That bitch. The urge to dart out and stab her with the pick was almost too powerful to fight.
He was no longer in his jeans and sweater but blue scrubs like mine. Burn marks peeked out from the collar of the shirt and down his arms.
“Matt?” I patted his face carefully, cringing at the abuse they inflicted on him. He didn’t stir. “Matt.” I tapped harder. I didn’t want to hurt him more, but I needed him conscious. Now.
“Matt, I need you to wake up.” I worked quickly, unfastening the cuffs on his arms and legs. “I can’t carry you. Please.” A noise had me holding my breath and glimpsing over my shoulder, waiting for someone to walk in. Green would come back to check on him soon.
Time ticked with my rapid heartbeat, the door to freedom closing on us.
“Matt?” I shook him.
Nothing.
Biting on my lip, I winced at what I had to do.
“Scrooge!” I hissed, my palm clapping against his cheek, his head snapping to the side. “Wake up.”
A low groan rumbled from his chest, his cheek twitching in pain. “Alice.” He whispered my name like he was dreaming.
“I’m here.” I cupped his face again, his body flinching at my touch, pulling away. “It’s me. Please, open your eyes… well… your one eye.”
His lashes parted, his blue iris peeking through the good eye.
“Am I hallucinating again?” he croaked, his lid shutting again. “If I am, please leave me here.”
“If I was in your imagination, wouldn’t you have me dressed hotter than this?”
“Hmmm.” A ghost of a smile hinted on his face until he winced in pain. “Definitely be dressed in that hot little elf costume. The one I watched you rip from your own body, wishing it was me tearing it slowly from you.” He moaned, leaning into my touch. “Your hands feel so fucking good. Warm and numbing all at once. Is this how it felt?”
I jerked as a memory collided into my brain, steamrolling over my chest.
“I need these off.”
“What are you doing?” Scrooge tried to grab for my hands.
“No! I need them off. They’re melting to my skin. I can feel it.”
“Ms. Liddell. Stop.”
“I’m baking to death!”
“You merely think you are. It’s the poison. You’re hallucinating. Ms. Liddell. Please. Don’t.” He tried to grab for my hands again, but I wiggled away like a disobedient child, fumbling with the zipper. Before he could stop me, I got it down enough to rip what was left of it, shoving it off me and leaving me only in my black bra and underpants.
“Touch me,” I begged. It was only him who had cooled my skin, giving me a moment of relief.
I could still feel the coolness of his touch on my boiling skin, his fingers easing the pain inside me. Was I doing the same to him? Alleviating his pain like he had mine?
“I remember,” I breathed, seeing the small jail he and I were locked in together. “Your touch… it was magical.” The intensity of his fingers on my skin. Clear and tangible, pulsing my thighs with the need to revisit the memory fully.
I shook my head. Right now wasn’t the time to reminisce; we needed to run. “Listen to me. I can’t get us out of here without your help. Please.” I tilted his head to look at me. “I know you want to let the darkness surround you, protect you. Believe me, I understand, but right now I need you to dig deep and find your inner indestructible fruitcake. Need it to rise right now.”
“What?”
“Durable, resilient, tough. All the things I need from you but would also say about a fruitcake.”
“Now I know I can’t be dreaming.” His eye lifted again; his growling timbre vibrated against my hand. “I would never put those two together. Comparing myself to a fruitcake.”
“Don’t deny your inner fruitcake. I need it right now.” I picked up my weapon, shoving it into my boot.
“You’re nuts.” A smirk pulled at one half of his face.
“I don’t deny my nutty goodness anymore.” I shrugged a shoulder, reaching for him. “I let the madness in...”
“It looks good on you.” He took my hand, letting me help him rise, a groan hissing from him.
“Do I even want to imagine what she did to you?” I said more to myself than him.
“Probably no worse than what I imagined her doing to you.” He breathed in my ear, hooking his arm around my shoulder, using me as a crutch. His thumb trailed down the dried blood from my eye to my chin, fury and concern flared under his skin, his iris glowing with fury.
