by Penny Cavan
Nigel cleared his throat and we both glared daggers at him. He sat back a little further, but still spoke. “I think they fought about something,” he told Meg and I rolled my eyes, collapsing against the back of the seat. “He’s been in the office from before daybreak to well after dark for three days.”
“So you fought and now you’re out looking for a whore to get back at her?” Meg asked.
“If I was looking for a whore,” I said, staring up at the sky, “I would be inside where the women are dancing.”
Meg grabbed the front of my shirt and pulled my face towards her. “Do you think that I care that you are out here and the girls are inside? Harlow is my best friend, and if you think that I won’t find a way to put you in the ground if you hurt her, you are wrong,” she hissed. She let go and I fell backward. “What are you going to do to fix it?”
“I’m still trying to figure that out,” I murmured. She scoffed, rolling her eyes, and stalked away.
“Sir?” Nigel asked after a while. I hummed a noise, waving for him to talk. “If it’s alright with you, I think I’ll head home,” he said. I nodded, watching a light streak across the sky. “You might think about it too. It’s about midnight.”
“I’ll think about it, Nigel,” I said, rolling my head to look at him. “Go home. Get some rest. The hunt can wait until another day.” He stood, straightening the cuffs to his jacket. “Take the car,” I told him. He looked surprised, but nodded.
“For what it’s worth, Sir, I think Harlow would forgive you,” he said, resting his hand on the back of my chair. After a moment, he walked away.
I stayed in that chair, staring at the stars and listening to the music. I was a world away, trying to figure out how to tell Harlow what was wrong. I listened to people shout and laugh, and eventually, the sounds started to die down. It was almost silent when I heard the crunch of slippers on the stones of the walkway.
“You won’t come home, but you’ll go to a whorehouse.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Harlow
He was sitting back in a low chair, staring at the stars. It was the stillest I’d seen him, with the exception of being asleep. He wasn’t tapping his fingers or his foot, he wasn’t pacing. He wasn’t even talking to himself, moving his lips. He was just staring up.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when one of the maids, Mei, had woken me up, saying that Nigel was here for me. I’d thrown clothes on, not worrying about what I was wearing, worried that something had happened to Midas. He assured me that Midas was fine, but I was still worried. Or, at least, I was worried until we walked up to Meg’s door. That was when the anger built. Meg met us at the door, nodding to Nigel. “Good,” she said. “You’re needed here.” Nigel nodded and turned, walking away. Meg nodded for me to follow her. When we got to the back door, I saw Midas and the anger bloomed. I stalked out to him.
“You won’t come home, but you’ll go to a whorehouse,” I said harshly. “I see what I mean to you.” He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath.
“Harlow, will you let me explain?” he said, turning to look at me.
“Explain what?” I snapped. “How you took me from the world I knew? How you Stockholm Syndromed me into caring for you? How you promised that I was yours forever then went colder than an ice cube?” The tears were welling in my eyes and my throat felt thick. “There’s nothing to explain, Midas. I’m going home. To my home.” I spun before he could see the tears running down my face. Several of Meg’s employees, men and women who were my friends, stood at the door. They parted silently and let me pass, reaching out to put a comforting hand on my arm as I passed. Niko peeled off from the group with a nod from Meg, following me.
I stalked to the Golden Drachma, ignoring my tears. I couldn’t fall apart here on the street. Niko followed silently, waiting as I knocked at the secret door. Arida opened it, shock on her face. I nodded to Niko and stepped into my home. Arida shut the door and wrapped her arms around me. I collapsed, crying.
“Shhhh,” she said, rocking me. We took a few steps sideways, so we were sitting on the stairs. She held me tight and let me cry.
“Mama?” Addy asked sleepily. I couldn’t even look up to see her. “Is Miss Harlow crying?”
“It’s fine, Addy. Go back to bed,” she said gently. The tears were slowing, and I was hiccupping, so I heard Addy’s small feet come down the stairs. She tucked something small and fuzzy in my hand. She patted my head gently, and then I heard her going back up the stairs.
