by Fleur Smith
I flinched at the name, and his eyes flashed with sorrow.
Anything but that. I forced myself to ignore the sting. Ethan didn’t know the history of that word. Didn’t know how it made me relive the worst times of my life.
“What happened?” I whispered, as I ignored the feeling of the water rushing over my body. It was actually getting a little warmer now—indicating he’d at least considered my comfort when he’d devised his current plan.
“After Clay collapsed like he did, they were instantly suspicious. They’d seen that sort of reaction often enough, particularly in fae prisoners. When they started questioning him, they noticed his eyes were different, so they thought he was a doppelganger and a spy. Ben—that’s Abe’s son—and Lou wanted to execute him on the spot, but Dad convinced them not to. I think Dad knew it was really him.” He smashed his palm against the tiles on the shower, and I heard a cry of outrage from Clay. “Maybe that will stop you from trying that again!” Ethan shouted.
“Why do they think you’re on their side though?”
“When I saw there was no way we could leave with Clay, I confessed. I told them that when Clay contacted me I figured he was under the influence of something and promised to help him only so that I could get him back here. When I mentioned Fiona, both Dad and Abe seemed interested. I think she’s the reason they went after Mackenzie.”
“I agree. The way they dumped her in the basement was thoughtless. They haven’t tortured her for information, hurt her, or done anything more than just imprison her. It’s almost like she’s bait.”
“When the others get here, I’ll convince everyone that it’s safest to allow you to get the door. Aiden and Fiona will have to come in, but we’ll have to find some way to warn the others to stay hidden. We can’t fight here in the hotel room, they’re very big on keeping up appearances, and we’ll have security on our ass in an instant if we try. Even if we somehow manage to get away, Abe has a radio. He'll be able to have every security guard and operative in the building on us before we could even reach the elevator. The Assessors in particular would be interested in getting their hands on you, and we can’t let that happen.”
Even though I’d been sure of it since he’d whispered for me to play along, his words made me want to smile. My heart was practically ready to float away with relief. He was absolutely on our side and would do what he could to get everyone out safe.
“Our best chance is to let them think they’ve won, then they’ll take us to the treatment room on level six. It’s on the side you’ve already cleared, and I don’t think they’ve felt any reason to check on the protections to make sure they’re secure because there’s someone who does that every night anyway. If we can get them in there, we can secure them and give us a fighting chance of getting out.”
“So if the other fae follow our group . . .”
He nodded. “As long as we’re in and out before they do the security rounds at six-thirty, we should be okay.”
“That’s if we’re not all killed in the process.”
“Obviously,” he said with an eye roll. “Come on, we’d better get back out there or it’s going to raise suspicions. And Evie, I’m sorry about this too.”
I was too afraid to ask.
Rightly so, it turned out. An instant later, his hands crashed against the small of my back, forcing me roughly through the door and into the opposite wall. I cried out in pain as the breath left my body in a harsh whoosh. Clay struggled against his captor’s hold on the other side of the room.
If nothing else, Ethan’s move assured the others of his loyalty to the Rain, making it appear real and complete. I only hoped Clay could keep it together enough to avoid giving anyone a reason to kill him—especially now that I knew he was already lucky to be alive.
Ethan’s hands reached for both of mine, and he pinned my wrists together near the base of my spine before binding them with rope.
“That is the fiberglass one, isn’t it?” Louise asked.
I assumed Ethan nodded—or more likely rolled his eyes—when she kept talking.
She directed her next words at me. “See we’ve learned something from my last few encounters with you. Heatproof rope. This time, you won’t get away so easily. I’m going to make sure of that, because Daddy's already promised to let me have some one-on-one time with you in the treatment room. And I can assure you that I’ll enjoy every single screaming, agonizing, terrifying second of it. I’m afraid that I can’t guarantee you’ll share the sentiment though. I just have to decide what to do to you first.”
“No!” Clay shouted with genuine fear echoing through his voice. It had stopped being a game or a ploy for him. “Please, Lou, you can’t.”
She ignored him and moved closer to me, whispering in my ear. “I know—first I’ll tear that pretty face of yours apart the way that you destroyed mine.” She traced her finger along my cheek, and I had to close my eyes and concentrate to avoid the sunbird taking control and hurting everyone in the room.
“That’s enough, Lou,” Ethan growled in warning.
Once Ethan had secured my hands, his fingers shifted from my arms to the scruff of my neck again. He guided me away from the wall, only to force me onto my knees. Before he shifted his hand away, he gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze. Even though I knew we should have the upper hand—even though Ethan was on our side—it went against my every instinct to simply fall to my knees and give up when threatened. Allowing Ethan to tie me up felt like a surrender and my mind struggled against being at anyone else's mercy.
With Louise’s words echoing in my head, it took everything I had to control the sunbird and keep her in check.
I shivered a little as the water soaking me cooled my body, and I understood Ethan might have had another reason for the shower. As long as my skin was wet, it would appear cooler than it actually was due to the evaporation. It was something we’d considered for entering the hotel, but had ruled it out because it would have been too hard to explain unless the weather was on our side and provided a downpour. There would be no need, or time, for explanations when we were racing away from the place though.
