by Belle Malory
Rex snorted. “Impossible.”
“Why is it impossible?” I asked.
“Spencer,” he warned. “You better not even be thinking of going with him. That man is the devil incarnate. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what sorts of things he’ll ask you for.”
I started to reply, but cut myself off. Instead, I nodded, dropping the subject. It wouldn’t do any good to argue with him right now. I would make the decision on my own, eventually, and I couldn’t guarantee I’d say no to going along with Bonjara.
Not if it meant saving Rex’s life.
A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. The guards entered, with turkey sandwiches and a first aid kit in tow. After they handed over the items, I asked the one of the guards how long we would be staying at the motel.
“We’re not sure,” he replied gruffly. “King Salazar is on the move. He’s requested for you to stay put until he arrives.”
From behind me, I heard Rex growl in a low voice, “That slimy bastard is no king.”
The guard stiffened, taking offense at Rex’s words. I winced, wishing he’d stayed quiet. But neither of the guards responded to Rex. Instead, they warned me, “Do not leave this room. If you do, your friend will be shot on sight.”
With that said, they left, slamming the door behind them.
“Thanks, Rex,” I mumbled. “Instead of trying to gain leeway, you only managed to piss them off.”
“Why do you care what they think? Unless you need someone to fetch condiments for your sandwich, it doesn’t really matter.” His tone was sardonic, angry even.
I tossed him the first aid kit, feeling myself grow more annoyed. “You should probably put a bandage on your cut,” I suggested dryly.
He took it with him to the bathroom, and slammed the door shut. He left me alone like that for a while.
I quietly ate my sandwich in the dark, with nothing accompanying me, aside from my worries. What would happen when this so-called king showed up? Would I really be forced to serve him?
For the first time, I was truly beginning to feel afraid.
Twenty-One
Rex and I still weren’t speaking to one another, probably because we were both afraid.
Afraid of what was coming.
On some level, we both knew what the future held for us. Someone was going to lose. That much was inevitable. Too bad for him, I already made up my mind to come out of this losing. I didn’t care about his honor. I didn’t care if he felt it was his duty to keep the oracle out of the wrong hands. I only cared about him.
It made things even worse that the stupid television didn’t work. Rex tried to turn it on, but the damned cord was frayed. The noise might have helped to drown out our worries. But now we were forced to suffer through it in silence.
I’d gone through all of the dresser drawers and the closet, looking for any sort of weapon or tool to help us escape. The only thing I found was a box of washable Crayola markers that some kid had left behind. I almost laughed when I found them, wondering if I should threaten to color the guards to death.
Eventually, I gave up. I should’ve known better anyway. If there was a way to escape, I would’ve told Rex when he asked.
I sat down on the floor, enveloped in my misery. It was better than sitting on the itchy bed or the uncomfortable wooden chairs anyway. So I just sat there, sprawled out on the floor, resting my back against the dresser. I mindlessly twirled the markers, giving my anxious hands something to do.
I watched Rex through the shade of my eyelashes. He was restless too, definitely. He’d been pacing the room for most of the night, letting out frustrated sighs and raking his hands through his mussed hair. Sometimes he looked as pensive as a Greek sculpture. But if he was scared, he didn’t show it. Now that I thought about it, I don’t think I’d ever seen him show an ounce of fear.
Hmm…bravery. Now there was a decent trait.
Suddenly, Rex moved away from the far side of the room and headed in my direction. He paused as he stood over me, then kneeled down on the floor.
I lifted my gaze to view his expression. He seemed different somehow.
He nodded towards the box of markers, gesturing for me to hand them over. I raised an inquisitive brow, but tossed it to him anyway. He settled down beside me along the dresser, and withdrew some colors. Green, yellow, pink and red.
He took my arm, pressing the wet tip of the red marker down across my wrist, drawing small waves. I was too curious to stop him.
I became entranced by the cold tingles left behind with each stroke of the marker. He put away the red and uncapped the green. He was drawing a flower, I realized. He filled in leaves and greenery along my arm, creating a long vine along my skin.
