by Logan Fox
Pearl kicked him in the face, earning a strangled yelp of pain. She jerked her ankle free and scrambled to her feet. Behind her, she heard Henry crawling out of the car, growling like an enraged animal.
She couldn’t breathe, but somehow she ran.
She had no idea where she was going, but somehow she found her way.
Pearl broke through a line of trees. The Fox Pit loomed in front of her. Her legs were rubber, her spine a piece of wet twine, but she kept running and stumbling and hobbling forward until she reached the fountain.
He was close, judging from the scrape-crunch of gravel behind her. Close, and closing in. She reached the door, turned the knob, and shoved forward.
Her shoulder slammed into a pane of frosted glass, rattling it.
Locked.
“No.” The word was a horrified whisper.
She shook it again, twisting and turning the knob. Behind her, the crunch of footsteps slowed.
Pearl spun around, her hands flat against the glass. The cellphone in her palm clicked against the smooth surface.
If only she could scream. But her voice was trapped behind a chest too tight to breathe, let alone yell out for help.
She lifted the cellphone.
Henry was by the fountain now. Blood soaked the front of his white shirt and ran in a webbed V down the front of his face. When he grinned at her, some of his teeth glittered whitely behind that red mask. Some were stained with blood.
Pearl unlocked the phone’s screen. She jabbed at the emergency button, her heart slamming into her rib cage as Henry slowed to a stop, his expression becoming stony.
“Put it down,” he said hoarsely.
“Fuck you,” Pearl whispered. A tear raced down her cheek.
She dialed 911 and waited.
Henry squeezed his lips together, shaking his head slowly from side to side.
“Don’t do it,” he said in that same gravelly voice.
Pearl stared at him through intermittent blurs as she waited for the call to connect.
It didn’t.
She glanced down at the screen. No signal. When she looked up, Henry was less than a foot away.
How could he have moved so quietly over the gravel?
Finally, her voice came back to her. “Help!” Her scream tore at her throat.
She ducked, Henry’s grasping hand missing her by less than an inch. Pearl slammed her hand against the door, screamed wordlessly as Henry straightened and made another grab for her. She darted past him with a pair of clown feet and a body that had lost all coordination.
There was a crash behind her.
Pearl spun around.
The front door of the villa stood open. Henry was halfway down the stairs, intent on chasing down Pearl.
Seth filled the doorway, his face in shadow and the fists at his side bunching as he took in the scene.
Pearl almost collapsed with relief. The back of her legs bumped against the edge of the fountain, and she sat down with enough force to drive the air from her lungs. Henry swung around to face Seth, the man’s body stiffening at the sight of the looming fox handler less than six feet away from him.
Seth thundered down the steps, silent, shadows wreathing his face. Henry tried to scramble away, but changing direction on a gravel drive at such high speed wasn’t a good idea. The man fell on his side, legs still running in the air as he tried to kick away from Seth.
The handler didn’t slow. Didn’t pause.
He simply strode up to Henry, drew back an arm, and drove his fist into the man’s face with a crack that Pearl felt as much as heard.
Something vibrated in her hand. Pearl looked down at the cellphone in her palm. A notification had come through: Collect Adam. Pearl looked up in time to see Seth slam a booted foot into Henry’s ribs.
Pearl’s fingers shook as she twisted the phone around in her hand. Where was the fucking off button? Her thumb pad brushed against a slight protrusion in the case. She pressed it. Nothing happened.
Seth reached down and grabbed hold of Henry’s shirt. He lifted the man — seemingly without effort — and held him up while he punched him again.
Blood sprayed over Pearl’s face in a fine mist. She blinked through the brief pink veil and shoved her thumb down hard on the phone’s only button. Held it there. Willed it to fucking die.
The phone’s screen glowed briefly before going dark.
Seth still hadn’t said anything.