Twisting my hands together, I found I had plenty of room to maneuver them around. Getting out of the ropes should have been easy if I’d tried, but even though it went against my desire to flee, I didn’t want to risk breaking free of my bonds yet.
“How long until the other two get here?” Troy asked Ethan.
“That depends,” Ethan said. He knelt in front of me and grabbed my chin lifting my head to meet his eye. “Did you tell them where you were like a good little girl?”
Trying to allow my natural instincts to lead as much as I could, while still trying to rein in the sunbird, I tugged my head away from his hand.
“Go to hell!” I spat.
He raised his arm, the threat in the move evident, and even though I didn’t think it would fall, I didn’t want him to have to falter and give away our ploy. “Did you tell them?” he asked again slowly.
I dropped my chin to my chest. “They’re on their way,” I said quietly before lifting my head and twisting my face to appear pleading and desperate. It wasn’t a hard task in the circumstances. “Please, don’t hurt them. Please?”
“I’d be more concerned with my own hide if I were you,” Louise said. The way she was grinning was far too victorious. I was going to take a little too much enjoyment from watching that smile fall when Ethan revealed his true deception.
“I think this one should be the one to answer the door,” Ethan said, nudging my back with the toe of his shoe. “The fae will come in without a fight if she does. If anyone else answers the door, they'll be suspicious and might run before we can get to them. And I believe capturing their queen is of the utmost importance to you, after all, that’s why you stole her daughter isn’t it?”
“That’s a good point,” Abraham said. “Do you think you can control her when the time comes though?”
“We control her with her lo
ver boy,” Ethan said before glaring at me. His cold stare was chilling, even if it was fake. “If she understands that Clay will be punished if she tries to escape, she’ll be compliant, won’t you?”
“He’s your family,” I said defiantly. “You won’t kill him.” The conversation was reminiscent of another one we’d had not too many months earlier, except that time Ethan truly had been on the other side.
“I might not be able to pull the trigger,” Ethan agreed.
“But I’d have no problems with it,” Ben finished for him.
Glancing his way, it was clear that he wasn’t lying. He would kill Clay, probably without a second thought. Everything about his stance echoed his words. Even his eyes were hardened slits as he watched my every move with hawk-like precision. His watchful gaze left me far less confident about our new little plan.
Even with the extra numbers, we would have to get everyone away from their Rain captors to be able to leave safely. Doubt over our ability to pull it off without someone being hurt—or worse, losing their life—filled me, leaving no room for hope.
A few, tense moments later, a knock on the door signaled that either our salvation or our doom was drawing near. Among my other wishes, I hoped that Aiden and Fiona would understand why I’d led them directly into a trap—even if it hadn’t been intentional. If we all got out of it alive that was.
“Lynnie?” A voice called through the door after a short knock.
“Get up,” Ethan whispered through his teeth, clutching at my shoulder.
Instinct claimed me at his tone, and I shook my shoulder roughly to force his hand off me. “I’ll go along with this for Clay,” I said. “But I don’t have to like it.”
Leaning slightly forward to balance, countering for my hands, which were still secured behind my back, I forced myself to stand.
“You’re going to have to open the door for me,” I growled.
Ethan walked beside me to the door and held me against him as he opened it, making it appear as if I was merely standing behind the door to invite in the guests.
“Aiden! Fiona!” I called loudly, while trying to shake my head to indicate to them that everything wasn’t okay. “It’s lovely to see the two of you.” I tried to put a little extra accentuation on the number of them, without making it too obvious for anyone else who might be listening.
Ethan glanced around to make sure that no one else in the room could see us and then, after putting his fingers on his lips to warn them not to react, spun me around to show my tied hands. I hoped that Aiden and Fiona would take the hint, and not think it was some sort of game. I spun around again and indicated into the hotel room to let them know we weren’t alone.
“Where is Clay?” Aiden asked, successfully infusing his voice with the right level of casual concern.
“He’s inside waiting for us. Why don’t you come in?”
Fiona tilted her head questioningly, but I tried to silently let her know we were in control—or at least partly in control.
“Mackenzie?” she mouthed.
“Inside,” I mouthed back.
Fiona whispered instructions to the other three fae in the corridor to go back to the ethereal plane, wait, watch, and follow us if we left the room. With them in place, she rested her hand on Aiden’s shoulder and guided him into the room.
Once they had passed into the short hall of the hotel room, Ethan closed the door behind us before shoving me into the room. Fiona and Aiden both played their parts perfectly even though they hadn’t been told what they were, exclaiming in surprise when they saw the scene in the room. Abraham reached roughly for Aiden, tackling him around the shoulders before twisting him into the same position in which Troy held Mackenzie.
Louise made a grab for Fiona, pressing her back against the wall. A quick glance at Fiona’s face showed me heartache that knew no depths. It was easy to understand: her own daughter had attacked her. It wouldn’t have surprised me if it was a deliberate move by Troy to inflict maximum suffering on Fiona.