When he was done filling in the flower, Rex leaned over to lightly blow out air, drying the ink. I shivered, feeling the wet spots chill beneath his breath. Goose bumps spread along my arm, and a warmth spread throughout my body. It reminded me of our almost-kiss in Lina’s RV bathroom.
Rex capped the marker he held and our eyes met, his tinged with an emotion I couldn’t name, but whatever it was, it appeared intense.
I picked up the yellow marker and drew two smiley faces, one on each of his cheeks. It was a lame attempt at trying to lighten the mood. I grinned at my pathetic handiwork, incomparable to the masterpiece covering my arm.
He smiled a little. It was nice seeing him smile. Seeing his white teeth display beneath his straight, pink lips. Seeing the hardened corners of his mouth curve seductively. He was beautiful.
Gently, Rex pushed on the back of my arm, turning me slightly. He tugged my dress sleeve, letting the fabric slide down my shoulder, revealing more of my skin.
There was a slight intake of my breath. For a moment, I thought he was going to pull the fabric off of me. But he didn’t. He drew on my shoulder, using the blue marker. Then the yellow. The wet tip trailed along my lower back. His hot breath caressed my neck, his lips hovering, not quite touching. I trembled, aching to feel them press against my skin in place of the marker.
Rex took his time creating something detailed. When he was finished, I stood, my back facing the mirror. I turned just slightly, so I could see what he’d drawn. It was a scene of a night sky, filled with twinkling stars. One of them blazed across the sky, just as it had the night we fell asleep by the lake. He’d drawn our sky, our stars.
“It’s amazing,” I whispered.
He inched closer, placing his hands on the dresser behind us, one on either side of me. Trapping me. “What are you doing?” I whispered, not quite able to catch my breath. I bumped against the table, flinching.
Rex looked at me like a lion and I was his prey. Something stormed violently in his eyes as he stared at me. He swayed backwards a little, as if battling with himself.
He took out the red marker again, uncapping it.
I pushed myself up on the dresser, sitting on top of it and trying to put some distance between us. I fanned myself with my hand, feeling hotter by the second. “Is it warm in here?” I asked.
Rex didn’t answer me.
Stepping forward, he filled the gap between us. I tried to slide backwards, but there was no more room. My back pushed against the wall.
Rex reached for my ankle, then lifted it slowly into the air.
I stopped fanning myself. My lips parted as I stared at him, waiting for his next move. I could only sit there, conceivably mesmerized by his every touch.
He pressed the tip of the marker to my ankle.
I swallowed. Gulped was more like it.
The marker traveled up my leg and across my knee. A simple line that seemed to have no purpose, no end.
“Is this abstract art?” I joked.
Rex still refused to speak. The marker continued traveling up my thigh, leaving every ounce of skin it touched tingling in its wake. His hand reached the hem of my dress. He lifted the fabric, pushing it gently up my thighs. Then suddenly, he paused. He looked at me again, his eyes pulling me
in deeper with each heart-pounding breath.
“Essie-” he breathed.
I pressed my lips to his.
The marker dropped to the floor. His arms encircled me, pulling me against him until our bodies were flush. I wrapped my legs around his waist, clinging to his arms. We tasted each other slowly and delicately at first. It quickly intensified though. I couldn’t get enough of touching Rex, of kissing him. I grasped and clawed at anything that separated us, surprised to see his intensity matched mine.
I felt the zipper on the back of my dress sliding. Rex’s hand slipped beneath the fabric, reaching for the small of my back, and holding me there.
Rex lifted me from the dresser, gathering me in his arms. He carried me to the bed, gently laying me down and then falling on top of me.
I lifted my head, kissing Rex before he had time to change his mind, too afraid that the moment might end. I felt his hands slide into my hair, tangling the glossy strands while he kissed me deeply.
Rex lifted his face just a breath from mine, needing one last confirmation. I held his face between my hands, staring into his fiery amber eyes. They devoured me, his gaze absorbing mine. In some ways, it frightened me, but I didn’t want it to end. I nodded. It was just a slight movement, I’d never been so sure of anything.
