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“Deacon, I’ll scream…”
The alarm began to sound, ringing over and over; the elevator had been stopped too long. Deacon didn’t even react. He leaned into me, nuzzled my cheek with his nose. I winced, my skin crawling.
“I thought I was done feeling bad. I thought it would make me feel better to bring him here and show everyone… See? O, how the mighty have fallen. But no. I still feelbad, Charlotte. I know he’s covered in disgusting scars, and he’ll never see how you look at him, and you love him anyway.”
Deacon’s hand caressed my cheek softly, and then his gentle touch became a painful grip on my chin.
“So I think that if I kiss you, Charlotte, maybe I won’t feel so bad anymore. I think, maybe, if I get a little taste of what he has, I might stop feeling so goddamnbad.”
He leaned in without resistance from me since I was opening my clutch to grab the little canister of pepper spray Ava had given me before we’d left Connecticut.
Just as Deacon’s lips brushed mine, I drove my knee between his legs. It wasn’t very hard, but surprised him, and the weight of him moved off me. I brought my hand up, squeezed my eyes shut, and pressed the release. A short, fast blast, as the elevator was so small.
Immediately, my nose stung, and my eyes watered under my closed lids. But Deacon fell back with a strangled cry and began to cough as if his lungs were clawing their way out of his chest. The alarm rang and rang…
I slipped around from the wall, toward the panel, blinking hard. Deacon collapsed on his hands and knees on the floor, his face brilliant red and his eyes streaming, his body wracked with coughs.
I jabbed the door open button, coughing a little myself at the peppery mist that hung in the small space. The doors slid apart, and I dashed out, crashing straight into Noah.
“Charlotte?” Noah cried, holding me by the shoulders. “Are you okay? What the fuck…? Pepper spray?”
“Yes,” I said on a shaky breath. “Deacon…”
I didn’t need to say any more. Noah’s face twisted in a grimace of pain that quickly morphed into rage.
A crowd was gathering to watch. Deacon had crawled halfway out of the elevator and sat slumped just outside. The doors kept trying to close and then opened, over and over. He coughed, his eyes streaming. Noah moved forward, guided by the stinging smell and sound. He bent over his friend, felt for the man’s lapels and lifted him, then slammed him against the wall.
“What did you do to her?” he raged. “What did you do to her?”
Deacon’s eyes were squeezed shut, the skin fiery red and wet with tears. He half-laughed, half-coughed. “I just wanted a little taste, buddy.” He scoffed. “And I was right. Sweet Charlotte is so very sweet…”
Noah swore and pressed Deacon against the wall by his chin, holding him there so he could reach back with his right fist and punch him square in the face. The crowd that had gathered made a collective “Oh!” Somebody snickered.
“Noah, stop!” I rushed over and took his arms. “Please!”
I pulled him away, and Deacon slumped back to the ground.
“Didn’t your mother…ever tell you…not to hit a blind guy?” Deacon chortled weakly.
Noah loomed over his friend, his hands balled into fists. “I’ll kill you. I swear to God, I’ll kill you…”
I kept hold of Noah’s arm. “He didn’t hurt me, Noah. I’m okay.”
Deacon snorted derisively, then coughed. “Kill me. Over a woman? All for show. You’ve only ever given a shit about one person: Noah fucking Lake. Alegend. Ha! Look at you.”
A vein pulsed in Noah’s neck, and the only other sound was the footsteps of the security guards trotting down the hall toward us.
Deacon coughed a scratchy laugh. “How’d you like the Observation Deck, good buddy? How’d you like the slideshow? I knew you couldn’t stay away. But it’s too bad you’re blind, Lake, because you can’t see how everyone feels sorry for you. You’re a joke. That’s all you are now. A goddamn joke.”
The crowd around us had gone silent, and I was sure Noah was going to fly at Deacon and beat the hell out of him. But he only shook his head, disgusted. He turned to me.
“Did he hurt you? Tell me the truth.”
“He didn’t,” I said.All the hurt is on the inside. “I want to go now. Can we go now, please?”
Noah nodded and took my arm, and already it felt different. One night, and it already felt different.
chapter thirty-three