“Not now.” I shook my head, my arm wrapping around his waist. One side seemed more limp than the other, reminding me of a stroke victim. She had tortured him so brutally I hoped he would be able to recover.
“She threatened me with you… with Tim. I could hear your screams down the hall. I wanted to rip apart this world and the next to get to you.”
“Same.” I peered up at him, our eyes connecting with force, telling each other without a word that no realm could stop us from getting to each other. I murdered someone to get to you. Definitely not on the good girl list this year. “Do you remember the other world? Winterland?”
“Some.” He nodded. “I know I’ve lived there for a long time as Scrooge, and I was her knave at one time. That I lost people. But still a lot doesn’t make sense.” He grunted and pulled off me, taking on his full weight, his jaw clenching in pain. “I know we need to get back there, but I can’t remember why or how. I just have this nagging sensation I was looking for something.”
“Me too.”
“We can talk about this later.” He nodded at the door. “We need to get out of here first.”
“Are you going to be okay?” He didn’t seem completely steady on his feet yet.
“My inner fruitcake has been summoned and risen to the occasion.” He lifted his eyebrow.
“That sounds so dirty.”
“You asked for it to rise. I obliged.”
“Are we talking about fruitcake anymore?”
Winking at me with his one eye. “Call it whatever you want.”
I grinned, clutching onto the door knob. Twisting it, I cracked it open to peek out.
And froze.
“You think escaping was going to be that easy?” a voice growled, the shadowy figure blocking the exit, eyes glaring into me. My muscles convulsed with terror, a gasp scraping up my throat as I scrambled back in defense.
Holy mincemeat pie…
We’d been caught.
Chapter 21
“Fucking lords a-leaping,” I hissed, grabbing my chest, feeling it thump wildly against my palm. “Noel, you asshole.”
A tiny smirk twitched on his mouth but disappeared before I could claim it really happened. The stocky man slipped into the room, shutting the door behind us.
Matt tensed, defensively stepping between us, his chin rising.
“Ease back.” Noel was far shorter than him, but all muscle. “I’m on your side.”
“I don’t know you. I don’t trust shit about you,” Matt seethed through his teeth.
“I know who you are,” Noel snarled. “And if I wasn’t on your side, the guards would be in this room with me, dragging you back to the hole or strapping you back in the chair. And I certainly wouldn’t be risking what I’ve worked for all these years for nothing, asshole. I’m here for her anyway.”
“Excuse me?” Matt rolled his shoulders back.
“Whoa.” I stepped around Matt, getting between the two. “Calm down. Both of you.” I twisted to Matt. “He’s on our side.”
“How do you know? He could be tricking us. Walking us into a trap. And what do you mean by all you’ve worked for?” Matt didn’t relax, but he let me ease him back a step. Tortured, beat up, and barely standing, he didn’t hesitate to challenge whomever he needed. Protect me. I couldn’t deny it… it totally turned me on.
Noel set his mouth, not answering.
“You’re a spy.” I spun back to the nurse. “Aren’t you?�
�
His amber eyes darted around the room. “Not here,” he muttered. “Sleeping or awake, she’s always watching.”
“Spy… you’re part of the Night Rebellion?” Matt’s hand went to his forehead, rubbing it. “Wait. How do I know that name?”
“Night Rebellion?” I parroted.
“Not many of us left, but it’s a group still supporting, fighting for—” Noel’s sentence was cut off.
“For him,” Matt said slowly, like it all clicked in place.
“Him?” I glanced between the guys.
“Santa Claus,” Matt breathed out. “Nick.”
Flashes of the grumpy naked man stomping around flowed into another one: him screaming out in grief and devastation, his face twisted in horror. Broken. Lost.
Because of her.
Jessie.
Jessica Winters.
“Holy… She’s… she’s frickin’ Mrs. Claus, isn’t she?” My mouth dropped open, my eyes widening. It was another piece fitting in place; with every new portion the picture was starting to form.
“We don’t have time for this. She’s heading back here soon. We need to get you out.”
“How?”
Noel clicked his head to the door, peeking out, then opened it, showing us what he meant.
