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“I’ve got a plate here for you, Lark,” Adam’s quiet voice filters through the closed door. Squaring my shoulders, I go over and twist the brass knob, opening the door to find Adam there with a covered plate and a bottle of water. “I didn’t think you’d want to eat downstairs, but you should try to eat something.”
“Thanks,” I reply in a croaking tone, suddenly so weary and wanting nothing more than to curl up on Knox’s bed and pretend that tonight didn’t happen. I take the offered plate and water, and Adam just stands there, his ocean eyes dark and tortured.
“I–I know what I’ve done cannot be forgiven,” he says, and I bite my lips until I taste copper to try to hold back the emotions that threaten to drown me. “But I will do everything in my power to help you and Rook from here on. As far as I am concerned, you’re both family now.”
I can feel my throat bob as I swallow hard, then a thought occurs to me. “Did you know my mom and Heather were friends?” His lack of surprise tells me the answer.
“Yes, and I tried to help her keep it a secret at first, even though she never knew that I knew, but I failed to protect her too, and after that night, after what the Soldiers did to my wife...” His voice is thick with emotion, and I can’t help the way my chest tightens at seeing this powerful man so broken and lost. “I could only see my need for revenge, that I needed Rufus to hurt as much as I did. So I had Aeron shoot your mom, betraying my own wife and, fuck, Lark…” He shakes his head, then turns to go, his shoulders slumped.
“Hey,” I murmur, and he looks back around at me, his eyes full of torment and turbulent storms. “Thanks for the food, Adam.”
He blinks, a deep exhale leaving his chest. “You’re welcome, Lark.” And then he turns back around again, walking down the long hallway.
I shut the door, setting the plate and water on the empty desk, my stomach roiling at the idea of eating anything right now. I know that Adam was acting because of his grief, but it doesn’t make it any easier. It also doesn’t change what happened.
My overnight bag sits on the bed—I assume the butler bought it up maybe—and so I go over to it, grabbing out a book and deciding to get lost in another world for a bit.
* * *
My eyes fly open at the sudden noise in the darkened room and it takes a moment for me to remember where I am. Knox’s room, big fuck-off MacMansion that the Taylors own. Then I remember Knox said he’d be back, and I turn to face the noise that I heard, my brows creasing as I realize I’m facing the window and not the door. I’m also sure that I left the lamp on before dozing off, otherwise, how would I—
“Motherfucker!” I hiss, slapping a hand over my neck where a sharp sting has my whole body tensing. “What the fu—” My eyelids flutter, my mouth refusing to form the rest of the sentence as darkness rushes in to claim me.
* * *
Images come to me like flashes of an old black-and-white movie; the chill of the night air as it hits my face, then the rumble of the car engine, the feel of my ears popping, someone frantically calling my name.
“Lark!Eshgham! Wake up!” Nausea swirls through my stomach, making my mouth ache like I’ve eaten one of those super sour candies that Rook used to love as a kid. “That’s it,Koshgelam, open those beautiful eyes of yours.”
I try to scrub at my face, then panic flares hot and bright as I realize my hands are secured to the arms of a seat with what feels like…handcuffs? Swallowing back bile, I use sheer fucking will to force my fluttering eyelids open and try to focus on my surroundings. Looking around the space, I can see lines of small windows with the blinds drawn and a few seats. There’s a rushing sound all around me, and then I meet the mismatched stare of— “Tarl?”
“Thank fucking God,” he breathes, his whole body relaxing in his seat across from me. I have to blink several times to make sense of the image before me. It looks like he’s also secured to his chair with handcuffs around his wrists and ankles. I try to move my own legs, finding that they only go a small way before the rattle of metal lets me know that I, too, am secured by my ankles like Tarl.
“W–What the fuck is going on?” I question, my voice croaky as my ears pop again. “A–Are we on a plane?”
I’ve never been on an airplane before, but this looks suspiciously like what I’ve seen in films. Though there only seems to be eight seats, which are large and luxurious looking. I wiggle and feel that they’re pretty comfy too, you know, if you ignore the fact that I’m fucking handcuffed to one. Tarl and I appear to be in one group of four, the other set of four is unoccupied and we look to be alone in the cabin.
“Yes,Koshgelam,” Tarl replies, and I don’t miss the way his body caves in on itself, the defeated way he looks away from me.
“What’s going on, Tarl?” I ask, my mouth going dry as fear coats my insides like a thick tar. Whatever it is, I know that it’s not good when his jaw works.
“Do you remember when I told you that my family was killed?” he inquires, finally looking up at me. There’s a fire in the depths of his beautiful eyes, making the blue one sparkle and shine.
“Y–Yes.”
“I believe that the men who took their lives have come back for me, and have taken you too, realizing that you’re important to me,” he answers, and the metal of my cuffs clinks lightly as my body trembles.
“And why do you think that, Tarl?” I ask, not even breathing as he stares straight into my eyes.
“Because I told them where to find me,Azizam.”
Tarl
“Are You With Me” by nilu
“W–What?”
Her soft voice cuts straight through me as my mind whirls with what I’ve done in my quest for revenge. A heavy sigh leaves my lips as regret coats my tongue like arsenic, bitter and likely to kill me.
