The Vanity of Roses

by Lily White

  I was better than that.

  “Okay,” I said, not sure how I’d get alone to reach a door.

  A smile stretched her lips.

  “Meet me by the exit leading to the outer courtyard while the staff is eating dinner. Be sure nobody sees you. Jacob will be gone, and I’ll open the door to let Callan’s little puppy dog go.”

  Irked by what she called me, I ignored it in favor of appreciating her offer.

  The woman inclined her head and turned to walk away, but I reached out to touch her shoulder. She spun back.

  “I don’t even know your name.”

  Another curl of her lips. “You can call me Mrs. Callan Rose...at least once I get you out of the way.”

  The comment stung, a question whispering at the back of my thoughts.

  “You’re the woman from last night. In the ring.”

  She nodded.

  “Did he...I mean after he carried you off...did the two of you-“

  “Fuck?” she asked, laughter in her voice.

  Nodding, I felt embarrassed for having asked, but I needed to know if Callan was honest. If what he’d said was true. It would have crushed me into dust to know he’d been with her before coming in that room to be with me.

  Her lips pulled into a thin line. “No,” she answered, anger edging that word. “And that’s the problem.”

  Stepping away, she reminded me, “Seven o’clock. Don’t be late.”

  She ran down the hall to turn a corner.

  Mrs. Callan Rose.

  I stood silently in that moment, caught in the storm of opposite forces.

  On one hand, all I wanted was the freedom she offered me.

  But on the other, I wanted to tear that name from her throat and claim it as my own.

  . . .

  I was in the staff dining hall hours later, still dressed in my maid’s uniform because I had nothing else. As usual, Holly was beside me, her voice quiet as she filled her plate from the dinner bar that had been set out.

  It was five minutes to seven and my stomach threatened to expel anything I tried to eat. I’d decided to leave tonight, to accept the woman’s offer, to run away if for no other reason than to teach Callan I wasn’t a pet to be caged.

  He’d done a damn good job of knocking me to the ground, and I wanting nothing more than to drag him down beside me.

  I was so angry. So hurt. I’d hated how my eyes had scanned the rooms we cleaned with the hope I might catch sight of him.

  But he never showed up, and I assumed it was because he was sleeping off the fight or in the gym preparing for another.

  I would leave, even if I didn’t know where I would go and how I would afford to eat. I would leave and just keep running until I decided I’d run far enough.

  If there ever was such thing as far enough.

  I knew the influence the Rose family had in this state, knew how far their resources ran even when it came to law enforcement.

  My father had made sure of that. It’s why my mother kept moving us throughout the years, never stopping in one place long enough for us to catch our breath.

  The clock kept ticking forward, and my eyes scanned the room for any sign of Gretchen or Edward. They were both absent, not that Edward made an appearance that often. As for Gretchen, I assumed she’d slept in. She’d stayed up all night to keep an eye on me. She had to be tired.

  I almost wanted her to show up. For some reason, I needed her little pep talk for me to lay claim to my power. It occurred to me that she probably wouldn’t stop me. If anything, she’d give me her usual scowl with feminine pride shining behind it.

  One minute and I knew I had to go.

  “I need to use the bathroom,” I whispered to Holly. “Will you take my plate and save me a seat?”

  She nodded and took the plate from my hands. I felt guilty for lying to her, but she couldn’t be involved in this. It would only get her in trouble.

  Putting one foot in front of the other was more difficult than I would have thought, indecision flooding me, my nerves like live wires snapping and spitting with electric arcs. My muscles were locked and rigid, my heart hammering to a point of being painful.

  I was so on edge that I could hear every sound around me, the blood rushing through my head, the thud thud thud of my heart, my footsteps against the ground as I weaved from one hall to the next.

  When I finally reached the exit, I almost turned back. I was too scared. Terrified, really. But then the woman’s eyes met mine and she waved me forward, her gaze scanning the room with a sense of urgency.

  I stepped up to her, and she took once last look around before turning to the keypad to type in the numeric code. Beyond the glass doors, there was darkness with only spots of low light through the garden.

  The door clicked open, and I swallowed hard, my heart now lodged in my throat.

  “Good luck,” she whispered. “There are guards outside, so stay out of sight of them.”

  “Thank you,” I whispered in response, unsure if I meant it.

  She didn’t say another word as I slipped out into the cool evening breeze, my chains unlocked as the world opened up around me. I should have felt like I was flying, but instead I felt heavy as a stone.

  It didn’t stop my feet from moving.

  Keeping to the shadows, I inched through the garden, time kept by the beat of my heart, a metronome or clock, steadily gaining speed as I pushed farther into the night.

  I knew these gardens like the back of my hand, and I’d decided on one particular route. But when I turned a corner and peered around a thick hedge, I saw the first guard pacing about.

  Deciding on a different path, I crept the opposite direction and had almost made it to a side gate when another guard stepped into the light. His eyes scanned the garden, almost landing on me if I hadn’t ducked behind another bush to stay out of sight.

  Breath held, I willed my body to calm down, for my mind to stop racing until I couldn’t think. Every pulse of blood through my body ached, and my mouth had gone dry with fear.