Henry was making gurgling noises in the back of his throat, mewling and spitting as he tried to speak. The man’s hands came up, trying to grab hold of Seth, but the handler simply straightened his arm, putting Henry’s grasping fingers out of reach of his face.
Pearl dug her toes into the gravel beneath her and scooped out heaps of gravel, her eyes pinned to the two scuffling men. She dropped the phone and positioned it in its shallow grave with the sole of her foot. Her toes pushed gravel over it, burying the phone like a dead thing.
She rose to her feet and inched forward. “Seth.”
The handler slammed his fist into the side of Henry’s bulging face. The man went limp, dangling from Seth’s other hand as the handler drew back his arm for another blow.
“Seth!” Pearl screamed.
Seth jerked as if she’d shocked him with a Taser. His head whipped around, scanning her, and he released Henry. The driver slid into a boneless pile on the gravel.
The front door of the villa crashed open.
Pearl heard gasps and hushed whispers. Then another voice, deeper. Familiar.
But Seth’s bulk blocked out the door. She couldn’t see anything happening behind him. He stared at her, his face slowly dissolving from a contorted snarl into a deadpan nothingness. He stepped forward and enveloped her in a fierce embrace that again drove the air from her lungs. Pearl struggled, fighting against him, but he was as implacable as a rock. He simply held her until her energy was depleted and she hung as limply from his grip as Henry had.
“What the hell is going on here?” Ethan said.
“Don’t know.” Seth pushed Pearl away from him and dragged a thumb over her cheek. “Heard someone banging on the door. Opened it, found them out here.”
Without warning, Seth ducked and slid his hands behind Pearl’s knees. He snatched her off her feet and swung around, almost bashing her legs into Ethan. The man hurriedly stepped aside, eyes widening when they found Pearl.
Why was he staring at her like that?
Seth’s fingers brushed her collarbones. Pearl moved her head, her neck feeling like a rubber band, and watched as Seth drew the two halves of her dress closed, scrunching the fabric in a massive fist.
“Move,” Seth said to Ethan when the man stepped in front of him.
“What the fuck’s going on here?” Ethan’s eyes flickered between Pearl and Seth.
“I said move!” Seth bellowed. He jostled Ethan out of the way with a jab from his elbow.
Pearl’s head flopped over Seth’s arm, and she watched as Ethan ran a hand through his hair, the man staring at the bloodied, unconscious driver with wide eyes and a tight mouth.
“I couldn’t get in,” Pearl whispered.
“Quiet,” Seth said. Then his jaw clenched and he glanced down at her. “Going to get you cleaned up, kitten.”
Pearl shuddered and rested her forehead against Seth’s bulging bicep as he took her inside the Fox Pit. For him, the door opened.
He didn’t shower with her this time. Instead, he drew her a bath, brought her some clothes, and left before she even got undressed. The bathroom mirror had steamed up, but a quick swipe of her palm cleared enough of the surface for her to see the splashes of blood that had dried on her face, her tousled hair, and a bruise on her jaw she didn’t remember getting.
She sank into the tub and let herself drift away until the water began to cool. Once, she heard adamant voices outside, quickly silenced with a bellowed: “Out!” She dressed in the pair of yellow pajamas Seth had brought her.
The
fox den was empty. Gia wasn’t in their room. Pearl crawled into bed, tugging the duvet over her head, and curled into a tight ball.
She felt an intense pressure, as if she was keeping back tears. But the last thing she wanted to do right now was sob into her pillow. All she could think of was the cellphone, dead in its shallow grave by the fountain.
In about four hours, when she could be sure that the villa and all its employees were asleep, she’d fetch the phone and call for help.
In the dark, Pearl smiled faintly. Her eyes fluttered closed, and she forced them open again.
No! No sleeping.
She had to get that phone before someone else found it.
Her eyes closed again. This time, she didn’t have the strength to open them again.
14
The Pièce de Résistance
Raised voices dragged Pearl from the comforting embrace of leaden sleep. She blinked up at a beige ceiling, staring at the myriad of tiny lights embedded into the plaster shining like ghostly stars.
