Page 61 of The King of Hearts

Oh fuck.

I can’t be found like this. Icannotfucking be found like this. Dad will go ballistic, and there’s no telling what hell my brothers will cause.

I sit back on my heels, my eyes darting around frantically. I feel the whoosh of the blood rushing to my ears, and my heart tries to pound its way out of my chest.

What in the hell do I do?

I look to the shadowed spot wheremy devildisappeared, and I briefly wonder if he’s still out here watching me.

I’m going to fucking kill him the next time he comes to my room for doing this to me.

I need to get out of sight before someone walks out that door. I’ll worry about my trussed-up state once I’m safe from being discovered.

Just when I make the decision to roll like a fucking idiot to the same shadows he vanished to and hope like hell no one notices me, the shadow beyond the door moves away.

Oh, God.That was close. Too close.

My shoulders sag, which pinches the joints in my arms, sending a tingling sensation to my fingertips.

A noise comes from my left, away from the terrace, in the darkness close to the back wall of the church. A rustle of leaves or maybe a twig snapping. I hold my breath, straining my ears tolisten. And then a figure appears. At first, I think it might be my devil having come back to let me go.

But what if it isn’t him? What if it’s another attendee?

“Savina.”

The air wheezes out of my lungs in a rush at the familiar voice. He’s the only one I don’t mind finding me in my current situation.

Marcelo walks up, his black suit blending in with the darkness. He doesn’t rush or act concerned to find me how I am. He appears calm and collected, like he always does in tense situations. Nothing ever seems to faze him.

I wiggle on my knees, trying to twist so he sees the belt around my arms. “Get me out of this, please.”

He squats behind me, the woodsy scent that I always associate with him filling my senses.

“What happened?” he asks quietly.

“Just untie me, please,” I grit out between clenched teeth. The feeling comes back to my hands in a bite of charged tingling when he loosens the belt.

My arms fall to my sides when the belt is finally unwrapped around my arms. I try to lift them to roll my shoulders, but they feel too weak to move. I groan in pain when I force my limbs up.

Marcelo grabs my hand and under my bicep to help me to my feet. My legs feel nearly as weak as my arms. My knees try to buckle, but thankfully, my guard is there to catch me before I crumble to the ground.

“Do you want me to alert your parents?” he asks, staying by my side in case my knees give out again.

I jerk around to face him. “Absolutely not. This is none of their business.”

He gives me a terse nod. “You might want to visit the ladies’ room before you go back inside.”

I lift an arm that feels like spaghetti and finger my hair. The updo I did for the ball is in complete disarray. Half is still up while the other falls in tangles down my back. I wore mascara, so I’m sure my face looks even worse. And I feel indents on my arms from the belt. I hope they don’t bruise, because how in the hell will I explain the marks to my family?

“Take me home,” I tell him. “We’ll walk around to the front to avoid going inside. I’ll message Mom and tell her I’m not feeling well.”

Locating the little clutch I came with tonight by the terrace railing, I bend and pick it up. I dig for my phone and send a quick message. Hopefully, she won’t question my sudden illness and come looking for me.

“Let’s go,” I tell Marcelo.

I’m grateful when he holds out his arm for me to grab. I’m not sure I can trust my legs yet to carry me on my own. With the moon not on duty tonight, the area around the back of the church is dark and makes it difficult to navigate the grounds. Marcelo doesn’t seem to have the same problem as he expertly steers us around the side and to the front.

My body sags with relief when I see my parents’ Mercedes sitting at the bottom of the steps. It’s there like it was already waiting to transport me home. My nails dig into the material of Marcelo’s suit jacket when we reach the back of the car.

---