My panic is delayed and then visible as my expression shifts and freezes on the pile of disabled devices at Linc’s feet. It takes me a moment to realize Linc has covered them with his boot. Maria’s eyes flick over us, settling on me before following my gaze to Linc’s boot. Her brows wrinkle. She gives me a searching look as she wheels the cart to a stop in front of us.
“Breakfast. You two eat,” she says.
My stomach growls, suddenly ravenous at the suggestion of food. “Thank you, Maria,” Linc says. Maria nods and backs toward the door.
“Maria, how is Sofia?” I blurt before she can retreat.
She stops and considers me. Concern and a deep-set disgust fill her features. “She will mend.” Her eyes flick to Linc. “Thank you,” she says, although it’s curt. I realize she must think we’re being listened to. “I owe you for what you did.”
I make my way toward her and, although she looks like a spooked animal, I hug her anyway. She doesn’t hug me back but she doesn’t move away, either. I squeeze lightly and smile at her. “You don’t owe him anything. He didn’t do it for a favor.”
She shakes her head and, for a moment, the fear and sorrow break through in the form of brimming tears. Her hands shake and she grabs her apron and balls the fabric in her fists. “He’s everywhere. Always listening,” she whispers. “Don’t let him hear you care. He’ll only use it against you.”
“He can’t hear us now,” I whisper back. “Your words are safe.”
She looks as if she doesn’t quite believe me and glances at Linc. I look back at him in time to see him raise his foot, revealing all of the disabled listening devices. Maria’s eyes widen. She looks at him and back at me. “Don’t trust it,” she finally whispers, shaking her head as if to clear it.
I get the impression she’s talking about me rather than to me and my heart sinks.
She straightens, squares her shoulders. “Sofia will be fine. Back to work by this afternoon,” she says in a clipped voice. She closes the door with a decided click as she leaves.
My shoulders fall. Linc is right there to envelop me. His arms are warm and solid, chasing away the shakiness of the moment. “Don’t blame yourself. She’s seen too much to trust her eyes,” he says softly into my ear.
His hands rub up and down my back, smoothing the stress away. Eventually, his hands find their way from my back to my hair and then my face. I lean into his palm and he cups my cheek. The tension from earlier returns and I’m swept away by the look in his eyes and the welling feeling in my chest that I can’t name.
“You’re so beautiful,” he murmurs, tracing a line from my temple to jaw with his fingertip.
I lower my lashes, deflecting the compliment out of habit, but he doesn’t let me get away with that. He hooks his finger underneath my chin, forcing my gaze back to his. “You should look at me when I tell you you’re beautiful,” he says softly
“Why?” A flush colors my cheeks.
“Because, someday, I want you to realize it for yourself.”
His words seem to go beyond any surface meaning. I consider it carefully, still holding his gaze. When I can’t stand to be studied any longer, I press my lips to his cheek. “You make me feel beautiful, Linc. Thank you.”
Our lips collide, falling over top of one another to get enough. Enough contact, enough sensation, enough fulfillment. There isn’t enough of any of those to make me want to stop.
My feet move without much prodding on Linc’s part. In no time, I am backed against the wall next to the closed door and my sweater lands somewhere near my feet, leaving only my thin blouse. I want more. I have no idea where this came from, but I love that he’s no longer being careful. I am not as breakable as he sometimes treats me and this is such a welcome and thrilling change; I don’t want it to end before I’ve taken all I can get from it.
His kisses are heavy and hot, his mouth slick as it slides over mine. My arms slide around his neck of their own accord, my fingers pressing against his hair and pulling him tight against me. Something foreign and euphoric is building below my belly, like a volcano stirring from dormancy.
It’s not enough to meet our mouths. I press the length of my body against his. Taut muscles and lean flesh press back against me. I shiver, enjoying the hard lines and the way his skin contours near his hips. The pressure in my stomach builds, pushing lower into my hips. It travels lower still, between my thighs. My hands roam to his waist, to the edge of his jeans. I yank him by the belt loops, pulling him as close as I can and pressing out with my own hips.
Linc groans and pulls back slightly. I am terrified he will stop, leaving me breathless and unsatisfied. “Linc, don’t stop,” I whimper.
He lets out a growl and, in answer, recaptures my mouth with his own. His kisses are hungry and searching and I pour all of my fear and uncertainty into every one, drowning it out with my passion.
I have no idea how to satisfy the strange ache, but my instincts have me pressing harder into Linc. His hand travels down my hip and brushes the hem of my shirt. Warm fingertips slip underneath the fabric, grazing my bare skin. I let out a soft moan.
He buries his face in my neck, pressing kiss after kiss to the sensitive skin between my earlobe and my collarbone. I cling to him, my hands clutching the fabric of his shirt.
“Ven …” he says, before trailing off with more kisses, his hand still teasing the skin near my stomach.
“More,” I demand, unsure what else there is but needing it in the same way I need oxygen. His hands move up my torso. Goose bumps break out on my arms and abdomen in delicious anticipation.
A chime pierces the otherwise silent room. Linc’s hands go still.
It takes a moment to register the sound. Linc’s hands fall away, sliding into his pocket to retrieve his phone. “Shit,” he says, blinking at me as if to clear the fog.
“What is it?” I ask over the sound of the chiming.
“Titus,” he says grimly. My shoulders go slack as the spell is broken. The inferno inside me is snuffed out. Linc swipes a button and brings the phone to his ear. “Hello?”
I can hear the bass that is Titus speaking on the other end but no words penetrate the cobwebs of my still-dazed mind.
Linc’s mouth presses together in a hard line. He listens and nods, only speaking a few times and even then, his answers are short and clipped “yes-sirs.” When they finally hang up, I’ve recovered from our kissing enough to be impatient.
“What is it?” I ask as soon as he disconnects.
Linc’s hand finds mine and he winds his fingers through my own. “Titus says to stop kissing you,” he says.
I stare back at him in horror and whisper as low as I can without being heard, “I thought you got them all.”
“Relax,” he says aloud. “I did.” He kisses the tip of my nose. “He’s bluffing.”
“How do you know?” I ask, panic rising despite Linc’s calmness.
“Because if he’d just seen what we were doing, he wouldn’t have called. He’d have come here and killed me himself.” He winks and steps back, pulling me along.
“How can you joke about this?” I demand. “And where are we going? I’m hungry.”
“I joke because it keeps me sane.” Linc swerves and grabs a muffin from the cart. He hands me one and takes one for himself before heading out the door, me in tow. “And we’re going to talk to Daniel.”
“Linc, wait.” I yank hard to pull him to a stop in the open doorway. “This doesn’t feel right. Why did Titus leave us alone after what happened?”
My expression must convey the severity of my concern. Linc pauses and his brow creases before he answers carefully, “Something happened that he doesn’t want me to know about. Doesn’t want either of us to know about.”
“But what?”
“I don’t know. But whatever it is must be bad enough that it’s worth letting me be here with you.”
I can sense him reaching the end of his explanation. He turns to continue down the hall b
ut I yank his arm to hold him in place. “That’s my point, though. I mean, why does he let you stay? Why doesn’t he …?”
“Kill me?” Linc finishes.
I nod, wincing.
“I’ve thought about that, believe me.” He rubs his jaw and it makes a scratching sound against the hint of stubble. I avert my eyes but not before my pulse jumps. His eyes are sharp on mine and his lips quirk up in the barest hint of amusement at my reaction. There’s a sadness in his smile. “That’s why.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Titus isn’t stupid. Despite all he’s done, all he’s capable of, he’s very smart. And the one thing he knows about you and me is that you will only cooperate so long as he dangles what you want most. He’s leaving me dangling so that you’ll be too distracted to stand against him.”
He’s absolutely right. I would risk anything for my freedom, for the freedom of my friends. Anything except Linc. But that’s not what catches my attention. “You think Titus is actually worried about that? About me?”
Linc’s smile is dangerous and unkind and full of vengeance. “I do. And he should be, angel.”