A glance showed Gia’s side of the room was still empty.
Her door opened. Seth came inside, face set in a scowl that he quickly smoothed when he saw she was awake.
“Morning,” Seth murmured, coming to the side of her bed and perching beside her.
She shoved herself up, holding the duvet tight against her chest.
“Caden wants to see you,” Seth said in a low rumble. “I told him you need sleep, that—”
“Okay.” She gave him a small nod.
Seth studied her for a moment, his eyes narrowing briefly before he reached for her face. She drew back, dropping her gaze, and his hand fell away from her.
“Coffee?”
“Okay.” Pearl waited until Seth had closed the door behind him before getting up and burrowing through the closet for clean clothes. She grabbed a pair of sweatpants and a matching jumper.
Seth was in the kitchenette messing with the coffee machine when Pearl slipped into the bathroom. She used a stall and was busy washing her face when she heard a shout from outside.
Pearl snatched open the bathroom door, heart hammering against her spine and water dripping down her neck. Ethan was at the foot of the stairs, eyes narrowed, trying to tug free of Seth’s hand around his wrist.
“What do you mean, I can’t see her?” Ethan said.
“You retarded or something?” Seth shoved the man’s chest, sending the handler stumbling into the steps behind him. “This area is off limits. Now get out before I get you canned.”
Ethan scrambled to his feet, his eyes finding Pearl. He stared at her for a moment, his gaze washing over her in a quick, intense scrutiny that made her take an involuntary step back. Then he lifted his shoulders and tugged his shirt straight, his eyes sliding back to Seth.
“What the fuck kind of a place are you guys running here?”
Seth growled deep in his throat and took a step forward. Ethan lifted his hands, palms out, and scrambled up the stairs. Seth shook his head and turned, stopping when he saw Pearl. He took in her outfit, but his only response was a tightening of his mouth.
“Coffee.” Seth collected the mug and brought it to her. “Should I carry it for you?”
“I c’n manage,” Pearl said. Her mouth refused to open wide enough for her enunciate properly, so the words emerged as a mutter.
Seth frowned down at her and reached one of those massive hands to her shoulder. She sidestepped him and headed for the stairs.
When she heard his footsteps behind her, she spun around and glared at him. “I know the way.”
“You can’t get in—” Seth began.
“I’ll fucking knock until he lets me in. That still works right? Knocking?” Pearl’s heart squeezed painfully at the sight of Seth’s black eyes widening. His shoulders slumped and he gave a slow shrug, blinking a few times at her before replying.
“Yeah. It works.”
“Great.” Pearl swung around and stormed up the stairs two at a time, wincing when coffee splashed over her hand. She paused at the top of the stairs, listening intently behind her. Was he following her? Didn’t sound like it. Her eyes flashed to the cherry tree. Gia’s ghosts had struck again: the single blossom that had fallen last night was no longer on the floor and neither was her bottle of cucumber water.
Pearl set her coffee cup down on the top step, hesitated, and picked it up again. If Seth decided he had business elsewhere in the villa, he would see her cup and know she’d detoured. Instead, she took the cup with her and stood in front of the villa’s door, her hands trembling.
The knob turned effortlessly in her hand, just as it had last night.
This time, she set the coffee cup down between the door and the jam. She let the door swing closed and made sure the cup obstructed its path. Then she slipped outside, grimacing at the sun as it enthusiastically pierced her eyes.
Outside, it looked as if last night had been a figment of a deranged mind. There were no troughs scraped through the gravel. No blood stained the stones. The fountain played its merry tune as the sun stroked the foxy statues and gave them pale auras.
Pearl glanced behind her. The hallway was still empty. She ran outside, her feet crunching over the gravel, and fell to her knees by the fountain wall. Her hands dove into the gravel, hunting through the rough stones. Searching, searching, searching.
