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“There’s no chance in hell—” I start.
“Sit in it or I’ll have my friend here cut your girlfriend’s pinkie off and feed it to you,” she screams, the crazy in her becoming more palpable. I believe she’d really do it.
I do as I’m told, walking over to the chair and then sitting. I stare at Juliana, who watches me, tears streaming down her face. The woman comes to me and buckles straps around my wrists and ankles to restrain me in the chair. Definitely a torture chamber.
Juliana tries to scream for me, but the gag in her mouth prevents her from forming words. She struggles against it but can’t shake it free.
“I’m so sorry, baby,” I tell her, holding her gaze. “They’re not going to lay one more finger on you, or I swear to God I will set this place on fire.”
The woman laughs from behind me as she ties something around my neck to keep my head up straight. Juliana’s eyes go wide as she watches the process. Tears fall down her face. I desperately want to pull her in my arms and tell her everything will be okay, but, I can’t say for certain that it will.
“I’m serious, bitch,” I growl at the woman. “You think you know what love is? Anderson Gray has manipulated you into serving him, but I love Juliana and I will do anything for her.”
“I’m counting on that,” she hisses in my ear. “She’s really come in handy hasn’t she?”
My blood boils at her words. “What the hell have you done to her? What does she have to do with any of this?”
The woman giggles, a high-pitched, chaotic sound. It reminds me of nails being dragged across a chalkboard. The sound reverberates around the room, causing my head to ache.
“Your precious little Juliana was nothing more than an experiment for us,” the woman explains, coming around to kneel in front of me so we’re at eye level. “See, my friend over there needed to make sure we could save Anderson’s soul. But you can’t trap a soul on your first go and hope you won’t fuck up.”
A nasty smile spreads across her face, and she licks her lips. She stands up and walks behind Juliana, patting her head.
“Don’t touch her!” I scream, but she only laughs.
“Don’t worry, Hex,” she responds in a sickly sweet voice. “Juliana’s my pretty little pet. She was the first soul we were able to successfully trap in a Lazarus stone. We had to kill an awful lot of innocent people to find the way to make it stick but what can you do.”
Juliana struggles against her bindings. The woman laughs as she undoes Juliana’s gag.
“Oh, you poor, sweet thing,” she says condescendingly. “You really thought your parents died in a random hit and run? I’m sorry to tell you, that was me.”
“You fucking bitch!” Juliana screams at her. “I’ll kill you. I’ll fucking kill you!”
“Well, it seems I have the upper hand, sweetheart. You’re welcome to try, but I don’t think you’ll get far with your hands tied behind your back. Besides, you should be careful with your body. It’s been in a coma for what is it now two months. You don’t want to strain it.”
“Why would you do this?” she cries desperately. “Why did you kill them? They did nothing to you!”
The woman chuckles as she continues stroking Juliana’s hair as if she’s a cat or a child. Juliana tries furiously to shake her off but has no luck.
“That’s the best part,” the woman coos at her. “Your parents meant absolutely nothing to me. You meant absolutely nothing to me until your soul was trapped in my stone. And I knew how much Hex likes a pretty face. It worked out great.”
“You put her in my dreams,” I whisper. “You made me search for her.”
The woman embraces Juliana from behind and smiles at me. “You’re welcome, Hex.” She laughs. “After all, you’ve watched your closest friends fall in love. You probably thought it was your turn. Then this woman appears in your dreams and you think, ‘maybe it’s my turn.’ It worked out better than I could have planned. You never did find the little sachet we planted on you. None of your little ghost friends told you.”
“How do you know so much about my gift?” I growl at her. “How did you know I’d be able to see her spirit?”
“My master’s had his eye on you for a long time, Hex,” she tells me ominously. “You’ve always been of particular interest to him. Controlling the living is fun for him, but he’s become obsessed with controlling the dead.”
“I don’t control them,” I yell at her. “I just see them, that’s all. They speak to me, but I have no influence over them.”
“Yes, but he does. He’s learned quite a few tricks over these last few weeks. The ghosts fear him, but they trust you. Once he takes over your body, they’ll flock to him for help, and he’ll be able to bend them to his will.”
Anderson is the sickest motherfucker. What could he possibly want with an army of ghosts?
A cold chill falls over the room, and Anderson Grey’s spirit waltzes in through the door I’d broken down. He smiles and tips an imaginary hat toward me.
CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX
