CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
“Cheater!”
Sasha slid across the marble floor of the library, groaning in pain. Her glasses skittered a foot farther away. Oh, good. She had her glasses again. That meant she was herself again. Progress.
“That wascheating!”Vile roared at her. “What do you think you were doing?Whose side do you think you’re on? Or have you forgotten?”
“I don’t—I don’t even know—I wasn’t trying—I guess I put in an epilogue? All good books have them, right?” She reached for her glasses and put them back on. “It made perfect sense, we had that unfinished deal we m?—”
He picked her up by the back of the shirt. Or rather, something did. Because Vile was standing in front of her, fists clenched at his sides, his expression furious. But she was also hovering several inches off the ground assomethingkept her aloft from behind.
She was probably happier not knowing what.
“Put me down!” She kicked and struggled.
“Don’t you dare play coy with me, Sasha.” He stalked up to her, his voice lowering to a dangerous growl. “I know precisely what youwere doing. A death for a death. You wanted the score to remain tied.”
“I was finishing the story, that’s all—Sherlock hadn’t had a point of view scene, so we couldn’t do that, it made the most sense!” She kicked, trying to squirm out of the grasp of whatever was holding her up. “I don’t even know howI did it! It just happened! I wasn’t trying!”
“You wish to prolong this game. You are only prolonging the suffering of you and your sister.” He stepped up, only an inch away. He was still taller than her—stupid bastard. But since he wasn’t human, she supposed he got to design how tall he was. He caught her chin in his hand and tilted her face up to his. “I will start to think you want to spend more time with me.”
The wickedness of his grin made her blood run both cold and hot.
“So maybe I shouldn’t be upset, hm? Is this you saying you wantmore?” He lowered his voice to just above a whisper, though it was clear he was still incredibly angry. “I suppose it’s true that we have only just begun our dive into the depths of the fun we can have together, sweetheart.” His grasp slipped lower onto her throat and tightened, just enough to start to restrict her air.
“N—no—I—” It was honestly true that she had no idea how she’d come up with the epilogue. It had just kind of happened. And if she had to pick a reason why, it was more about keeping the score equal than anything else.
“Well, I think that after all that lovely work of yours, the score deserves to change! We cannot end all this without the stakes having shifted.” His hand tightened just a little bit more. “And I believe this shall prove to be a perfect opportunity to prove to you what happens when you act against me.” His smile somehow seemed sharper than before. “Where is your dear sister? I believe it is time to teach you a lesson in obedience.”
“Vile—please—we had a deal! I didn’t mean to—” He had to bekidding. He had to be! He wasn’t serious. He couldn’t be. “Leave her alone, take it out on me.”
“Our deal is meaningless! I cannot seem to teach you. I have tried to be patient with you.” He bared his teeth in a grimace as he loomed over her, all purples and blacks and sharp angles and the smell of books. “It seems I will have to try a different approach, hm?”
“N—no—I’m sorry—I didn’t—” She grabbed for his hand, trying to pull it away from her throat. But it was no use. He was too strong.
“Keep struggling. I like it when my prey struggles in the web. Makes itexciting.Because there’s always a moment when they fully surrender. I wonder when yours will be.” He inched his face closer to hers. He was going to kiss her as he choked the life out of her. “You cheated to even the score. Sidney owes me a death. I plan to take it from her. And I will ensure you see every second of it.”
This was them. Not Irene Adler and Moriarty. No shields. No characters. No hiding. Them. Sasha and Vile.
“Put her down, brother.”
Vile sighed, tilting his head back and shutting his eyes in the ultimate expression of a man at his wits end. “Go comfort yours. I’m busy with mine.”
“Go put your fist up your ass, you stupid piece of shit!” Sidney hollered. If she was brutally traumatized from her death, she was focusing it in one direction and one direction only. Pure anger.
Sasha would like to say she was surprised. She wasn’t. But she was actually pretty damn relieved.
“Put. Her. Down,” Virtue repeated.
“As you wish.” Vile took a step back, lifted his hands in a show of harmlessness…and promptly dropped Sasha to the floor. Her feet slid forward with the sudden abrupt impact and she wound up jamming her tailbone on the marble.
Groaning again in pain, she opted to lay on her side for a second. Her ass hurt. But she probably couldn’t complain, given what Sidney had just been through.
“The score is tied.” Virtue stood in front of Sidney, his arm keeping her standing protectively behind him.
Vile adjusted the cufflinks on his right sleeve. “What a waste of a good death.”
Finally managing to get up to her feet, Sasha winced in pain. It took a second for her to straighten up fully before she turned toward her sister. Her heart felt like it was shattering in half. “Sid, I am so,so sorry.I didn’t know—I didn’t want that to happen, I’d—I didn’t know what else to do, I tried so hard?—”