“Why?” I press as he begins leading us away.
“Because you and I are going to end him. But first, we’re going to talk to Daniel.”
“Daniel’s the other way,” I say, ignoring the thrill I get from hearing him call us a team. I can’t afford to get swept up in the excitement of Linc’s promises, not until I decide whether we actually have a shot.
“We have to stop at the guard station. I need a key card to Daniel’s cell.”
“You don’t have yours?” I ask.
“No.” He shakes his head and gives a wry, humorless smile. “Titus took it when he caught me making out with his daughter.”
His attempt at humor fans my temper. It’s only funny if it doesn’t get him killed in the end. “It’s not a joke, Linc. He could’ve done a lot worse than take your access card.”
He swipes a fingertip gently over the knot on my temple. “He already did.”
I brush his hand aside impatiently. “I meant to you. He’s always threatening to hurt you if I don’t— What if he finds out we were kissing? What if he sends another girl to see Daniel?”
“Daniel isn’t going to hurt anyone else,” Linc growls.
“How do you know?
He smacks his fist against his open palm. “I’m going to make a point to bring it up when we speak.”
When he reaches for me, I pull away, unconvinced. “I mean it. I can’t stand the thought of someone else hurting because of me.”
His temper fades into something softer. “Angel. No one is going to be hurt because of you. Including me. None of what happens is your fault. It’s Titus. He’s the monster. He’s the villain we’re going to take down.” He squeezes his eyes shut as if in pain. When he opens them again, the emotion in them is like an old scar, healed but still remembered. “But, God, if he touches you again … To hell with our plan to ruin him and free the City. If he hurts you again, I’ll kill him.”
I don’t bother trying to talk him out of it. One glance at his face tells me it’s pointless to try. “All right,” I say quietly. “So, the key card. Will he know you took another one?”
Linc shrugs. “Only if he comes home before we put it back.”
“Then let’s hurry.”
Outside the security office, I devour the muffin Linc swiped for me. When I’m done, I shift my weight back and forth, counting seconds under my breath. I’m not scared for myself, but Linc is taking an awful lot of risk for this, and I don’t want to tempt the boundaries Titus has unofficially put in place with Linc’s life.
The door opens and Linc slips through, key card in hand. He shakes it at me, plants a kiss on my nose, and takes my hand, leading us back the way we’ve come.
We meet no one on our way downstairs. The house is still and tomblike. Even Maria has vanished. I’ve never experienced such solitude inside Rogen Tower before. It’s exhilarating and eerie. Linc keeps a firm hold on my hand and we stop only once, just outside Daniel’s door, for Linc to kiss me and fold me into his arms. “I won’t let him hurt you, angel.”
“Linc.” I push away enough to look up at him. “I’m not scared of Daniel. He won’t hurt me.”
Linc looks less than convinced. “Right. Like he wasn’t going to hurt Sofia?”
“I think … Are you sure it wasn’t an act?” I ask, bracing myself for the temper I know is coming.
He pauses, his head tilting. He seems to genuinely consider my question. Finally, he says, “I’m not sure of anything where Daniel’s concerned.”
Linc swipes the key card and the light blinks from red to green. There is an audible click and then the doorknob turns beneath his grip.
When we enter, Daniel is lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling and singing softly to himself.
He looks up and his song fades, but not before a sense of familiarity washes over me at the few fleeting words I catch.
“Well, well,” Daniel says, sitting up and swinging his feet to the floor. “Back for round two?” he asks.
He’s washed up since my last visit. His T-shirt and sweatpants look fresh, and his wounds have been tended. A white bandage covers his left brow and there is a jagged scratch down his cheek, near his ear, that has been covered over with a white cream.
“That depends on you,” Linc says. He still has my hand but his moves are cautious, deliberate. A predator approaching its prey.
Daniel’s eyes flick to me and linger on my face. The knot on my temple tingles underneath his scrutiny. I stare back at him, looking for evidence of the transparency I saw before. I can’t tell whether it’s there now, or he’s showing off.
“Titus isn’t here,” I say, wondering if that will change his demeanor at all. “No one is.”