  The night was too silent. Too still. And I was blocked in on every side, except one.

  The hedge maze stood proudly in the center of the garden, its winding paths dark. It would be easy to get lost inside it or cornered if you didn’t know what direction to turn and which not to take. But I knew it well. Had played in it my entire life. I knew exactly how to escape its mysteries to find the exit on the opposite side.

  I exhaled and allowed the tension to flow out of me, the sickening fear. Forcing my shoulders to relax and begging my head to stop pounding, I glanced around to ensure I had a clear path. There were no guards as far as I could see which meant it was now or never.

  My feet were silent over the ground as I ducked and ran, my hair sliding over a shoulder to hide my face, the skirt of my maid’s uniform flapping at my thighs.

  I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until I made it into the maze and released it with a shudder.

  Leaning against a hedge, I willed my heart to slow down before I breathed in the strong scent of roses. They bloomed in multiple colors, climbing the hedges to the very top. During the day, they were a thing of beauty, sweet and innocent, some white while others were the dark color of blood.

  My mother had been the person to design the maze, and she’d been the one who taught me its secrets.

  I was utterly alone, hidden in deep shadow and cautious not to drag a shoulder across a hedge to catch my skin on thorns.

  Stars twinkled above my head, their light not enough to illuminate my path. The moon was noticeably absent in the quiet stillness of the night. But I kept moving ahead, turning right, then left, careful not to get confused or lost as I wove deeper into the maze.

  Freedom was so close I could taste it, my thoughts drifting back to the hours I’d spent traversing these narrow paths as a child. A few more turns and I’d find the exit, a stretch of woods spreading out just beyond it.

  Leaves crunched underfoot, the sound of
them so loud against the dark silence. I turned three more corners and felt relief to know one more and I’d be gone, out of sight, no longer a toy for a man who consumed me at every hour.

  I would be gone.

  The thought hurt as much as it soothed me.

  Reminding myself that I’d lived without Callan before, I kept inching forward, the back of a finger brushing the hedge, a thorn stabbing my skin.

  Blood pricked at the wound, and I brought my finger to my mouth just as I edged around the last corner.

  The exit stood dark against the landscape beyond it, an iron arch keeping the hedge separate. Roses climbed the sides, their scent infecting me as I rushed forward to finally run through and be done with Callan.

  But just as I got close, a large shadow moved across the opening, a body rounding the corner from the opposite side.

  My feet stopped in place, my stomach dropping into them as recognition stole my thoughts.

  Callan’s shoulders spanned the width of the arch, filling it, consuming it, stealing the air that I breathed as his eyes lifted to lock with mine.

  There was no humor in them. No kindness. No warmth. Just a cold so chilling that it felt like my blood had turned to ice.

  Dressed in a black button up shirt and black pants, he was utter darkness from head to toe, except for the white rose he held in front of him, the delicate blossom spinning left and right between his thumb and finger.

  I picked this for you...

  Get away from me! Do you think I’d actually want this?

  His eyes had filled with sorrow on the day I’d first rejected him. On the day I’d learned to be mean.

  It wasn’t that I wanted to hurt him, I’d been upset for other reasons. But I’d taken it out on a little boy who had followed me into the maze, on a kind heart who had been brave enough to finally admit he liked me.

  Callan had been seven and I’d been nine. And much like now, he’d offered me a white rose, so innocent despite the hateful feeling in my heart.

  He wasn’t seven anymore. Wasn’t small and insignificant.

  Stepping forward, he stole my space, his hand reaching out to hand me the rose. On instinct, I moved to take it, but he dropped it in the last second.

  Time slowed as I watched the white blossom drop to the ground, my body flinching when his boot stepped down to crush it.

  Fingers slid around my throat, so gentle, the threat.

  And then the heat of his breath caressed my face as he leaned down to whisper against my ear.

  “You remember that day, don’t you? You’re thinking of it right now.”

  I nodded and swallowed, my throat moving against his palm.

  Quiet laughter impacted my ear, his lips brushing the shell.

  “I remember it, too. I knew you were hurting that day. I’d listened to your mother scream at you. You were crying when you ran into the maze, and I only wanted to make you feel better. To tell you that I could be your friend.”

  He paused, the beat of his breath the only sound between us, the scent of his cologne setting me free within his dark orbit.

  Callan’s voice dropped to a lethal whisper. “It was the first time your father beat me. The first time he scarred me because of you.”

  My heart stopped beating for a second, the hard pulse of its return like a hammer against my ribs.

  His hand tightened, but not enough to choke. Instead, he dragged me forward and tilted my face up to look at him.

  An arrogant smile stretched his lips, his thumb sweeping down the pulse point in my neck.

  Gone was the sweet little boy, and in his place was the monster I’d created.

  “Ah, Lisbeth. You thought you could escape me, didn’t you?”

  His grin stretched wider, fire dancing behind his eyes.

  “I hope you know the only thing you’ve managed to do is dig your hole much, much, deeper.”

  Callan

  I stepped back when a fist slammed against the strike pad in my hand. It was pure energy, every strike. Although softened by the padding, the force of it still spread down my arm, rattling against my bones while tightening my muscles.

