Page 25 of Whispers of the Dead

“Fun?”

He tightens his hand around my wrist and pressed me flush against him. I can feel the heat of his body and the solid muscle beneath his shirt. It’s distracting, and oh, soconfusing. His bulge presses against my belly, and when I gasp, he brings his mouth close to my ear. “I find you fascinating, Zoey. Your defiance. Your fearlessness. It’s intoxicating.”

“What’s wrong with you?” I ask, though my body heats in response. This can’t be normal.

He chuckles in my ear. “A lot of things, firecracker.”

There’s another knock at the door. It’s more urgent this time. My grip tightens on the knife.

Avery growls out, still in my ear though it’s not intended for me. “What do you want now?”

Eugene answers through the door and my body tenses. “I think she’s escaped. We can’t find her anywhere.”

Avery takes the shell of my ear between his teeth. “Your body is trembling.”

My grip on the knife loosens until it falls to the floor. The carpet muffles the sound. I can’t answer, and I can’t breathe.

“I’ll be out in a minute,” Avery calls out to Eugene. Then he softens his voice for me alone. “Stay here until I get back. I promise you won’t be bothered. And,” he releases me and bends down to pick up the knife from the floor, “keep this on you. Just in case.”

Avery tucks the knife back into my bra the exact way he found it, before surprising me with a searing kiss that almost stops time and then striding out of the room. I wait until the door closes and the lock clicks into place. When the footsteps disappear, I run to the door and try the handle, but it’s locked. I look around the office that’s become my new cell now and wonder what the fuck just happened.

8

AVERY

Eugene is unraveling.

I see it in the way his jaw clenches, how his pacing steps grow heavier with every turn. He barks orders like a rabid dog that’s lost the scent of its prey. He snaps at the men who scramble around him who are slamming doors and upturning furniture in their frantic search.

“Where is she?” he bellows, then drives his fist into the nearest wall. The hollow thud echoes down the corridor. “She can’t have gotten far. I want every room checked. Every goddamn corner searched. Someone is going to pay if she’s up and flew out of here.”

I lean against the doorway and watch the chaos with mild amusement. I’m almost tempted to sneak Zoey out of here solely to watch this man come fully undone. Unfortunately for her, my curiosity is too piqued to do that.

Eugene is fascinating when he’s desperate. His unraveling might become my new favorite pastime.

“Interesting,” I muse, speaking loud enough to cut through the chaos. “I didn’t realize she had wings.”

Eugene’s head snaps toward me. His wild eyes are bloodshot with frustration. “You think this is funny?”

“A little.” I push off the frame and clasp my hands behind my back. I take my time approaching him. My steps are silent when I move across the loose floorboards. They’re a stark contrast to his frenzied pacing. “You’re acting as if she disappeared into thin air. Like magic. Poof.”

His face flushes an unhealthy shade of red, with his veins bulging at his temple. What a fun color. I wonder how it would look if his eyes bulged out, too. “She’s gone again. This is the second time, Avery.”

“She hasn’t gone anywhere,” I interrupt. “Relax, Eugene.”

He stops pacing and clenches his fists at his sides while he glares at me. “Do you know how many women I’ve tamed? Dozens. But her?” His lips curl in disgust. “She’s too stubborn. Too defiant.”

“And?” I lift an eyebrow and tilt my head. “Why doesn’t that matter so much to you?”

Eugene lets out a sharp, humorless laugh. “Because no one rejects me. Ever. The first time I almost had her, her stupid brother got in the way. Thought he could stop me. Well, I handled him.”

“Handled,” I repeat.

Ah, so Zoey was telling the truth. Not that I doubted her, but I do enjoy hearing confirmation.

“She ran,” Eugene continues. His voice drops to something almost reverent. He holds up his hands while he relives the memory. “Slipped through my fingers, but I haven’t been able to get her out of my head since.”

“You think you can make her fall in love with you now?”

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