Page 83 of The Stolen Dagger
Where’s Pearl?
I met Adrian halfway but kept my distance and tightened the grip on my bag as if it were my lifeline.
“Emilia.” Adrian sighed and looked me up and down, rubbing a hand across his scruff-covered square jaw. His brown, almost black, eyes glinted with amusement. “It’s been too long.”
Hunter stepped forward and scoffed. “Haven’t you heard, boss? It’s Katherine now.”
The large beast of a man stayed a few steps behind them with a permanent scowl on his impassive face and his thick arms crossed over his broad chest.
“Katherine,” Adrian chided, as if testing the name. “I like it, but you’ll always bemi princesa, won’t you?” The corner of Adrian’s mouth quirked up.
I stayed silent, not giving him the satisfaction that his words had any effect on me at all.
Thinking back all that time ago, I couldn’t believe I hadthought he was charming. Now that I was face-to-face with him again, I saw him for the monster he truly was.
“Well,” Adrian continued. “I’ve heard you’ve been busy. A new name, new job, new friends. Tell me, how is your new little friend? Leah, is it?”
“Don’t,” I warned.
“Or how about her brother?” Adrian teased. “The cop?”
“Drew,” Hunter said with disgust. “What a pussy.”
Adrian scowled. “I warned you what would happen if you talked to the cops. But I heard you did a lot more than just talking, didn’t you?”
I bit the inside of my cheek, not taking his bait.
“You should have seen her in that hick town, Adrian,” Hunter reminisced. “And the look on her face when she got your first note?” He laughed and pointed back at the beast of a man behind him. “You were right, Nick. She was so scared. Just thinking about it makes me hard.” He grotesquely groped himself over his pants.
“Shut the fuck up!” Adrian snapped. “Don’t talk about her like that. She’s mine. Not yours. Not that cop’s. Mine!” Adrian growled out that last word and ran a hand through his close-cropped black hair. His dark eyes were blown, crazed.
I was familiar with Adrian’s temper when we dated, but this was something else. He was volatile. Unstable. And he thought I was his.
“Sorry, boss,” Hunter mumbled, stepping back.
Adrian blew out a breath, righted his suit, and turned to me as if that little outburst never happened. “Now. Let’s get back to business. Did you bring the dagger?”
“I’m not giving you anything until I see that Pearl’s okay,” I countered. The fact that I still hadn’t seen Pearl left me on edge.
Adrian’s jaw clenched, and his lip curled up in a snarl. “Fine. Nick!” He addressed the large man behind him. “Bring out the old lady.”
Upon Adrian’s command, one man still beside the SUV opened the back door as Nick approached and reached inside.
A second later, Pearl stepped out of the car. Her white-blonde hair was messy and pulled back into a low bun. She wore a long, pale blue sleeping gown. Her eyebrows creased, and she ripped her arm out of the large man’s grip.
“Let go of me, young man,” Pearl said like she was talking to a child. “I may be old, but I know how to walk.”
Relief flooded through me at seeing she was alive and unharmed. For the first time since I got Adrian’s note a little more than a week ago, I finally felt like I could breathe again.
Nick jerked her forward by the arm as he led her to us. She stumbled but righted her footing and searched her surroundings. When her gaze landed on me, her aged blue-gray eyes widened.
“Emilia?” Pearl looked between Adrian and his men then to me. “Oh, no.”
“I’m so sorry, Pearl, for all of this.” I couldn’t help but feel responsible for everything.
“You have nothing to be sorry for, sweetie,” Pearl said, then turned her chin up at the goon who held onto her. “It’s these brain-dead imbeciles.”
“Watch it, old lady,” Nick growled, handing her off to Hunter, who came up beside Adrian.
