Page 118 of Taking Jenny
Tiger grinned. “That’s the idea. Stay off his radar, and you stay alive.”
I loved that Tiger surprised me with his insight. It wasn’t that I underestimated him—that was Justice’s job—but Tiger was so sweet and unassuming, it was easy to think there wasn’t much more to him.
Jenny lifted her coffee cup with a sigh. “So…since I’m definitely on his radar, how do I get off of it?”
None of us had a brilliant answer.
After a few moments passed, Surge said, “Once you craft a solid, detailed story about what happened out on the hunting grounds, I believe that will be the end of it. We’ll add our parts to it and make it a cohesive story. If we control the narrative, it should keep you out of royal prison.”
“But he can do whatever wants,” Jenny said quietly. “Right?”
“Yes,” I admitted, knowing Justice far too well. “But with any luck, he’ll stay enamored with the novelty of you, and will let the situation die.”
I took a drink of coffee as my friends’ gazes glanced behind me. When I turned to see what held their attention, a frantic Vine quickly emerged out on the terrace from the house.
The older woman wore a grim expression. “Apologies for the interruption, Malice, but there are palace guards here.”
Fuck. He’s already got proof against Jenny. “Have you told them who is present right now?” I asked in a calm tone.
“They knew. They’re—”
Too late. A squad of palace guards had tromped through my home and emerged out on to the terrace like they owned it. I shot to my feet, furious.
“Who the hell do you think you are, barging into my home like this?”
“We are here by order of the Ruler Justice Bateen,” one of them sneered. “We can go wherever we please.”
He stood far too close to Jenny. My vision tunneled. “You will keep your hands off of her—”
“Why would we bother with her?” the spokesman cut in. “You’re the one under arrest, Malice Ripper.”
Jenny gasped as he spun me around and clamped manacles on my wrists.
Longshot was on his feet in an instant. “He is a member of the royal council, do not think to gag him.”
“We wouldn’t dream of it, assassin,” he said before he put my head in a black serenity bag.
Fuck.I could no longer hear or see anything, and no one could hear me either. Even my breathing was limited in it. I tried not to panic, but it was damn near impossible.
Serenity bags were only used when people were disappeared by a royal order.
Terror clawed at the edges of my mind. My friends were smart enough not to attack them—it would mean they could not rescue me. But I was not sure about Jenny and Tiger. Smart, yes, but both had a passion that could overrule their intelligence. I prayed to Kable they would behave.
Two guards grabbed my shoulders, and I was pushed through my home, out the front door, and tossed into an onworlder’s rear pen. I lay on the floor, bumping and rocking with the vehicle’s movements, and tried to avoid hitting my head on anything.
They did not remove the serenity bag, not even when the onworlder stopped sometime later. I caught a whiff of sea air and assumed the rear pen had been opened. A pinch stung my arm, and the injected drug slowed my heartbeat and breathing.
I struggled to stay awake, to fight it. But I lost the battle as the darkness pulled me under, and I had no choice but to succumb to whatever nightmare Justice had waiting for me on the other side.