“I thought he actually loved me,” I whimpered, and Arida hugged me closer.
“Men are not the most intelligent of creatures,” she said, and I could hear the amusement in her voice. “When Sara was a newborn, her father was going out to celebrate her birth every night. I woke up one night and found him trying to give the baby whiskey.” I chuckled weakly. “Before Addy was born, he tried telling me that he wasn’t a man to be tied to one woman. He ended up at Meg’s and no matter what the girls did, his cock wouldn’t stand. Merrit brought him home, drunk as could be, telling himself that he needed to stand for all the ladies.” I wiped my eyes, grinning slightly.
“He said he loved me,” I told her.
“You’ve known him for about a week?” Arida asked. “I’m assuming this is the man who kept sneaking into your room and kidnapped you eight days ago.”
“You were keeping track of the days?” I asked, sitting on my own.
“Of course. You’re as much a daughter to me as Sara and Arida. Now, tell me about him.” She stood, pulling me to my feet. “We’ll get a cup of tea and talk through this.”
“I found him at Meg’s tonight,” I said sadly, following her. “We had amazing sex just three days ago and he went cold and then tonight I found him there.”
“I’m glad you had amazing sex,” she said, and I could almost hear her rolling her eyes, “but you are going to need to start at the beginning. Or at least the kidnapping.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Midas
“You fucked this up,” a blonde said, glaring daggers at me from the door, “you fix it.” Several others muttered in agreement. Meg shooed them off and looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
“Milya is right,” she said. “You fucked up. Find a way to fix it.” She turned at the front door shutting.
“She’s with Arida,” a man said. I couldn’t see him, but I heard him heading for the stairs. “Bastard made her cry.”
Harlow didn’t cry, I though. Meg glared at me. “Fix. It,” she growled, and spun away. She slammed the garden door behind her. She was at the Golden Drachma. I stood, heading for the side gate in the garden. It opened on to an alley, which I followed to the main street and up the way to the Golden Drachma. I saw the glow of lights from a window and settled onto a box across the street. She would need time, but not a lot of time. I’d give her a few hours, but come dawn, she was mine.
Just before dawn, little Addy came skipping into the back yard of the inn ahead of her sister. Both carried baskets, and they headed for a back henhouse. I slipped across the street and into the kitchens of the inn through the door they had left open. I took three steps down the hall and pulled down on a light fixture, which opened the passage to the back stair, leading up to the room where Harlow had once stayed. It slid closed behind me, leaving me in the darkness. It didn’t matter and I headed straight for the stairs, carefully avoiding the creaking parts.
Harlow’s door was closed, but I opened it carefully. She was asleep on the bed, her hair out behind her. Her face was still puffy from tears, and in one hand she held a small stuffed animal. I looked at it. It was some kind of monkey with a long, striped tail. I shook my head. “Addy,” I said softly, sitting on the end of the bed. Harlow made a sound in her sleep, and I rubbed her arm. “It’s okay, Harlow,” I said softly. She blinked sleepily, yawning and stretching one arm above her head. When she me, she sat up in a flash, pushing away. “We need to talk,” I said softly.
“I don’
t want to talk,” she said just as softly. “Go back to your ivory tower.”
“Harlow—” I started, but I heard a scream. We both turned toward the door and froze. There wasn’t a second scream, but we jumped from the bed and raced as quietly as possible down the stairs. She threw her arm out as I reached for the mechanism that would open the passage on this side of the wall, stopping me. Instead, she took several steps down the hall and pushed a small lever, opening a grate.
“We’re looking for the Hollow, Harlow,” a dead voice said. We squeezed together to be able to see through the grate, and I almost wished we hadn’t. Arida stood near the fireplace, both hands outstretched, one towards each of her children. Sara was held against a wall, one arm twisted behind her back. The soldier holding her sniffed her neck, and Sara stiffened. One soldier held both of Addy’s arms behind her back. A basket was fallen at her feet and the eggs in it were cracked. I wrapped my hand around Harlow’s mouth before more than a gasp could get out.