The door burst open, banging against the wall and startling both of us. I groaned, feeling Rex pull away. Back to reality.
Rex nearly growled, yelling, “Your timing is impeccable, but please get the hell out.”
He hadn’t even turned around to see who it was. I, however, was too curious to ignore the intruder’s entrance. I slowly peeked around Rex’s head.
Xavier stood there, tense with anger. He didn’t seem pleased about what he’d walked into.
“Are they gone yet?” Rex asked me hopefully.
“Afraid not,” I replied, wincing.
He sighed regretfully, and removed his body from mine.
Embarrassed, I quickly refastened my dress and stood. I grimaced after catching sight of myself in the dresser’s mirror. My normally perfectly straight, polished hair was mussed into a chaotic state of disarray. I frantically smoothed down the tresses.
“What do you want, Dogaru?” Rex asked Xavier balefully.
“To start with, Constantin, you will keep your bloody hands off of the oracle,” he stormed. I noticed Xavier’s British accent pronounced itself more while he was angry. “She is Salazar’s property now.”
I was property now, was I? I snorted loudly at that. They would soon find out how much their property enjoyed kicking and screaming.
“And you,” Xavier directed his attention towards me. “You will come with me. King Bonjara has requested your presence.”
“What if I don’t want to?” I asked, simply to be difficult.
“Then we will kill your friend,” he replied coldly. “Why do you think we’ve let him live this long, Oracle?”
“Not because you like him, I’m assuming?”
Xavier frowned. He reached for my arm, twisting it around. Rex’s artwork didn’t seem to impress him. He dropped my arm, wearing a look of disgust.
“Well, I definitely agree he’s not the easiest person to get along with at first,” I said. “But he sort of grows on you.”
Rex rolled his eyes at my banter, and barked, “Enough, Spence.”
I turned to face Rex. “Oh, so you’re back to calling me Spence?”
Rex ignored me, and approached Xavier. “I’m going with her to see Bonjara.”
Xavier shook his head, denying Rex’s demand. “You’ll stay here.”
“I’m going with her, or she won’t go at all,” Rex warned. He turned to me. “Right, Spence?”
“Sure, whatever.” I figured everything was being handled with or without my input anyway.
With a snap of his fingers, two more guards entered the room. Xavier merely nodded his head towards me and they were both at my side.
Xavier stepped directly in front of me. “We’re playing by my rules now, Oracle. You’ll come with us willingly, without your friend. If not, we’ll snap his neck.”
He smiled, knowing he had enough leverage to force me to do anything. All anyone had to do was to threaten Rex’s life in order to get what they wanted. I couldn’t even try and pretend otherwise, not after Xavier had found us under the circumstances he had. It was useless.
I turned to Rex, pleading with him to understand. “I don’t have a choice,” I said. “Don’t ask me to risk your life.”
“Fine,” he said. “As long as you promise me you won’t leave with Bonjara.”
I stared at him wearily. I couldn’t make that promise, and I think he’d guessed that already.
“Essie,” he begged. “Swear to me, that no matter what, you won’t go with him.”
It was obvious Rex hated the ex-king with a passion. And I knew how important this was to Rex. But I still couldn’t make his promise.
When I didn’t say anything, he grew almost desperate. He swung at Xavier, knocking him down to the ground. Both of the guards immediately left my side, and went after Rex. He took on both of them at once, knocking one in the wall with his shoulder and kicking the other behind the knees.
“Run, Essie,” he shouted. “Run, dammit!”
I stood there, immobilized with fear. Here was my chance to escape. But honestly, how long would it last? I was only kidding myself if I thought for one moment someone else wouldn’t find me and try to use me. There would always be another Bonjara. There would always be someone who wanted something.
I wasn’t leaving Rex to die.
