Page 36 of Wicked Things
I probably look calm on the outside. Inside, a tempest is raging. When I unleash the storm spinning out of control within me onto these women, they’re going to rue the day they ever heard the name Zeth Mayfair. For now, I merely arch an eyebrow, slowly shaking my head. “We can stand here all night, or you can quit fucking around and host your grand unveiling, bitch. Then we can move on to what comes next.”
Lowell makes a curioushmmming sound. “I wonder whatdoescome next. See…you loved this woman,” she says, placing her hand on the gurney. “Loved her deeply. And I’m betting when you see what we’ve done to her body, you’re going to freak the fuck out just a little bit.”
A wave of nausea rolls over me. I swallow it down, breathing down my nose.
“Are you ready?” Lowell whispers.
I am going to rip her fucking tongue right out of her head before this day is over. I narrow my eyes at her, and she whips back the sheet, a look of sheer delight on her face.
And there, lying on the gurney…
Fuck.
Fucking god, no.
There, lying on the gurney, is my sister.
SEVENTEEN
SLOANE
Clay and Ben are twitchy as all hell. They won’t sit down, won’t stop pacing. Won’t stop checking their shared radio, or their personal cell phones. I know what their restless fidgeting means. It means that Zeth is here. He’s come for me, and they’re not sure how this is all going to go down.
I’ve never placed a bet on anything in my entire life, but I’m willing to bet things are not going to end well for them right now. It’s weird: throughout this entire experience, I’ve been uncomfortable and I’ve been pissed off. I’ve been irritated, and concerned, sure, but I haven’t been afraid. Not really. Maybe that’s complacent of me. I mean, being kidnapped is a scary ordeal where anyone’s concerned. Being held at gunpoint by strangers who want to cause me and the people I love harm is hardly going to be a walk in the park, but…I don’t know. I just haven’t given myself over to the panic and the terror, because a large part of me has known that Zeth is going to come for me.
And when Zeth Mayfair wants something, when someone he cares about is danger, god help any man or woman stupid enough to stand in his way. It’s not healthy to believe he’s invincible. He is a man, flesh and blood, like any other. But he’s alsonotlike any other man on the planet. He’s fierce, and he’s determined, and I trust him more than anything in the world.
“Will you please sit down?” I say quietly. “It’s exhausting me just watching the two of you right now.”
Clay scowls at me. “Do we really look like we give a shit if we’re exhausting you? Huh? Keep running your mouth and I’ll find a way to distract myself. And Ipromiseyou won’t like it.”
“Nice. Threatening me with sexual assault. So very gentlemanly of you.”
Clay flips me off and keeps pacing. He sticks the end of his thumb in his mouth, eyeing Ben. “Shouldn’t we have heard something by now? Alaska’s not exactly a weapons expert , is she? It’s not like she could really defend herself against him.”
“She’s fine,” Ben says. “And anyway, Lowell has plenty of training. She could kick all of our asses without breaking a sweat.”
At the mention of Lowell’s name, my vision seesaws. When Alaska brought her in here earlier, I nearly broke both my wrists trying to get to her, to claw her fucking eyes out with my bare hands. Lowell had laughed, amused by my reaction. She seemed thrilled by mu hatred. Even more thrilled when she told me of her plans to kill me.
I try and suppress the angry growl that’s begging to rip free from my throat; it will only piss Ben and Clay off, and it’s better they forget I’m even here right now. God, where is Zeth? What is he doing right now? I shift on the bed, my back aching from lying in the same position for so long, and a strange, feather-light sensation flutters low in my stomach.
I freeze.
I hold my breath.
I count to five.
I’m not thinking about Alaska or Lowell anymore. I’m not thinking about anything. I’m locking in stunned silence, every part of me braced, waiting…
The baby. It moved. That was the baby moving inside me for the first time. A choked sob flies from my mouth before I can rein it in. Clay growls under his breath, an animalistic, wild sound. I roll onto my side, away from him.
I’ve been waiting for this moment for weeks, looking forward to it, counting down the days until the life form growing inside me was big enough for me to feel shifting inside my belly, and it happensnow?Here? My eyes begin to sting. I should have gone with Oliver when he offered to do an ultrasound. I should have gone. I close my eyes, tears streaking down my cheeks. What if I’m wrong? What if things go badly, and Zeth can’t save me? I’ll die, and I won’t have laid eyes on my child. Not even via the grainy, black and white image picked up by an ultrasound.
I want to stack my hands on my stomach, to cradle the life inside me, but with my hands still tied above my head, it’s impossible. I have to stay calm. Ihaveto. If I lose it now, Clay and Ben are going to teach me a lesson. They’re going toforceme to shut up, and that could lead to the baby being hurt. I couldn’t bear that. I couldn’t fucking handle it. So I bite back my tears, facing the wall, eyes unblinking, jaw clenched and I do my best to ride the rollercoaster of panic I’m stuck on without making another sound.
It’s going to be okay.
It’s going to be okay.
