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“With the way you cradle that arm…” He left the rest unspoken, but he knew. The bullets broke more than the glass. Did it matter, though? I did my job. There was no rule against being fucking shot. I kept her alive.
“Marc,” Kaylie whispered. “At least let him help you. You need—”
“There’s no time.” Mr. X cut her off, and I almost laughed at his not so discreet way of sayingI don’t give a fuck.He redirected his attention to me. “The money is already in your bank account.” He handed me a printed statement. A fucking proof he held up his end of the deal.
I studied it, then gave him a curt nod. Was I supposed to be happy I was suddenly rich? I should be. But I wasn’t. Not when the thing I truly wanted was slipping from my grasp.
“We must take Miss Remington to safety.” Mr. X spoke, snapping my gaze back to him.
“Where are you taking me?” Kaylie asked. “I don’t need—I’m safe with…”
I released her before she could say my name and make this harder than it already was. She needed to go. Now. Before I lost my goddamn resolve.
I looked to Mr. X and forced myself to sound as coldhearted as many accused me of being. “Take care of her.”
Mr. X nodded and smiled. I turned by back to them before he approached Kaylie.
“Marc,” she whispered.
I spoke with my back to her. “Goodbye,Miss Remington.”
I followed Mr. X through a heavy iron door that closed me off from everything I’d known. Away from Marc. Not that it mattered. He was more than relieved to get rid of me. His coldness made the pain a little more tangible inside, squeezing my heart until tears prickled my eyes. I should never have expected more from him, but I did. I dared to believe I meant something to him. Thought our time together proved it. But he left without a second glance. Not even a hug. My feet were heavy as I trailed behind the stranger that was supposed to take me to safety.
Lifting my gaze from the concrete floor, I was surprised to see nothing but empty space. Where I expected heavy machines or some sort of expensive equipment, given the tight security of the place, there was nothing.
“What is this place?” I thought out loud, cringing as my voice echoed off the walls.
“Nothing you need to worry your pretty little head with,” Mr. X said, and I couldn’t help but snort.
The pleasant looks were a ruse. This man was far from friendly. Everything about him screamed power. The guards shadowing us. The weapons. Their obeying his every command. I swallowed down the unease.
My father trusts him.I tried to remind myself. If I didn’t have his word that this man wanted only good things for me, I’d never have set foot in his odd building, let alone allow him to shove me into the backseat of the black sedan waiting at the other end of the empty hall.
Once inside the car, a door slid open at the back of the wall, letting in the evening sun, the low beams sharp enough to blind me through the tinted windows.
I stayed silent as the car passed two tall gates and finally turned onto a bigger road.
“I suggest you sleep,” Mr. X said from the passenger seat.
“I’m not tired,” I said, surprised to realize I wasn’t. I wasalwaystired. The lethargy was a constant reminder that something was wrong with my body. I swallowed the nervousness and tried to convince myself the newfound energy wasn’t just another level of bad.
Instead, I glanced at the man next to me in the backseat. A guard, I guessed. He looked like he was in his mid-fifties. Dark gray hair that was cropped short, and a mustache and beard in the same fading color. He was dressed in a dark suit, just like the driver and Mr. X. The formal clothing, I was used to. It was my normal. So were the strict faces and the guards following around. I wasn’t even fazed with them being armed. It was protection. And that, too, I was used to.
“It’s a long drive,” Mr. X informed. “At least have some iced tea.”
The moment the word left his mouth, the man next to me handed me a bottle. It lacked a label and contained an amber brown liquid. I looked at it a moment too long before taking it.
“Uh, thanks?”
“It’s homemade.” Mr. X chuckled at the suspicion I couldn’t keep off my face.
I nodded. Turning it over in my hands, I opened the lid and drank a few gulps out of politeness.
Not long after, I started to feel sleepy. Somehow, the well-known feeling was comforting. Shifting in my seat, I leaned against the window and closed my eyes.
*
I woke up to the sound of voices. The car had stopped, and I was alone inside. Straightening, I blinked at the sharp beams glaring down at the car and realized the light came from lamps, and not the sun. I craned my neck, trying to see anything beyond the blinding light from somewhere above. It was night—and I slept far longer than I anticipated.
