Page 69 of The Merciless

But he didn’t have time to swell deep on that thought. Not when a softclicksnapped him out of his daze.

He looked up to see the woman pull open the door with a soft creak and step in.

Angel’s eyes narrowed. His hands weren’t bound. There could be enough strength in him after lying down for so long. And judging by the way the woman easily strode forward, she didn’t seem to have a lot of training. He couldn’t see any tray of food in her hand, but everything about her screamednormal.He could take her. And leave this place before Ray came for him.

Or before she died.

“Stay still.” Her words froze him, and his eyes flared wide as she kneeled down in front of him. Her black curls were within his line of vision as she gazed down at him, her doe eyes wary and tired. Something like an alarm set off in his mind as she removed what looked like an injection from her apron’s pocket.

Apron?

Angel let out a rough grunt and responded by splashing the water on her face. He didn’t wait for her reaction though. Just scrambled back with whatever strength he had left until his back touched the wall. The woman was frozen in spot, watching him unflinchingly as he pushed himself up the wall– or at leasttriedto when she sighed again.

“Raylene Walker sent me here.” She said and Angel scoffed,

“And you want me to believe you.” He rasped, the movement taxing his body.

The woman just blinked back at him and got back to her feet with a resigned sigh, “I’m too old to deal with children.” She murmured.

“I heard that.”

She arched a brow in his direction, “I worked for Lions.” She said, the accent coating her words as Angel shrugged, still not really believing her.

Not until she pulled back the sleeve, revealing the faint dark lines that every staff member bore in the Larsen’s household.

Angel blinked but still narrowed his eyes in her direction,

“You could’ve gotten that anyhow.”

The woman scoffed now, throwing her head back, “You think I’d getthisridiculous thing out of everything?”

Angel just stared at her in response.

She shook her head again, “Fine.”She said, “The girl never said this would be so difficult.” She shook her head and put her hands into the pocket of her apron again,

“Look, I have the antidote of the poison she’s given you–”

“Why would you come to work for my,” he coughed and winced as a wave of pain washed over his chest, “father.Especially, if you worked for The Larsens?”

“I owe Raylene Walker a favor.” She said, sounding exhausted.

“Okay if she sent you here, I’msureshe would’ve asked you to say something so you could prove–”

“Yeah yeah,”she snapped, and Angel shot upright in surprise. Suddenly she seemed far younger than he’d thought. Still older than him but, “I really didn’t want to say this.”

Angel crossed his arms, the dizziness of his mind suddenly forgotten as the woman sighed again.

“Any beach.” She began and Angel froze, that night tumbling back into his mind. With Raylene Walker drunk out of her fucking mind and her sitting up ahead on the sand.

Angel blinked now, the image forever embedded in his mind as she continued.

“Wherever in this world, I’ll ask you to dance, without any music. With or without any people around. I promise.”

And he would’ve smiled if it weren’t for the mock gagging that followed the words.

Angel shot the woman a glare as she shuddered and took a few steps forward in his direction. This time when she crouched down, Angel just looked away as she removed the injection again and grabbed his arm. He blinked, ignoring the slight prick that came when she pierced the needle through his skin as he just looked away.

“How did you get here?” he asked and almost shook when she pressed a soft cotton right at the point where she’d pierced his skin.

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