Lily said.

  The woman jumped to her feet. “We don’t have a doctor.”

  A frown spread over Lily’s brow. “The vet, the person who takes care of the animals, whoever.”

  The woman looked at the guard, who seemed as baffled as she was.

  “I thought you needed a phone,” the guard said.

  The woman reached for a receiver. “I’ll call an ambulance.”

  Lily sighed, and dropped their bags to the floor. She unzipped hers and removed his own damn revolver, waving it at the guard.

  Jacob lifted his hands. “Lily…”

  But his unfinished plea fell on deaf ears. “Hands up,” she said, upon which the two zoo employees slowly raised their hands.

  This was bad. She was getting them into an even bigger mess.

  Lily pointed the gun toward the corridor. “How many more people in the building?”

  “Three.” The woman blinked. “Four,” she added quickly.

  “Who are they?”

  “Sandy, Ewan–”

  “Not their names,” Lily said, “their designations.”

  “Uh … the reptile handler, a zookeeper, our vet apprentice, and a cleaner.”

  “So there must be some kind of lab, or room, where you dart or dose the animals,” Lily said.

  Dart or dose? She had to be fucking kidding. Jacob would have laughed if it didn’t hurt like a bitch.

  “Yeah,” the woman said, “there’s a consultation room.”

  “So, let’s go.”

  The guard went first, followed by the woman. They found the four mentioned staff members in a small boardroom around a table in the middle of a discussion.

  “On your feet,” Lily said, waving the gun around.

  The shell-shocked people did as they were ordered.

  “Who’s the vet?”

  A white-faced, young man with wild, curly hair raised his hand hesitantly. “I’m not a vet yet. I’m only a fifth-year–”

  “To the consultation room.”

  The hostages scurried down the narrow hallway, Lily and Jacob at the back. She made sure that the guard was in front of her.

  “No funny business,” she said, pushing the barrel against the man’s back.

  When did Lily grow so much backbone? Jacob’s admiration climbed a few notches.

  They entered a room with a stainless steel gurney and two walk-in sized cages. A loud roar tore through the room. Jacob stopped in his tracks. There was a lion in one of the cages.

  Lily jabbed the guard with the gun again. “Keys.”

  “What?” the man said, almost choking.

  “Open the empty cage.”

  “Hey,” one of the other employees said, “you don’t want to do this, man.”

  “Don’t tell me what I want or don’t want to do.” Lily’s voice was level, but firm.

  The man immediately shut his mouth.

  The guard was fiddling with a key chain, his hands shaking. He dropped the keys twice before he managed to unlock the cage.

  “All of you inside,” Lily said. She turned to the curly-haired young man. “Except you.”

  Jacob laughed, but it turned into a painful cough. Lily was locking them up in the empty lion cage. She took the keys from the guard, and when they were all behind bars, minus the wannabe vet, she slammed the gate shut and locked it. Everyone except for one man moved to the back. He grabbed the bars and peered through it, but said nothing.

  “Lift him on the operating table,” Lily said.

  The student scratched his head. “Um, it’s not an operating table.”

  Jacob stuttered again as another laugh threatened his sanity. Lily was fucking priceless.

  She narrowed her eyes, trying her damndest best to look mean, and he loved it. In fact, she looked so pretty right then, Jacob couldn’t help but love her.

  “What’s your name?” she said to the man.

  “Christian.”

  “Listen, Christian, we’re not going to get into a debate about medical terms. This man needs help. Now do it.”

  Christian turned even paler than what he already was. “I … I can’t do it. I’m not a doctor. I’m not even a vet.”

  She pointed the gun at his nose. “You better learn fast.”

  Christian turned to Jacob, who was supporting himself with one arm on the gurney. “Okay … well, can you lie down here?”

  Lily came around to Jacob and, keeping one eye on Christian, helped him to remove his shirt. He sweated like a piece of meat smoking over a fire. The bullet hole burned as if he was being roasted. Next, they helped him onto the gurney.

  Christian bent over him. “Flesh wound, but it needs stitches.”

  Of course it did. Jacob sighed. The bullet had hit under the shoulder bone, grazing the flesh off his armpit.

  “You’ll have to check that nothing was left behind,” Jacob said through gritted teeth.

  Christian pulled on a white overcoat and scrubbed his hands. Lily stroked Jacob’s brow as the soon-to-be vet fitted plastic gloves and prepared an injection.

