Page 24 of Puck Me Twice Over

For giggles I flicked the lights off, and the area went black. “Run, Flick. Run,” I murmured. My voice carried through the otherwise silent woods that surrounded the house.

I stopped at the edge of the tree line. No sounds. Interesting. Part of me thought she’d keep running, put as much distance between us as she could. But perhaps Flick was smarter than that. I leaned against a tree trunk, my back to the house, and waited for my eyes to adjust to the darkness.

The woods had never been as terrifying to me as they were to her. Even when we’d hosted parties out here on summer breaks, she refused to come for walks at night, staying at the house under the guise of reading each time, or sleeping.

And almost every time I’d found her right where she’d been standing tonight, in the portrait gallery, facing off against some aunt or great grandmother of mine, wondering about their history.

Watching her face as she realized I’d replaced each with her own portrait, the shock that had encompassed her before acceptance set in…That had been one of the purest pleasures of my life. Close to waking her earlier this morning with my tongue, and knowing she wouldn’t push me away.

My chest tightened at the thought of having her back in my arms. I pushed away from the tree, uncaring if my steps were too loud. Perhaps I should have caught her earlier. “Come out and play, Flick. Do you remember the rules?”

Nothing. It was as though she hadn’t entered the woods at all. Clever girl. I raked my nails against a tree trunk, tapped the next with my knuckles. The sound echoed dully. A crackle drew my attention deeper in the trees, then a thud.

“There you are.” I pivoted in the direction of the sound. A few steps took me to her location, and I found her on the ground.

In a ball.

That had never been a part of the game.

“Felicity? Flick?” I eased her over, sliding my hands beneath her body. Warm and soft, but unresponsive. No slicked areas where she might have hurt herself, but she didn't fight me off, either. One of our favorite moments was that instant before I claimed her. But this⁠—

The version of my girl in my hands was lackluster. Still.

I swore, twisting her in my arms. The woods were dark as fuck, and I cursed my lack of foresight in turning the lights off. Not that anything would have penetrated this far into the woods. I fumbled for my phone, and flicked on the flashlight app.

Felicity's eyes were mostly closed, her lips parted and swollen, as though she’d bitten them. And around her throat⁠—

A deep growl erupted from deep in my chest as I clawed at the single black strand looped wrapped around her neck twice.

“Fucker,” I rasped, pulling at the tie at the side of her neck. It was set just far enough back that she wouldn’t have been able to undo it easily herself but the slipknot came undone in my fingers with the right set of tugs.

The cord fell away. I ran my fingers over the indent, the light marking her perfect throat. “Flick,” I whispered, rubbing at her lips. “Pretty girl?” My voice broke on a crack. I pressed a hand to her lips, then her chest, desperate.

My heart stalled, then her chest rose under my hand. She coughed, weak. I rolled her onto one side. Felicity coughed again, then sucked in a breath.

“Jesus, Flick.” I lifted her into my chest. “You scared the shit out of me.” My thumb hit call on my phone as she burrowed into my shirt, deep shudders wracking her.

The woods' silence told its own story as the call connected.

“Yeah?” Valentine's groggy voice drew me back. “This had better be a fucking emergency.”

“Get your ass out to the cabin I told you about. Bring Hux. Ward, if you think this is worth it.” I snapped a picture of the marks around Flick’s neck, and the cord.

“Damn. The boyfriend?”

I rubbed her cheek gently. “Can you talk?”

“G-Garrett,” she whispered. Her voice came out clear, if a little faint.

“You hear that?” I didn’t say anything else.

“Send me the address. Do you need me to bring Cora? An ambulance?”

“Yes,” I answered for her.

“No,” said Felicity. “No ambulance. I’m fine.” She glared at me fiercely as though someone hadn’t just tried to kill her.

I stroked wayward strands back from her face. “All right. No ambulance,” I said finally, though my heart constricted in my chest at the choice. “But I'll take you to get checked out if you get dizzy or disorientated."