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She had lain in countless beds and been used against her will, nowhere to escape but in her mind. Sometimes, her body had reacted, sometimes it hadn’t. Sometimes, it had been painful, sometimes it hadn’t. She’d thought that was the worst that could happen to her, and yet the threat of worse always lingered.
She felt dead inside, the only spark of life brought on by the man in the shadows, and even that she didn’t know if it was because of their history or because of attraction.
As the breathing behind her got heavier, Lyla closed her eyes and wondered about him. Why was he fixated on her? Why give her black eternal roses for every kill? Why have a conversation with her now and instruct her to tell everyone it was him? Why did he do anything he did? The more she thought about him, the more pissed she became. And it was exhausting to have her emotions sway from anger to depression, a constant back and forth.
Somehow, maybe because of the exhaustion, she felt herself slowly drifting, her last thought of the hypnotic mismatched eyes and a feeling of danger chasing her.
***
She woke with a start as someone shook her.
Blinking rapidly to focus her eyes, she saw Reina’s concerned face looking down at her. “Three has called you to the office.”
Dread pooled in her stomach.
The office was never used, not unless someone from higher up in the operation was visiting and wanted to hold meetings.
And they were calling her.
Fuck.
Swallowing to wet her suddenly dry throat, she swung her legs around and straightened, her hair a nest falling around her body. “Did she say why?”
“No.”
Okay, this wasn’t good. But she knew it was coming. She might be bringing them money but she was losing their clients permanently. That wasn’t good for business. They were either going to send her away or simply kill her, and the bone-tired weariness inside her almost felt relieved at the thought of the latter.
Without wasting any more time, she walked out of the room in the same clothes she’d slept in, the now wrinkled clothes that he had given her, and stepped out of the building into daylight. She barely took a breath of air before a guard was quickly escorting her to the main building, not even granting her a split second of reprieve to feel the sun on her face.
Straightening her clothes, she made her way into the building, following the guard as he turned left into a corridor, leading her toward the last door down the path. Despite the daylight outside, the corridor was dark and damp, a musty smell inside that seemed to emanate from the walls themselves.
He opened the door and nodded for her to enter.
Taking a deep breath, she went in.
And froze.
Three stood in the corner, an older man sat behind the desk, and he occupied the chair at the front.
What the hell was he doing there?
She stayed still, keeping her face as neutral as she could, and faced Three.
The older woman indicated the only empty chair in the room, in front of the desk and beside his. Heart pounding, she gingerly sat in it.
“This is Mr. H,” Three spoke in the way of introduction, indicating the older man behind the desk looking at her with a scowl on his face, his beady eyes making her distinctly uncomfortable. “You know why he’s here.”
Lyla nodded.
“Speak up, girl!” Mr. H’s voice boomed, making her jolt with the sudden loudness. Heart racing, she willed herself to calm down, hating that he would hear her voice again when she’d told him he wouldn't. The fact that Three hadn’t introduced him even though he was there made her wonder if she even knew who he was. Did Mr. H know? Did anyone?
“I... I don’t know what to say,” she told the older man quietly, deliberately ignoring the dark presence on the side.
“For a start, tell me how last night happened,” the older, creepy man instructed.
Ignoring the way his eyes were burning on her, but aware of what he'd asked her to say, she addressed Mr. H. “It was the Shadow Man.”
Three gasped.