“A laundry cart?”
“We do mass loads down in the basement.”
“Basement? Hell no.” I shook my head. That was the last place I ever wanted to go again. Another dead end.
“What did I tell you?” Noel’s lips rose in irritation. “Observe. Learn. Watch. If you had, you would have seen there is a loading dock on the far end they use to bring in supplies. It’s the only door she doesn’t have under surveillance.”
An entrance into the building meant an exit for us.
“Get in.” Noel nodded to the cart. “Once outside, head to the black SUV, my keys are in the glove compartment. You have one chance. Do not screw this up.”
“Thank you.” I grasped his hands in mine. “For everything you’ve done.”
“I hated I couldn’t do more for you earlier. I’m glad you are all right, Alice.”
“You’ve done a lot.”
“This is sweet and all, but escaping takes precedence.” Matt’s chest bumped into my back, his hands gripping my hips, pushing me forward away from Noel, his possessive testosterone cramming the air.
Climbing into the cart, I dug underneath the stinky sheets and soiled towels with a groan, and Matt crawled in next to me. His huge frame barely fit in the space. Curling into a ball, he pulled me tightly against his body, my back against his chest. It was so tight; not even a piece of paper could fit between us.
I could feel everything through the thin cotton material.
Hot toddy… did they turn on the furnace? My body heated instantly, feeling every inch of him pressing into me, his hot breath trailing down my neck, his lips skimming my earlobe.
“Comfy?” he growled in my ear, his teeth nipping at my skin, flushing scalding tingles from my cheeks to my thighs.
“Stop it,” I hissed, making him chuckle. Asshole. This was not the place or the time to be thinking naughty thoughts.
Noel grunted in disgust, tucking in a sheet behind Matt.
“Night Rebellion, huh?” I said, trying to distract myself. “Have to admit I’m kind of disappointed.”
“Why?” Noel’s brows lowered as he clutched the end of a sheet.
“I don’t know; I was expecting something like Mistletoe Mutiny, Reindeer Revolt, or even Jingle Bells Brigade. I mean, it’s like you put no thought into it.”
Noel blinked at me.
“She’s locked us in eternal night, rotting our world and souls with her darkness.”
“Oh, well… fine… If you like it, it’s all that matters.”
Matt rumbled into my neck, gripping me tighter.
“From now on?” Noel picked up a heap of laundry, dropping it over us. “Shut the fuck up.”
My stressed heart thrummed in my throat as the cart wheeled us down the hall. Fear trampled and screeched in my stomach like a herd of elephants. I gripped Matt’s fingers. Knowing he was here with me made it better. We were in this together, whatever came our way.
Filtered light glowed down as Noel pushed us into the main room, the wheels squeaking under our weight. The sound of fingernails clicking away on keyboards echoed in the quiet room. The commotion from the night had settled down, the witching hours stilling the building, settling down to reboot for a new day.
Noel twisted the cart, and I could tell he was struggling to make it turn smoothly. If only laundry was in here, it should move with ease.
“Noel?” A nurse’s voice spoke, her nasal voice piercing my heart. Peppermint Patty. “What are you doing?”
“Uh.” He paused, the basket coming to a jerking stop. “Laundry.”
Soft-soled shoes pattered over the tile, heading toward us. My grip on Scrooge clenched down, my pulse loud in my ears.
“Now?”
“Yeah.” He sounded bored. “Need to do something to stay awake. Been a long night.”
Tension saturated the moment, like she didn’t believe him.
“Ginger did the laundry this morning,” Peppermint Stick finally spoke. Might have been my paranoia, but suspicion wrapped carefully around her words. “Seems a lot for such a short amount of time.”
“Accident in Happy’s room. You know what happens when he gets scared. Bea freaked him out. Every time someone wakes him up...”
“Pees himself,” Nurse Mint grumbled. “Yes, I am very aware.”
My eyes opened wide. What the hell? Were we laying in Happy’s urine-soaked sheets?
Matt felt my slight jolt, his fingers lacing through mine, squeezing tight.