Linc shoots me a look that clearly says, “Shut up.” So I do.
Daniel quirks a brow. “He left you two lovebirds alone to guard the castle?”
Linc stops us when we reach the table. Last I saw, it was upside down near the wall. Someone has righted it again but one of the legs is bowed out and it’s not level anymore. I bump the corner lightly with my finger and it wobbles.
“You can thank your GI Joe boyfriend for that,” Daniel says.
I look over at Linc. “What is GI Joe?”
He gives me a withering look, shakes his head, and turns to Daniel. “We need to talk,” Linc says.
“Funny. Last time you were here, that’s the last thing you were interested in doing,” Daniel replies.
Linc glares at him. “You were forcing yourself on an unwilling, underage girl. You weren’t doing much talking either.”
“So chivalrous.” Daniel rolls his eyes. “Is that what you saw? Are you one hundred percent sure about that? Or are you accepting what the old man shows you as truth, just like the rest of the world?”
Linc growls. “Your hand was up her shirt when I walked in and she was fighting you.”
Daniel snorts. “If I had a nickel for every time I heard that one.”
“I need to talk to you about Raven,” I say.
His gaze sharpens and his mouth twists. “No.”
“No?”
“I don’t care if you say he’s gone. Even if you aren’t lying, he can still hear us. He can always hear us.”
Exasperated, I look to Linc. “A little help?” He lets go of my hand and begins a sweep of the room. No one speaks as we wait for him to find whatever evidence exists that Daniel is right.
A few minutes later, Linc comes up empty and heads for the door, key card in hand. He pauses with his hand on the knob and sends Daniel a look that pins him in place. “I’m going to check next door. I will see you the entire time. And if you touch her, there is no one on this Earth to stop me from killing you.”
Daniel rolls his eyes. “Relax, Terminator. I don’t want to hurt her.”
Linc’s scowl darkens. I gulp, positive I never, ever
want to end up on the wrong side of that look. “That’s not what I meant.” He is gone before Daniel can come back with a snide remark.
When the door clicks shut, Daniel rises and makes his way toward me.
Linc is next door, I remind myself. I am safe. And Daniel’s eyes are clear.
I tell myself to calm down, to breathe normal. And I force myself to hold my ground. “Ven,” he says, as if we’re two friends meeting over coffee. I pause, my fingertips brushing the edge of the table, ready to retreat around it if he comes any closer. “What did you call me?” I ask.
“Your name. It’s Ven, isn’t it?” He shrugs like it’s no big deal but my pulse accelerates.
“How do you know that name?” I ask.
“I know more about you than you think,” he says.
“I saw her,” I blurt, before he can distract me with his cryptic teasers.
“You …. Where?” His entire demeanor instantly shifts. The shutters on his expression lift and I can read him. He is open and intent and completely sane. Harmless—unless it means getting to her.
“Titus took me to Twig City tonight. I saw her in a room there. She’s locked up.”
“You saw her,” he repeats. “You’re sure?”
I hesitate for only a second. Which Raven did I see? Morton’s or Daniel’s or some other version? “Yes.”
He frowns and then springs into action. I jump at his sudden response but he only steps forward to slide a chair out from the table. He gestures toward it just as Linc slips back into the room. Daniel ignores him and pulls out a chair for himself opposite mine and sits. He folds his hands on the table in front of him and he leans forward in earnest. “Tell me everything.”
I look to Linc, who nods, and then I begin.
When I am finished, the first thing Daniel does is rub his face with his palm and then refold his hands in front of him. “Are you sure?” he repeats.
“I think I know what I look like,” I snap, irritated at being asked again.
Daniel’s lips quirk and the lines creasing his forehead smooth out. “Okay, I believe you. Calm down, kitten.”
Linc’s hand tightens on my shoulder and he spews a curse that involves shoving a kitten into one of Daniel’s cavities. I glare at Daniel. “Don’t call me kitten,” I tell him. “And I know what I saw. She was right in front of me, six inches away through that glass.”
Deviation Page 17
