Page 24 of Lady of Darkness
I have nowhere to go.
And there’s no one here to save me but myself.
I walk over to the sink and clean my hand carefully, rinsing the blood away. It drips onto the porcelain sink, and I use the fancy soap to clean the cuts before dabbing it dry with one of the fresh towels. Swallowing roughly, I look at myself in the mirror. My dark hair is still wet, slicked back behind my ears from my shower. I lift my shirt, looking at the brand on the side of my body that’s now almost completely healed. The edges are raised and pink, and something akin to pride fills me. My abdomen is also looking leaner, as are my arms and legs. I feel physically strong for the first time in my life.
Luka can’t just sell me to the highest bidder, like I’m his property.
I am a goddamnLady of Darkness.
I was going to kill this motherfucker, and everyone in this building. I just had to figure out how.
Leaning against the counter, I take a deep, steadying breath. Savo continues to work the door, but I have a couple of minutes to think. I push aside the panic as much as I can. He must have a phone, so I can use that to dial Gemma. I can tell her to call Rose, who will call one of the guys.
It could work. I just need to get to his phone. Most men keep it on them, so I need to immobilize him somehow. I doubt he’ll let me tie him up, but…
This has to work.
I throw the door open, and Savo openly leers at me. “Hello, angel. Change your mind?”
I could do this. For them, I would do this. For Gemma, and for the guys.
If the Lords have found you, go with them.
If you are scared, don’t be.
You can trust them.
My father’s words from his letter flit through my mind.
The Lords did find me, but I threw it all away because I thought I knew better.
And now, I was about to prove to them that I was worthy of their order–worthy ofourorder.
They would find me again.
I just had to trust them.
“No, but I guess I have no choice,” I tell him, willing my voice to stay strong.
His resounding grin makes my stomach churn. But not for long.
CHAPTERTEN
Alaric
Harlow wasn’tin the first three houses, but we would find her.
Even if we’re up for five days straight.
Even if bodies littered the ground.
We would find her and bring herhome.
I smooth my suit as we wait in the car outside of safehouse number four. It’s the penthouse suite in downtown Podgorica. It’s not a huge city–at least not compared to London or New York. And it’s nearly empty now, seeing as it’s the middle of the night.
I make sure I’m all set–with the hidden knife inside of my watch, as well as the gun in the back of my waistband. I also have a backup gun strapped to my ankle. Theo has his entire computer set up in the car, and we are all wired with microphones. Our plan is for Sterling and I to go inside, scout the place, and if we find her, Theo and Gideon are under direct orders to kill everyone inside, except for women and children, who would go to one of our safehouses in Croatia.
Luka and the rest of Acadia most certainly know we are coming after Harlow. By taking her, they’d declared war, and the three safehouses we’d just raided had probably raised some kind of silent alarm. Because of that, we are most likely going to enter into a trap. We agreed early on that we wouldn’t let Luka fuck with us. We’d get Harlow, and we’d get out. She might fight us, because Luka had probably threatened Gemma if she didn’t.