  Repositioning my body against the attack, I kept my eyes locked to my opponent, admiring the focus in his expression, his determination a mirror of my own.

  But Jacob was exhausted from the daily practice necessary for the true match that was coming.

  It was too bad I couldn’t demand he step aside so I could enter the ring. I needed the release, now more than ever.

  Jacob fell back, his foot moving to keep him upright as his expression tightened.

  “Enough for today.”

  Relaxing my posture, I tossed the strike pads to the side.

  “I’m not sure what it says that I’m able to wear you out while barely breaking a sweat.”

  He flipped me off, his hair slicked back and his chest glistening with perspiration.

  “All you’ve been doing is impersonating a punching bag. Try crawling in the ring with me, and we’ll see who drops dead first.”

  Laughter shook my shoulders.

  “Two more days and you’ll be in the ring.”

  I couldn’t hide the concern in my voice. When any of our men stepped into that ring, I worried. But Jacob was different. His life was the most valuable to me.

  His eyes opened, locked to mine.

  “I’ll be the one walking out of it.”

  Catching his breath, he grinned.

  “But if you’re worried, you could always promise to release Haley from her contract as my prize. That would ensure victory. I’d kill the asshole in one second flat.”

  Which would be a problem for the show. Men didn’t pay thousands of dollars to see a one punch kill. They wanted blood. Lots of it.

  Not that I hadn’t already decided to release Haley. Jacob just didn’t know it yet.

  Tossing him a towel, I growled, “I warned you not to fall in love.”

  He caught it with one hand, grinning at me while running it over his shoulders and the back of his neck.

  “Says the guy who’s been walking around for the past three days with a chip on his shoulder and a woman locked away in the dungeon. When were you planning on finally dealing with that?”

  My spine locked in place, a tension so painful even rolling my neck and shoulders did nothing to abate it.

  “She tried to run.”

  “You set her up to run.”

  While it was true, I’d set Isabelle on Lisbeth with the offer of freedom, it still surprised me to learn that she’d taken the offer. It was a test, one Lisbeth failed the minute she stepped foot outside.

  Turning, I locked eyes with my best friend.

  Jacob shrugged, the towel wrapped around the back of his neck, ends hanging over his shoulders.

  “What? It’s true. And if you want to be mad at her for it, that’s fine. But if you ask me-“

  “I didn’t ask you,” I barked.

  It only made him smile wider.

  “Too bad, because in my opinion, her running didn’t mean she’s the same spoiled bitch you’ve always hated. It just means she’s smart.”

  My lethal silence meant nothing to Jacob. Jacob would challenge me regardless of the violence that rolled off me in tantalizing waves. He continued to goad me even with the threat of an actual fight looming over him.

  “Face it, Callan, you’ve been torturing her since she returned. And I get the reasons why, but at some point you need to kiss and make up. You want her. She wants you. It’s obvious to everyone in this place, except for the two of you. Fucking stubborn. Both of you.”

  A low growl vibrated in my chest, but he wasn’t wrong, and my frustration was only getting worse with every day that passed.

  After catching Lisbeth in the maze, I’d dragged her down to the lower floors. For what purpose, I still wasn’t sure, but she hadn’t stepped foot from the room she was assigned to for anything more than using the bathroom and showering.

  Colton reported to me
that she’d attempted a hunger strike the first day, but quickly gave up the rebellion when he threatened to strap her to a St. Andrews Cross and teach her what her rebellion would cost.

  Not that the threat had any meat to it. Colton knew Lisbeth was off limits until I decided what to do with her.

  The only problem was making the decision. When we were apart, all I felt was anger, but when we were together, all I wanted was to show her body what it does to me. To tempt and tease her with the truth of a hatred that walked the same line as love.

  And such a fine line it was. The two halves blending until black and white no longer existed, just an aggravating shade of grey that crept in like smoke to distort and disguise everything around me.

  “You can’t leave her down there forever.”

  I dropped my weight on a bench, leaned back against the wall, my eyes lifting to Jacob’s face.

  “Technically, I can.”

  He grimaced, grabbed the towel with one hand and slid it from his shoulders to dump into a bin.

  “You won’t make it long. She’s like a damn siren when it comes to you.”

  The back of my head fell against the wall.

  “Has Haley said anything about her?”

  “Lisbeth hasn’t broken, if that’s what you’re hoping for. Haley said her eyes looked dead the first day, as if she refused to see anything around her, but she still holds her head high.”

  Scrubbing a hand down my face, I closed my eyes and exhaled.

  “Then I’ll need to handle it. Colton can’t touch her. And if sitting in a room by herself for days on end isn’t enough, then she’ll need something more.”

  “She’s not by herself.”

  My head lifted, eyes pinning his. “What do you mean?”

  Jacob’s cocky grin stretched his cheeks.

  “Haley told me Lisbeth was shitty the first day, but she has been hanging out with the rest of the girls since. They like her.”

  Genuinely surprised by that turn of events, I was quiet while processing it.

  “Are you telling me Lisbeth is becoming friends with women who sell their bodies?”