“Also found some in Star’s cupboard. She’s hoarding again.” Noel’s lies slid easily from him. At least I hoped the pee one was a lie.
“She’ll have to be punished for that. She knows the rules about stealing.”
“Yeah.” I could hear a slight tightness to Noel’s response. Was he throwing someone under the bus to save us?
“Well, go ahead.” Exasperation coated Pepper’s response.
Relief closed my lids, my breath sliding through my teeth. The cart jolted, Noel moving us forward, halting again soon after. I could hear him clicking the elevator button repeatedly.
The doors opened, lurching my heart with hope. We were so close.
“Noel,” Peppermint cried out. “Stop!”
The hope burst like a balloon, crashing against my lungs.
“Hold up!” she bellowed, her shoes pounding the tile. No, Noel, go! I wanted to scream. But I heard her grab on to the elevator door, out of breath.
“Could you take this down since you’re going there anyway? Toss it in the dumpster? Broke earlier.” An object crashed down on us, shoving air from my mouth. Slamming my jaw, I tried to bite back the natural yelp of pain my body expressed.
“What was that?” Her voice rose with suspicion.
“What?”
“Thought I heard something.”
“Like?” Noel kept his voice even.
“What else is in there?”
The utter terror of being caught, knowing if we were found our lives would be over, divided me in half. Blinding, debilitating fear froze me into a statue, while at the same time everything burst with life and awareness. Every sound: a clock two rooms away, a drop of water in a sink, the buzzing of lights.
“You found out my secret,” he replied, hitching the last bit of air in my lungs. What was he doing? “Don’t get mad, but it’s a case of her peppermint syrup. I can’t get enough…” He sounded nothing like the stoic guy I knew, but a bashful teenager.
“Noel!” Peppermint chided him, sounding suddenly exceedingly girly. “You know you’re not supposed to do that. It’s for the patients here.”
“I know. I know. But it’s so good.”
A playful sigh came from her. “You are such a tr
oublemaker.”
“You won’t tell?”
“No.” She was now the one sounding like a teenager. One who was flirting. “You know I could never do that to you. Just don’t get caught, okay? She’s already so mad at what happened earlier.”
“I won’t. Thank you, Pep. You are the best. I owe you,” he flirted back.
“You so do.” Her voice curled with innuendo. “Maybe I’ll come down and help you with the laundry when I’m done here. Looks like you might need a hand.”
Okay, I was gonna throw up.
“Sure.”
I listened as the elevator doors closed, and the box jolted down, heading to the basement.
Noel exhaled loudly, picking up whatever she dropped on us. “That was close.”
“Oh, Noel.” I pushed my voice up high and girly, peeling the sheets away to see him standing over us, holding a coffee maker. “Do you need a hand with the laundry?” I snorted.
He growled, glaring at me. There was the guy I knew. “I hope this coffee maker really hurt when it landed on you,” he snarled, making my smile even wider.
Chapter 22
“Keep down until we’re out. Eyes are always watching,” Noel muttered, the elevator doors dinging, spreading open to the sinister darkness the basement embraced. I shivered. Terror, isolation, and grief clung to the walls, haunting the space from the victims who came before. I didn’t know how long Jessica had used this building for her needs, but I knew this place had been used before as a sanitarium to hold the lost and broken. Misery soaked into every brick, the howls of anguish reverberating with their horrendous life here.
The moment the doors shut, Matt and I climbed out of the cart. Fear danced on my nerves. Even though we had made it through the first tier, we still weren’t safe.
“The doors are on that end.” Noel pointed the opposite way of the hole. “They will bring you up by the parking lot. My SUV is on the other side of the dumpster. She has cameras out there. So once you are out, don’t hesitate and don’t look back. Just run.”
Matt nodded. “Thank you. I appreciate this.”
“I’m doing it for her. Not you.” Noel’s lips thinned. “You have done a lot for the Night Rebellion over the years… have been on our side for a long time now, but a lot of us still can’t forget, won’t forget, what you were before.” Noel’s throat bobbed. “I lost family because of you.”
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