Page 45 of Lady of Darkness
“Fuck,” Gideon sighs, looking just as exhausted as I feel. “How many?”
“Twenty or thirty. It’s hard to tell. They’re in hiding and I can’t get a good read on them.”
“Oooh, that must really bother you,” Gideon teases. “Imaginenotbeing able to track our enemies’ every move like you usually do?”
I smirk, but my chest is tightening at the thought. “It’s a terrible feeling.”
Gideon laughs and places a hand on my shoulder. “We’ll find them. And then we’ll kill them.”
I clench my teeth. “I’m worried they’re going to go after Harlow.”
There it is.The reason I’ve been so tense since we rescued her. The thing eating at me, making me feel enraged and anxious all at once.
“She stays with us until they’re taken care of, then.”
I nod. “She stays here. I have the best security system. In fact, I think we should all stay here. I don’t trust Acadia. They have a lot of allies who would love to see us dead. They’ve got nothing to lose, so they might come after us hard and fast out of anger and vengeance.”
Alaric walks into the kitchen and grabs a water bottle from the fridge. “Who might come after us?”
“Acadia,” I tell him.
He raises his eyebrows. “They can certainly try.”
I sigh and run both hands through my hair. I need a shower. I also need to sleep. “We said that a week ago. Look where it got us.”
“Theo thinks we should all stay here until it blows over.”
Alaric nods. “That’s fine.”
“I call dibs on Harlow,” Gideon says, grinning at Sterling.
Gideon is the ultimate brat, and it irritates Sterling to no end.
“Fuck off,” Alaric murmurs, shoving Gideon playfully.
While the guys fight over Harlow, my phone chimes, and I squint down at it, wondering if I’m reading the email notification correctly.
“Interesting.” I look up at the other guys, my brow furrowing. “Acadia is coming on strong. We’ve been invited to dinner at The Sage Club in London tonight.”
Gideon snorts. “And here I was thinking they’d play hard to get.”
I scowl down at my phone. What the hell is their angle?
“Do we trust them enough to go?” Alaric asks, looking just as unsettled as I feel.
I shrug. “There’s only one way to find out.”
CHAPTEREIGHTEEN
Harlow
I wakeup to the afternoon sun shining in through Theo’s window. Everything hurts–either from Luka handling me roughly or the guys handling me even rougher. I squeeze my legs together and smile, stretching slowly before climbing out of bed. Last night–or this morning, technically–was incredible. My stomach swoops low when I think of what we did in the private jet, the mind-numbing pleasure I experienced. I walk over to the large, floor-to-ceiling window, which looks out onto a large green space. The grass is endless, sloping slowly downward to what I know is Blackwell Village below us.
I use the bathroom and shower, changing into a pair of oversized sweatpants and a t-shirt. I’m swimming in them–they must be Theo’s–but they’re soft and cozy. Plus, they smell like him. As I pad downstairs, I listen for the guys. It’s completely quiet while I slowly peruse the beautiful, daunting house known as Wolf Manor. Everything is so modern and elegant. There’s even a goddamn library. The room isfullof books, lined perfectly on pristine white shelves. I reach out and run my finger along the spine of an old book, and a feeling of warm nostalgia washes over me. This room is gorgeous. Further down is an old, ornate mirror with desilvering around the edges. Looking at my reflection in the aged glass, I gasp when I see Theo leaning against the door at the back of the room.
“How long have you been there?” I ask. My heart is beating wildly in my chest at the sight of him.
He’s wearing grey jeans and a black sweater. He’s so composed, always so put together. Even his hair looks perfectly coiffed.