Ethan twisted his hand around my arm, yanking me closer to the bed before tossing a length of rope at each of the other captors. “Those have all been soaked in St John’s Wart, they should hold against the fae magic, at least until we get them upstairs.”
Everyone set to work tying the hands of their respective prisoners, and while they were distracted, Ethan pressed something against my back before slipping it into my back pocket. It was too small and light to be a knife but seemed to be a similar shape and was definitely sharp.
After the Rain had secured all of the newcomers, I glanced around the room. I had no idea how they were going to parade us all through the corridor without someone noticing that we were tied up. Even as I had the thought, it occurred to me that moving captives around was probably a common enough occurrence in the hotel that they would have contingencies for it.
Almost to confirm my thoughts, Abraham lifted a small radio from his pocket. “Clear level four, have elevator two on standby, and employ the screens.”
Soon the Rain had lined us up in the little corridor in front of the bathroom door, waiting for the all clear to leave the hotel room. Ethan had jostled me to the back of the pack. Once everyone else was in line, he grabbed my bag and pulled out the keycard he’d given me—the one that accessed the sixth floor.
“Wait for the right moment,” he whispered, placing it into my hands.
“Yep,” I said as quietly as I could.
“Let’s go,” Abraham said when his radio squawked to life, with a subordinate confirming the completion of all requested tasks.
One by one, they led us out of the hotel room and into the corridor. The glass barriers were no longer crystal clear as they had been, but were instead a clouded gray, no doubt obscuring the view of our floor from the lobby. I hoped that whatever the Rain had done to clear the floor hadn’t removed the fae—although I had my suspicions that there would have been more of a fuss if any Rain had spotted the fae protectors.
When we neared the elevator, Ethan moved me closer to the glass rail. The moment he’d mentioned had arrived. I dropped the card right when he asked, “Sixth floor, right?”
Troy grunted in confirmation.
I knew the question was for the benefit of three other pairs of ears that might have been listening, and I hoped they knew enough about technology and humans to understand the access card I’d dropped was important.
Please let them find us in time, I thought as Ethan jostled me into the elevator.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
ETHAN FORCED ME through to the back of the elevator, ostensibly to talk to Ben, but as he twisted me against the side of the wall—closer to Clay—I deciphered his true intention or at least what I assumed might have been his goal. The position put me back to back with Clay. Ethan’s body blocked the view of our hands from everyone else in the small space including the reflective surface of the golden doors. Trying not to move too quickly and draw attention to our exchange, I reached for one of Clay’s hands and directed it to the back pocket of my jeans where Ethan had slipped the small knife. Carefully guiding Clay’s fingers, I positioned his hand against the bottom of my pocket so that he could feel the item. I could only hope he would know Ethan’s plan. A second later Clay’s fingers reached into my pocket to slide the sharp object into his hands.
Before the elevator doors had even closed, Clay had the small knife in his hands.
“It’s okay, Evie,” he said in an almost stage whisper. Even though his words were aimed at me, I didn’t think they were meant for me. “Just do what they say and you—”
He cut off when Ben smashed Clay's head against the elevator wall with a loud thump.
“Was that really necessary, Ben?” Ethan growled.
“I don’t want him filling her with false hope,” said Ben. “There is no escape and if they try . . . well, then I can’t be held responsible for what happens, can I?” His voice was filled with the evil smirk that I was sure graced his face.
“I get that, and he’ll face the appropriate consequences for his betrayal. But he’s still my brother, and if you hurt him, I’ll break you,” Ethan warned.
“I’m still not convinced he isn’t a fae doppelganger,” Ben muttered as he yanked Clay away from me and shoved him to the other side of the space.
I twisted my head to check whether Clay was okay, and he winked in my direction. His actions had ensured he was in an isolated spot with his back to the corner. I noticed his hands moving behind his back and realized he’d started working on the ropes that bound his wrists.
Ben stood in front of Clay, staring openly at me, almost as if he was daring me to say another word. He lifted his hand, forming it into the shape of a gun, and pretended to shoot it in my direction before wiggling the real gun that he held in his other hand.
When the elevator stopped on floor six, my heart did as well. For good or bad, we were inching closer to the time when our new, hastily drawn plan would come together. Ethan would soon reveal his true deception, and we’d have to fight our way to freedom.
Being at the back of the elevator meant that Ethan and I were the last to get off, which was a good thing because it meant that we were the only two behind Clay. We were the only ones who could see the damage he’d done to the rope around his wrists. It was obvious—at least to me—that he'd cut his ropes and simply twisted the cord around his hands so that they would still appear tied. It seemed impossible that anyone would buy the illusion, but when Ben spun back briefly to ensure Ethan and I were still following the group, his eyes slid past Clay’s unbound hands, and he didn’t seem to notice anything was amiss. I figured his own self-confidence caused him to overlook it—it would be his undoing.
Ben turned once again, giving me an angered once over, and I wondered exactly what I’d done to earn so much ire from him. An instant later, Ethan answered my unspoken concern.
“Stay away from him when this all goes down,” Ethan whispered into my ear. “He and Lou share a common view of the world so you don’t want to get in his way. He will kill you without a second thought.”