  “What’s that?” Lily said.

  “Local anesthetic.”

  “No,” Jacob grunted. He didn’t trust anyone. “I won’t need it.”

  Christian gaped at him. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Do it,” Lily said to Christian. “He needs it.”

  Jacob closed his eyes. The woman was making his decisions for him now. The needle pricked his skin next to the wound. The flesh went numb in the few seconds it took Christian to retrieve disinfectant, a needle, thread, tweezers and swabs.

  Lily looked away as Christian swiped the wound, checking for fragmented metal from the bullet or severed veins, but she insisted on a second-to-second update, continuously asking Christian questions such as, “What are you doing now?” and “Why are you doing this?”

  “He hasn’t lost too much blood, I think,” Christian said.

  At last, with Jacob stitched up and bandaged, Christian looked a lot more pleased with himself than what he did at the onset of the impromptu operation.

  “You’ll make a good vet,” Jacob said with a grin.

  The color was back in Christian’s cheeks. “You’re going to need antibiotics.”

  “Get him some,” Lily said.

  Christian opened a cabinet and removed a bottle that he handed to Lily. “One, three times a day.”

  She smiled. “Thanks, doc. Is there a spare key for the cage?” She motioned to where the silent employees were imprisoned.

  “You’ve got the only one,” Christian said.

  “Good.” Lily walked to the cage. “I want your wallets and your cellphones.” She turned to the guard. “You, give me the card for the front doors.”

  Soon wallets and phones, as well as the access card, were being handed through the bars. Lily dropped the wallets on the counter. “Take out the money,” she said to Christian.

  Jacob watched her from where he was lying on his back. She was one cute, brave little minx.

  Protests filled the room as Lily dropped the phones to the floor and crushed them under her heel. She took the bills Christian had gathered and pushed them into her bra.

  “Get a knife,” she told Christian.

  He looked alarmed again. “Why?”

  “I need you to cut all the telephone wires.”

  Lily moved around the room, checking for phones, while Christian snipped. They disappeared for a while, and the longer they stayed away, the more agitated Jacob became, until they finally appeared again.

  “Jacob, baby, you’re going to have to sit in that chair for me. We have to get rid of your blood.”

  She called him baby. Little less registered as Christian moved him to a seat in the corner. She made Christian disinfect the whole area before she got a lighter from the cleaner who smoked, and burned Jacob’s clothes as well as Christian’s garb and the equipment he had use
d in the metal basin.

  “Not leaving any DNA lying around,” she said to Jacob from over her shoulder.

  Shit, she watched too many movies. He didn’t mention that their fingerprints were all over the place, or that there were security cameras in every corner that had already sent the recording to a central server. It was too much for Lily to clean up. There was no point in stressing her more.

  “Who locks the gates for the night?” Lily said.

  “I do,” the guard answered.

  “Then they’re still open?”

  His eyes moved to the key ring she was holding. “You’re standing with the keys in your hand.”

  Lily walked to the lion cage. The beast was pacing up and down the narrow space. His leg was bandaged. He stopped and flashed canines as Lily approached. She lifted her arm, and chucked the keys right to the back of the cage.

  Christian stared at her in shock. “What the hell?”

  “When you get the keys out,” she motioned at her gob-smacked prisoners, “they’re free to go.”

  “Fuck!” Christian yelled. “I’m going to have to sedate him.”

  Lily turned to the lion. “Sorry, but Jacob’s very thankful to you.”

  “Help him to the door,” she said to Christian.

  The pain was less now, thanks to the anesthetic, but Jacob swallowed back bile, trying hard not to puke. In another minute they weren’t on the bike, but in a zoo van, Jacob and Lily’s bags thrown into the back. Jacob fought the urge to black out. He didn’t want to give in. Lily needed him. Her form was tense, leaning far over the steering wheel as she drove.

  “You can drive?” he said with a mocking grin.

  She looked at him, but turned her attention back to the road quickly. “I don’t have a license. Never got around to it. But Daddy sent me for driving lessons when I turned eighteen.”

  “So,” he groaned as he shifted in his seat, “this is your first time on the road with no instructor.”

  She gave him an once-over. “I have one.”

  Not for long. He felt like passing out. “Lean back. You’ll work your back into a spasm like that.”

  She shook her head. “I can’t see over the wheel, and my feet won’t reach the clutch or brakes.”