A yawn breaks my concentration on the monitors, reminding me I haven’t slept since we arrived at the Tombs yesterday. I grab my energy drink and bring it to my chapped lips, gulping down my caffeine boost.
I’ll sleep when she’s safe.
I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. I just wanted her out of the way. She was distracting us from what needed to happen. If I had only stayed longer. Maybe if I got to know her better instead of trying to force her into leaving I’d have been there, or at least close enough to hear something happen. Instead, I let my pigheadedness rule- essentially kicking her out of town.
“Stop beating yourself up,” Sebastian chimes, stepping fully into the room.
I’m out of it. I wasn’t even aware that I wasn’t alone any longer.
If you’d been aware of your surroundings or bothered to run your own surveillance, Emma would be here now- annoying the shit out of me with her bullheaded presence.
“
Stop it, Liam. You didn’t do this. The people who-.”
“Don’t finish that fucking clich? sentence. ‘The people who took her are responsible’,” I mock.
“It’s bullshit and you know it. I should’ve been there. This is the second time I was present at a kidnapping and I was powerless to do something about it.” Turning, I snap, “I should’ve been able to do something!”
Clapping fills the air.
This motherfucker is clapping.
“Aww, poor Liamon. You weren’t there so that’s why they made their move, ” Sebastian starts. “Way to make this about you. It’s a little on the pretentious side if you ask me. I expected this behavior from Rowan, not you.”
Affronted by the accusation, I shout, “You don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t think this is about me.”
I don’t. “I just know I fucked up and left her there and she was fucking kidnapped. So, excuse me for feeling some remorse.”
Not compelled by my statement, Sebastian steps in my direction. He’s wearing gray sweats and an LWU t-shirt, foregoing his usual stuffy suit and tie. His long legs stride across the room until he’s standing feet away. His dirty blond hair is tousled, but he still manages to look like a dapper gentleman. Meanwhile, I probably smell and look like I have the hangover from hell or something.
That thought prompts me to assess myself. I’m in a pair of blue joggers and a black hoodie- a mismatched pairing of things I’ve left here. I could’ve gone home or had someone grab me something, but it didn’t seem important.
A smack to the back of my head has me glaring at him.
“What the hell, Seb?”
“You need to snap the fuck out of whatever this is and find Emma. You’re distracted, Liam,” he growls. “And that distraction could get her killed. Focus and find her,” he commands and then turns, exiting as fast as he entered.
Am I really distracted?
I don’t think I am. I think I’m doing everything in my power to find Emma.
As if synched to my thoughts, an alarm signals something’s been found.
I refocus my attention on my screen.
“Fuck yes!” This is exactly what I needed.
Picking up my phone, I dial Thomas. He picks up before the phone even has a chance to ring. “What have you found?” he rushes out.
“I have a lead. Meet me here in five.”
“I’m already here. I’ll be down in two minutes,” he replies and ends the call.
Hopefully, this is what we needed.
* * *
“Rowan! Where the hell have you been and why have you been ignoring my calls?”
For fuck’s sake. Who let the banshee in here?
“What do you want, Samantha, and how the hell did you even get in here?” Rowan quips. He’s had little to no patience for anyone since everything went down at the Selection ceremony.
I don’t think he realizes it yet, but he’s got some feelings for the new girl. He’s in denial, but I see it. He’s always watching her when he thinks no one is looking, and the fact that the GPS was something he talked about with August… Though he tried to sell it as a way to keep tabs on her, ensuring she wasn’t up to no good.
Rowan is a softie. I’m the only one left who’s really thinking straight- and I’m not sure my earlier inclinations are sensible anymore.
Walking her high-heeled feet across the room, she stops and begins speaking only once she has everyone’s attention. “Rowaniel, you’re all supposed to be courting the Selected. You know, the ones that are still here.”
“If you haven’t noticed, Silicone Sammy, one of the girls chosen was fucking kidnapped!” August shouts from his perch by the bar.
“You never cared before. Two other girls are dead, and you didn’t lift a pinky finger to find either of them,” she snarks, confident that her jibe has landed.
Karl’s menacing laugh fills the room before a glint of silver catches the light. That’s the only warning given before a whirring sound flits through the air. A shrill, screamed curse is heard before a thrown knife embeds itself in the wall.
“What the fuck, Karl?” Samantha snarls, pressing her lime green-tipped fingers to her ear, her hand coming away with red as small rivulets of blood trickle down her ear.
Readying another blade between his fingers, Karl glares at a shocked Samantha, taunting, “If you don’t want Daddy to have to pay for nose job number five, I highly suggest you scamper off to whatever animal pen you escaped from.”
Not deterred by his threat, she looks to Rowan, like he’ll save her. I’ve honestly never encountered someone so delusional in all of my life.
Before Rowan can utter a word, Sebastian grabs her face and growls, “Your desperation is showing, and it doesn’t smell very good on you.” Then, he shoves her toward the door.
She attempts to protest, but I cut her off, “That was your cue to get the fuck out of here. You’re not needed, and you’re definitely not wanted.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.