It was gone.
Her heart plummeted into a lead-lined stomach.
No. Please. Dear God, don’t let it be gone.
Her motions became frantic. She burrowed into the gravel, splaying her fingers. She glanced over her shoulder, the hairs on the back of her neck rising in a flurry at the thought that someone was watching her.
The crack of the doorway was still empty.
Pearl’s fingers touched something smooth and sleek. She jerked, spinning back to face the fountain. Her hand latched around the phone as she tugged it free. A quick swipe with her palm cleared the dust from it. She stabbed her thumb onto the power button. Her heart pounded away in her chest as she waited.
The phone lit up.
No signal.
She bit down on her lip, blinking away a sudden flurry of hot tears. It was okay: she had the phone now. And it had a quarter of its battery left. She’d just have to find a place inside the villa that had signal.
Pearl quickly shut the phone off and slipped it in her pocket. Those eyes were on her again, but the doorway was still empty — as much as she could see through the frosted glass. She glanced around, but the garage doors were closed too, and none of the trees hosted any suggestive shadows.
She shrugged her shoulders and looked up.
Sunlight reflected in brilliant prisms from the upstairs windows. As she tilted her head back, something moved behind one of them.
Her limbs stiffened. Was someone there? She squinted, but it was impossible to make out anything through the windows. Maybe it had just been her imagination.
Either way, she had to get back inside.
But, now that she was facing the door with the phone secure in her pocket, she suddenly couldn’t force herself to move.
What if she just turned and ran? She could put the phone on and just run and run until it had a bar of signal. That’s all she needed: one bar of signal. It looked jacked up enough to have location services. Couldn’t someone find her by using the phone to pinpoint her location? She didn’t even need to know where she was… right?
But if she didn’t show up at Caden’s office, they’d know she was gone. They’d come looking for her.
And what would happen if they found her before the cops did?
Caden’s office was filled with the same hush as the day she’d arrived at the Fox Pit. The only difference today was that the Fox Pit’s manager was giving her his undivided attention.
And it was horrifying.
“What is the extent of your injuries?” Caden had his fingers steepled in front of him, fingers pointing toward her, thumbs resting against his chin.
&n
bsp; Pearl shifted on the chair. “Just this, I think,” she said, touching the area where she’d seen the bruise.
“That’s it?” His quiet voice was unsettling in its intensity.
She nodded.
When she’d walked into his office ten minutes ago — after knocking four times — he’d stared at her as if she was some strange and mythical beast he’d only ever heard of in fairy tales. Not that Caden had ever read, or been read, fairy tales. If he had, then he’d no doubt argued about their validity and necessity.
“Tell me what happened, Miss Buchanan.”
She drew a breath, forcing her stomach to expand. Seth’s calming trick did the job, but only to an extent. That phone weighed down her sweatpants like an anchor, and her hands felt clammy as she wrung them in her lap.
“We were in the car and the driver—”
“You materialized inside the car?” Caden sat back, his hands meshing over his stomach.
“No. He asked me to get in.”
“You regularly board strangers’s vehicles?”
Pearl spluttered and sat forward, her mouth dropping open.
“He tried to rape me!” she yelled before she could force her mouth to swallow the words. “Why the hell are you making this out to be my fault?”
Caden shrugged at her, but in an instant that interrogatory gleam left his blue eyes. Removing his glasses, Caden squeezed his eyes closed with the tips of his fingers and let out a long sigh. He pinched the bridge of his nose and slowly slid his glasses back, blinking at her.
“Our foxes are usually contained indoors, Miss Buchanan. You were outside. Our foxes never communicate with the staff. You did.”
Another sigh as he crossed his arms over his chest, hands gripping his biceps.
“Did the driver say anything to you?”
Pearl shrugged, sinking back into her chair. That jet of anger had subsided, leaving her cold and wrung out.
“He asked… he wanted to know if I liked being hurt. Kept saying I did. Then he…”