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Chapter 23
Dani
The door opens behind me. I lie still on the bed, drifting back from the edge of sleep and I stay that way.
I can’t believe I’m faking it like a damn child but it’s better than trying to have a conversation with him.
Hey, remember last night when I undressed for you and you turned me down?
Good times, eh?
I never thought I’d say this, but I can’t wait to go back to Los Angeles. This awkward cloud above our heads is turning my lungs black, even worse than the smog in the Hollywood Hills. Another few days of this and I’m bound to completely snap.
I close my eyes and focus my hearing. He’s moving across the room, his feet slow and soft like he’s trying not to wake me. Good. He’s probably avoiding me as much as I’m avoiding him.
“Dani.”
I open my eyes as that voice cuts down my spine.
That’s not Fox. That’s—
I spin around and a gloved hand slaps against my mouth. His lips curl into a sinister smile and he brings a finger to his lips.
“Shh…”he warns.
I look into Mercer’s icy eyes and fear overwhelms me. He stares back at me without his mask and I see the rest of his face for the first time. He’s far younger than I thought he’d be with dirty blond hair and only a few wrinkles around his eyes. Youthful but deadly in every way.
My hands roll into fists, but he easily grabs my wrists and holds me down against the bed. I inhale sharply to cry out, but he grabs a knife from his belt and lays the blade against my face with a quick twist of his hand.
“Don’t scream,” he growls, “or I’ll fuck up the rest of your pretty face.”
I freeze, terrified of the sharp edge digging into my other cheek.
Mercer studies me. “You know, I’m a big fan of yours…” he whispers. “Not at first — I thought you were a bit too cutesy — but now that I’ve seen you up close… I get it. I get what Fox sees in you.” He runs his free hand over my head. “Maybe it’s the new hair…”
I cower from his touch as bile rises in my throat. “Are you going to kill me?”
“Maybe,” he answers with complete truth in his tone. “But that’s up to you.”
“What do you mean?”
He releases me and stands up. “I wanted to get some time alone with you,” he says. “No funny business. I just want to chat.”
I sit up. “Chat about what?”
Mercer crosses the suite and grabs the chair from the writing desk in the corner. He carries it back and sets it next to the bed a foot or so away from me. He balances his knife on his knee as he sits down, his fingers wrapped around the hilt.
“The weakness of my enemy is my strength,” he says. “I am a man who likes to know my strengths, so…” He tilts his head in curiosity. “How are you, Dani? Do you mind if I call you Dani? Or do you prefer that adorable stage name of yours?”
I stare at him in silence, dumbfounded by his friendly tone.
“Dani it is, then.” He gestures to the bed. “Please, relax. I’m not going to hurt you.”
My muscles burn from their tense grip on my body, but I try to do as he says. I slide back against the headboard and my hand touches hard metal beneath my pillow. My gun. Of course. I forgot I put it there before I fell asleep.
I take a breath and drop my stiff shoulders to show that I’m relaxed.
Mercer smiles, satisfied by my apparent attempt. “Dani, did Fox tell you about our organization?” He pauses for a moment. “Answer, please.”