I reached for the lamp sitting on the nightstand and yanked the cord from the wall. One of the guards held Rex to the ground. I threw the lamp him, watching it bash him in the head. He howled with pain, giving Rex the chance to get another punch in, and knocking the guard out cold. Rex rolled the body off of him.
“Look out!” I yelled, seeing that Xavier managed to stand upright. He called for help. Rex tackled him, but it was too late. More guards were on their way.
“Please go,” Rex said, desperately eyeing the door as if he wanted to see me rush outside of it.
Three more men swooped in, and threw Rex up against the wall. One of them had brought in the bat. He lifted it into the air, preparing to swing.
“Don’t you dare!” I screamed. “Or I swear I’ll run.” I was by the door, with one foot outside of it, ready to flee.
Thankfully, the guard lowered the bat at Xavier’s nod of approval. “Tie him up,” Xavier ordered. “And make damned sure he doesn’t get away.”
It took two of the men to hold Rex down, while the other used a cord as a makeshift rope to tie him up with. Because he was making so much noise, they tore one of the pillowcases in order to gag him. I flinched, hearing his muffled voice. He was so incredibly upset. I had a feeling a lot of that anger was directed at me for not leaving while I had the chance.
As soon as the guards were finished securing Rex, they quickly moved onto me. “I’ll go willingly,” I snapped, jerking out of their tight grasps.
Xavier wiped at his bloody nose with his sleeves. “Take her to King Bonjara,” he ordered them angrily. He looked me directly in the eye. “You’ll be lucky if I don’t kill the bastard while you’re gone.”
Twenty-Two
Salazar Bonjara wasn’t the menacing force to be reckoned with I’d imagined. In actuality, he was short and portly in stature, with black, curly hair and olive skin. His cheeks were surprisingly rosy, enough to make him appear rather harmless.
There was something secretive about him though, some nameless energy I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
They’d brought me to his limo. It was puzzling me, trying to figure out exactly what Bonjara wanted. The man obviously had enough money to afford luxury cars, drivers and guards; he didn’t need me for monetary gain. But the rich enjoyed getting richer so I wouldn’t count that out yet.
“Xavier tells me your name is Estelle,”
he said, after I crawled in through the limo door, taking the empty seat across from him. I looked around, seeing that we were alone.
Perhaps I could take him on, I mused.
There was a mini bar, stocked with assorted alcohols sitting beside me. I could easily reach for a bottle and swing it against Bonjara’s head.
“Is that your name, dragă?” he asked again, waiting patiently.
I looked away from the bottles, unwilling to test my exit plan just yet.
He sat back in his seat. “I’m Salazar,” he introduced himself. “And I’d like to make a business arrangement with you.”
“Are you really going to pretend I’m not being forced right now?”
The hints of a smile formed at his lips, as if he knew something I didn’t know. “You’ve been forced to meet with me. You won’t be forced to stay.”
He said it so matter-of-factly I almost believed him.
My doubt wasn’t without cause. This man was a murderer. I decided to call him out on the fact.
“Why should I believe anything a murderer says?”
He stared out of the limo’s window and smiled bitterly. “I see the Constantins’ are still spreading that nasty rumor.”
“I suppose this is the part where you tell me it’s not true?”
“It’s not,” he replied candidly. “Though I disliked the woman, I never wanted to kill her. I never needed to.”
“Why should I believe you?” I asked him suspiciously.
“Do or don’t. It’s of no consequence to me. I’ll tell you what though, if it makes you feel better, I’ll stand before Rex Constantin with my declaration of innocence. I’ve heard of his ability to see through lies.”
I arched a high brow. I was still wary of Salazar, but on the other hand, Rex was the ultimate lie detector.
“Continue,” I prompted him. “So what is it you want?”
He relaxed more comfortably in his seat after I decided to hear him out, seemingly eager for me to listen to his proposal. “I understand how difficult it must be, Estelle, to be such a treasure. To have mind readers like my Xavier hunting you.” His dark eyes watched me like a hawk, sharply assessing me. “If I were you, I’d want to sleep peacefully at night. I can make that happen. And I’m prepared to make you an offer.”