“She’s not here,” Sara said, struggling against the man holding her. “We haven’t seen her in weeks.”
“Now that’s funny,” the dead voice said silkily, and another man walked forward from where he had been standing outside of our view. “We have a witness who saw her in this very district last night.” He ran a gun barrel down the side of Sara’s neck and she whimpered. He stepped away. In a sterner voice, he said, “She was seen leaving the Siren’s Lair after they closed, accompanied by a man. They were heading this way, and the only place she has a history with on this side of the district would be this Inn. I ask again, Madame Innkeeper. Where is the Hollow?”
“My daughter was correct,” Arida said between breaths. “We haven’t seen Harlow in weeks. If she was walking this way, she didn’t come here. Please, you’re scaring my daughters.” She looked from Sara to Harlow, her eyes wild. The man was silent.
“Well, if you’re sure,” he said quietly. He turned to Addy, who was no longer struggling against the hold but was crying silently. He knelt in front of her. “You’re a pretty girl,” he said softly, reaching out to touch her hair. Addy flinched away. “How old are you?”
“She’s four,” Arida answered, all of her attention on the pair.
“Four?” he asked Addy, and she nodded shakily. “Have you shown any powers yet, girl?” Addy shook her head, cowering into the soldier’s legs to get away from the dead voiced man.
“Isn’t that a pity?” he said, turning to look at Arida. She started shaking her head.
“No,” she said, running toward Addy. The man caught her, holding her off the ground. “You can’t! Addy!”
“Take the girl,” the man ordered, shoving Arida back so that she stumbled. Addy screamed when the man picked her up, tossing her over his shoulder. “And shut her up,” the man tossed over his shoulder. Sara started fighting against the man holding her. He pinned her against the wall with his body, licking her ear. Arida scrambled against the ground, sobbing, trying to get to Addy. Harlow fought against my hold, but I pulled her tight to my body. The man carrying Addy was out the door, his hand over her mouth and holding her nose to silence her. The man holding Sara thrust his hips against her once, then tossed her across the kitchen toward her mother. The man with the dead voice was the last to leave, bowing to the pair. Arida sobbed and clung to Sara as the door slammed shut behind them.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Harlow
I burst from where I was hiding with Midas and ran to Arida and Sara. Both were sobbing.
“Arida, I’m so sorry,” I said, crying myself. If she hadn’t sheltered me, there would have been no reason for the soldiers to have taken Addy. “I’ll get her back, I promise you.”
Arida grabbed my shirt. “You’ll bring her back to me?” she asked wildly. “Please bring her back.”
“We will bring her back,” Midas said coming to kneel beside me. “Your daughter will be safe with you again.” Arida nodded and let go of my shirt. She collapsed on the floor, tears still running down her face. “Come on, Harlow,” Midas said softly. “They came here looking for you. We need to leave before we put them in any more danger.”
I let him pull me from Arida and Sara. Sara was bringing her tears under control, gasping in deep breaths as she looked around the common room of the Inn. I looked away. I had done this to them.
“Wait!” Sara called and strode over. “This was left here for you,” she told me, pulling a stiff white envelope from her pocket and handing it to me. “I know you’ll bring Addy home, Harlow, and I know you’ll blame yourself. We knew what we were getting into when we started sheltering Hollows.” I squeezed her hand.
“Be careful, Sara, and be safe. If you need anything, send word to Meg and she’ll get it to me.” I smiled sadly and wiped a tear from her face. She nodded resolutely, taking a breath to pull herself together, and returned to her mother. Midas pulled me through the kitchen to the door that led to the side alley. I tore the envelope open as we walked, and my eyebrows raised at the stiff invitation card. I flipped the card over and found a handwritten note.
“My dear Harlow,” I read, “I believe that it’s time we met. I’ve been following your career long enough. Please present this card at my residence this evening, and I shall provide you with some information that you may be missing. Bring that gold-creating man of yours along as well. A man in his business and a man in mine should be acquainted.” I turned the invitation back over and skimmed the address. “Oh, shit.”
