Page 36 of Vengeful King

He was standing before me, between my thighs, and I was on his desk. I was kissing him.

I can feel my face flush.I did that.I might have thought about how he was attractive when I first started work, but this—this is unbelievable. Risky.

Wrong.

I remember how it shifted. How a kiss became a crisis, and I dove for a fountain pen. Looking back, it’s almost funny how I tried to get it to work. Like I would ever have the strength or speed I needed to kill him. Like I even wanted to do it.

I tried. I struggled, and I remember that—I remember struggling with Lachlan, trying desperately to get through the fight. But even as I recall it, I don’t remember thinkingI have to kill him.

I just remember thinking,I have to survive this.

Even now, I can recognize my mistake. I squeeze my eyes shut and try not to cry. All this time, despite how much I wanted to protect my mother, I couldn’t commit. I couldn’t really go as far as I needed to. When it came to it, in that final moment, I didn’t have the strength to really go after him.

I failed, and that realization fills me with fear. I try to move, but I’m bound; I realize I’m in a chair. My wrists are tied down, my ankles stuck to the legs of the chair. I can’t move.

I pull at my arms, crying out in pain and frustration. All it does is hurt.

I want more than anything to break down and cry. I’ve lost, failed in the end, and I can’t do shit about it. My mother is somewhere out there, probably being watched by Mr. V. If she’s even still alive.

I can’t.

I can’t think about that. She has to be alive; Mr. V probably thinks I’m home with Lachlan, maybe thinks I’m going to kill him now. I don’t have much time. I have to survive this, have to get out or succeed somehow.

I pull at my arms again. I want to be free so badly. I don’t care anymore; if I can even run for my life, I will. I just have to get out.

But then I hear something.

There’s a sliver of light beyond me; the floor is concrete, dotted with air bubbles. I stare at the light and watch a figure approach me. He’s in darkness at first and my eyes aren’t adjusted yet.

But then he comes close, and I know him immediately.

Lachlan.

I freeze. I don’t breathe, don’t speak; I don’t know what to do. I can feel tension thick between us, choking me, rendering me silent and motionless. I almost want to shut my eyes just to make sure he’s not in my mind, but I can’t take my eyes off him.

He stands there and I look at him, unable to look away. Afraid to.

He has scruff on his jaw; it looks like he hasn’t slept. My heart pounds as I wonder how long I’ve been here. Has it been a day? Longer? I don’t know but I wish I did, wish I had a better idea of how to handle this.

There’s a look in his eyes. It’s wild, dangerous. Something simmers there that I can’t quite name. His usually stoic face hasn’t changed, but his eyes give him away. He’s furious.

My heart is in my throat. Looking at him like this, I’m more terrified than I’ve ever been.

I swallow hard. Before, in the club, I understood why he had to be composed. Hard. There were people watching, and he had to be a figure of importance. Strength. I knew his type even if I didn’t know the mafia.

Now, there’s no one but us. His cold mask scares me because I can’t tell what he thinks. I don’t know what he thinks about me, what he thinks about what happened between us before I tried to kill him. Does he think that was part of it, too?

I could lie and say I did just kiss him to distract him.

But that’s not true.

I wanted to. That frightens me almost as much as this moment does—I wanted to kiss him, wanted him to touch me. I knew he was dangerous and I was attracted to him anyway. Maybe even because of that.

Lachlan stands before me, hands in his pockets. Silence hovers between us for another long moment before he asks, “Why did you try to kill me?”

I can’t speak.

It’s not just fear that closes up my throat. It’s the knowledge that anything I tell him is a risk. Mr. V is somewhere out there, but I don’t even know who he is. I have no name or face for him, really. I just know what I was told to do.

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