Page 138 of Kneeling to Candy

She only gets a few paces ahead before I’m pushing Ziggy off me in pursuit of my woman. Ziggy hangs on to my arm, following but holding me back.

“Bro, let her have this.”

Let her have what? A chance to get hurt if that fucker turns on her?

Nope. Not going to happen.

My woman’s steps are measured. Not rushing to catch up to O’Conall, but staying close enough to him to make a quick grab at him if he tries to run. She’s stalking him, a cat playing with its prey.

“What the hell?” Ziggy mumbles as we watch O’Conall crawl for the safety of the abandoned mine shaft, the one deemed unsafe by the state.

Candy trails him, her pace not increasing.

We watch as the scum creeps his way into the shaft.

“He’s got an escape plan,” I say, with a twinge of panic in my voice.

Ziggy and I rush to catch up with Candy. By the time we reach her, she stands at the threshold of the mineshaft, not making a move to step inside. We watch as O’Conall creeps along deeper into the darkness.

“Cú Sidhe,” Candy calls out to him in the darkness, her voice saccharine sweet and mocking, echoing off the stone cavern.

He halts, looking over his shoulder at us.

“You’ll never make it,” Candy taunts, a smile in her voice. “Whatever is on the other side of this mountain waiting for you, you’ll never see it.”

With a groan, O’Conall faces back around, crawling forward out of spite.

“Did you know this mineshaft is condemned?” Candy shakes her head at herself. “Of course you did. That’s what made this a great exit plan—no one would check the scary old mine until they covered all the safer avenues first. You’re clever, always were.”

Something in the icy sweetness of Candy’s tone sends a chill down my spine. She’s toying with O’Conall, her voice a slow poison.

Sensing trouble, O’Conall attempts to get to his feet. He stumbles, grasping at one of the support beams of the ancient shaft.

“Too bad I stand in your way.” She giggles, her laughter echoing into the dark space.

Ziggy comes to Candy’s left side, while I approach Candy’s right, trying to get through to her. “Candy?—”

She sobers, pressing a slender finger from her free hand to my lips. “Shush, biker boy. As I said, I’m handling this. Waited for too many years for this moment.”

Before she can pull her finger away, I kiss the digit and say no more. My goddess is in charge—she’ll lead, and I’ll follow.

With eerie calmness, she looks back at O’Conall, who somehow stands upright. He sways on his feet, turning to face us.

“Leslie,” he chokes out in a garbled groan, almost like he’s pleading.

Candy smiles, showing all her pearly teeth. As beautiful as she is, she looks downright terrifying.

“Still refusing to use my chosen name, I see. You always were an arrogant ass. Looks like it’s to my benefit this time, though. Your stubbornness will be the death of you. I must say, you chose a fitting place.”

“Place?” O’Conall mumbles around his busted jaw.

“Mm-hm. A resting place.”

At those fatal words, O’Conall stands a little straighter.

“Look how the tables have turned,” Candy muses aloud, motioning with the gun between them. “Before, I was the trapped one. Now, it’s your turn to be trapped.”

My eyes dart between Candy and O’Conall. Does she plan on shooting him? What does she mean by trapped?

---