“What is it?” Midas asked. As soon as we reached the alley, he had taken his arm from my shoulders. I handed him the card.
“This address? I’m pretty sure it’s the home of Aita Gandelin. The King of the Underworld.” I started walking.
“The mob boss?”
“Yep. I’ve never actually met him. But we’re going to need to see Meg,” I called over my shoulder.
“Why do we need to see Meg?” he asked distracted, following behind me. “This says we need to go see this man.”
“If it is Aita, Meg will know,” I said, turning and stopping. He walked into me then quickly backed up a few steps. I know he couldn’t have missed the pain flashing across my face. What had happened to keep him from wanting to touch me? “And she will know what we need to do to not upset the most powerful man in six countries.”
“I thought I was the most powerful man in six countries,” Midas said with a grin, pretending to be offended. I reached up and patted his cheek and he flinched away. I spun and started walking again.
“You’re the richest man in six countries,” I called back, “but power is more than money.”
I knocked on the door to Meg’s knowing I’d be waking someone up. Behind me, Midas shifted from foot to foot. I knocked again, stronger this time, and heard someone grumbling. The lock slid open and the door opened a few inches.
“We don’t open for several hours,” Hayden said sleepily. “Come back at a decent hour.”
“Hayden, it’s Harlow. I need Meg.” The door opened further, and Hayden blinked at me.
“Harlow, you know we only got to sleep a few hours ago, right?” he said, stepping back to let me in. “What could be so important that you are waking us all up so early?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” I said breezily. “Threats against my life, the kidnapping of a child I care about, and what I’m pretty sure is a summons to the King’s home.”
“I’ll put on some water for tea,” Hayden said, shutting and locking the door behind us.
Meg slept on a room on the first floor, unlike her employees. It wasn’t large by anyone’s standards, but it opened right onto the gardens. She slept with the windows open, a spell allowing nothing but the breeze in and out. When I opened the door, she rolled onto her side. “Meg,” I called, and she grumbled and rolled onto her back, the covers sliding to show that she was sleeping naked. “Meg!”
“I don’t think she’s waking up that easy,” Midas said caustically. If he didn’t fix his attitude, I was going
to punch him.
“Fine. I know another way to wake her up.” Tit for tat. If he was going to piss me off by going cold, I was going to piss him off. I crawled onto the bed.
“Harlow, what are you doing?” he snapped, watching as I ran a hand up Meg’s side. I kissed the side of her breast, teasing the other with my free hand. I glanced back at Midas. No matter what his voice said, he was enjoying this. His cock was hard in his pants and his eyes had grown dark the same way they had when watching me alone. I saucily raised an eyebrow at him, then turned back to kiss up Meg’s neck. When I reached her lips, her hand snaked into my hair to hold me for a deep kiss.
“If that’s how you’re going to wake me up, Harlow,” she said, panting slightly, “I’m going to insist that you move in with me.”
“She won’t be moving in with anyone,” Midas growled, slamming the door shut as he left. I sighed heavily.
“What bee got into his ass? He was just as bad last night,” Meg asked, blinking at the door. I sat back.
“I wish I knew. He’s been like that for days. So wound up that the sex would be explosive and probably life changing, but he won’t touch me.” I moved next to her as she sat against the headboard. “We were fine, and then suddenly we weren’t.”
“Men. They make no sense sometimes,” she said, patting my knee. “I’ll help you make him jealous all you want, but if you’re showing up here and waking me up, something else is going on.”
“I feel like that problem is going to be more easily solved,” I said pulling the invitation from my pocket. “This is Aita, isn’t it?”
She glanced at it, nodding. “I completely understand the problem. An invitation from the King of the Underworld is always a little unsettling.” She threw her legs to the side, grabbing a flowered robe as she stood. “We need to start with a bath, and have Helen see to your grooming.”