Page 16 of Plain Sight

Why is he here?

And why does he have a length of pipe in his hand? It looks like an antique, heavy and dark.

“Sorry? I had other plans today. I don’t think you can blame me for not wanting to change my schedule.”

He takes a few more steps. The man with the pipe gets closer with two graceful, soundless strides.

The bright gray eyes meet mine. Slowly, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a coin, which he holds up to show me.

Why is he showing me a penny?

I don’t have more time to wonder, because he throws it at the windows.

It hits with a loud ping and the kidnapper whips his head toward the noise. The man with the pipe grasps it in both hands and swings like it’s a baseball bat. It cracks against the back of the kidnapper’s head.

And then he turns and runs, disappearing into the hall with long, loping strides.

The kidnapper reels, dropping the gun, shouting what sounds like a combination of every curse word in the English language all mashed into one. He catches himself before he falls. His hand comes away from his head streaked with blood.

Then the door slams open, and running footsteps descend on me, and before I can say anything—before I can even raise my hand to point at the kidnapper—I’m in Jameson’s arms, my face pressed into his shirt.

“She’s here,” he says, over the yelling fray, his hands on my face, then my neck, feeling for—wounds? Tears? I don’t know. “You’re here. You’re here. Fuck, Lily. You’re here.”

5

JAMESON

I don’t think Lily’s hurt. I don’t think⁠—

I don’t think I lost her, but my eyes don’t want to believe the evidence of my hands. Lily was gone for an hour and I’m as fucked up as I’ve ever been. Just because I can’t feel any blood doesn’t mean she’s fine.

But when I pull back to look at her, Lily reaches up and slaps her hand over my eyes.

“You’re not supposed to see me yet!”

The room goes silent.

There had been a fuckload of carrying voices bouncing off one another. August and Julien went sprinting off to somewhere else. Down a hall, maybe? Hades has a window open and leans halfway out of it, looking for⁠—

I don’t know. I don’t care. I just want Lily, and the words out of her mouth⁠—

“Angel.” My tongue trips over the word, but guess fucking what? I don’t care about that either. “I’m going to see you. I just—you were gone. You have to let me see if you’re okay.”

“No.” Lily’s hand over my eyes is warm. My heartbeat is in my skeleton. It’s all over my skin. I need to—kiss her? Strip off her dress so I can make sure that every inch of her is okay? I need to marry her. We were supposed to be married by now. “You’re not supposed to see me until I come down the aisle.”

I could pull her hand away, but I don’t.

“Lily.”

She sighs. “This is not going according to plan.”

“I don’t think it’s going according to anybody’s plan. Let me see you.”

Or I might cry. I might break down into big, ugly sobs in this empty room by a parking garage, and who knows what happens after that? Maybe I stay out by the lake all night. Maybe I crack up in front of my brother and a photographer and a journalist and a guy who could kill all of us, probably.

Lily takes her hand away slowly. Her face comes back into view. Big, green eyes, shiny, like she could cry but decided not to. Flushed cheeks. I fucked up her hair a little bit, but she still looks perfect. Her lower lip wobbles.

“You weren’t supposed to see me like this.”