“When you say the one, can you elaborate on that?” Cutty finally asked.
“Sure. He said ‘You are the one for me.’ His meaning seemed fairly clear to me, but you guys should make your own interpretations. I don’t want to skew your opinions.” She thought back to that meeting and shuddered, remembering how Keith had run his finger along her cheek when he’d spoken to her, telling her that they were two pieces of a puzzle, meant to be joined.
Lars looked like he was angrier than ever but the look on Bic’s face in particular had her holding back that nervous laughter that liked to creep up on her at the most awkward moments.
“You said you were kidnapped?” Fate shot at her accusingly, as if he had caught her in a lie. The attack wiped the giggle right out of her.
“I was.” She put as much force behind the words as she could and snapped when she saw the skepticism. “You think I saw this guy on Match.com and read his profile, ‘Life’s ambition, spread despair far and wide,’ and thought wow, this is the man for me?” She wanted to tell them all to go to hell but also wanted to get this over with. “Just so we don’t have to rehash this a million more times, I’ll tell you all the events now and then I’m done talking about it.” She didn’t wait for them to agree to her terms. They weren’t negotiable so she just started talking. If they wanted to kick her out after this, let them. Keith had almost gotten to her at Cutty’s, anyway. Maybe she was better off on her own.
“I was at my art gallery in Seattle, hosting a show. I went out to my car. I was stabbed to death in the parking lot. I awoke in a moving car, sandwiched by two guys in the backseat. They told me I was dead, took me on a private jet to the other side of the country and brought me to a hotel suite, where Malokin and Keith were waiting for me.
“There, Malokin informed me that I was some sort of experiment. Of what kind, I don’t know but that he would’ve taken me regardless because Keith wanted me. Malokin then left me alone with Keith, who declared his feelings and explained that my human life was over and forced me in front of a mirror where I saw the truth of it. The person I knew was no longer there staring back at me.
“I collapsed on the floor of the bathroom. He lifted me up and took me over to the couch. He kept talking but I couldn’t tell you what he said after that point. I was in shock and completely disoriented, so when he got called into the other room, he probably figured I wouldn’t move.
“At first, I didn’t. But then desperation and pure desire to survive kicked in. I remembered one of the other men coming in within the first few moments I’d arrived, saying that he left a memo on the desk. It was something that had been given out to all the men about the top list of threats and their locations.
“I figured that list was my best shot of enlisting help. I got up and walked to the desk in the room. The name Lars and Dead Ink were listed and there was an address. All of your names were on it.” She motioned to the group. “But for some crazy reason, when I’d been driven to the hotel, as dazed as I was, I’d remembered seeing Dead Ink and I knew I could get there on foot.”
As she talked, Bic walked into the kitchen and grabbed a beer, clearly needing a drink. Angus and Cutty weren’t saying anything and she couldn’t tell what Lars was thinking at all anymore. Fate was scowling but he hadn’t stopped doing that since she’d met him.
“I left and no one noticed me,” she continued and then grabbed the beer from Bic’s hand as he walked back over. “I think I need this a little more than you do,” she said to him, then took a swig and began again, keeping the beer.
“They were too busy in the next room over doing…things.” She shivered, thinking of how Keith had been literally hammering someone’s hand as Malokin had stood close by, both too involved to notice anything beyond that room. Another poor sucker had been lying on the floor nearby, curled into a ball and looking like he’d already had his turn. She could still hear the screams.
“I made it out of the hotel and got to a convenience store on the corner. I asked some guy in the parking lot if he could drive me down the street a ways, claiming I lost my purse and just needed to get back to my house. When he dropped me off, I headed into the woods and started towards here on foot. I ended up stopping because I got sick. Once I felt better, I started walking again.”
Fate was the only one that started asking questions. “So you were in the woods alone?”
“Yes. I was in the woods alone.” Her mind ran back over those days. They were a blur of pain she didn’t want to think of. She’d lain in the dirt, wishing whatever she was now would cease to exist. It was the only time she’d ever truly wanted to give up. “I’d never felt so horrible in my life,” she said, more to herself than them.
“How did you eat?” Cutty asked.
“For the most part, I didn’t. When the pain finally started to subside, I drank water from a nearby creek and started making my way here again.” She caught a flash of pity on Cutty’s face and her spine straightened. “You don’t need to feel bad for me. Live long enough and we all have shitty days,” she said, playing it down and shrugging off his noticeable reaction. “Any other questions?”
She looked at all five of them but no one said anything. “Good. Because I’m tired.” She got up and walked back to the bed and climbed in, jeans and all. She rolled over and gave them her back.
“Okay then, I guess let’s call it a night,” Cutty said, and no one argued.
***
Lars lay on the couch, trying to get an hour or so of sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, all he could do was remember how Faith looked when she’d shown up at his shop. The way she’d devoured the sandwich she’d been given. The way he’d scared her.
She could be lying. He turned onto his side, his gaze finding its target across the dark room. The small figure burrowed in the blankets on his bed. He could tell by her breathing she was sleeping but it was fitful, and she tossed often.
Giving up on sleep, he stood up and crossed the room to stand over where she lay. Her hair was spread out on the pillow her head rested upon, and he picked up a lock and ran it through his fingers. Her lips parted as she sighed softly in her sleep. Why couldn’t he look at her and not want to possess her, to cover her body with his and claim her as his own?
He knew he shouldn’t sleep with her. It would just cause entanglements. She was living here. If he slept with her, he’d still have to see her every day.
She was beautiful but he’d had gorgeous women. What was it about her? When she’d sat there tonight, in front of the guys, he’d really seen a glimpse of her for who she was. All he’d wanted to do was kick the other four guys out and throw her on the bed.
Yeah, she’d shown she had some spine but he’d been with spunky chicks before. It wasn’t that either. So it wasn’t her beauty or her spunk. Then what was it? Why was he drawn to her?
It had to be that she was forbidden fruit. That was all this attraction was. He dropped her hair back onto the pillow and headed toward the shower, giving up on sleep.
Chapter 14
Faith woke up as Lars was walking out of the bathroom, a towel slung low on his hips, his hair soaking wet. He seemed to be more of a drip-dry type, as water still beaded on his skin. She kept her lids mostly closed, feigning sleep as he moved about the room, his smallest movements setting off a ripple of muscles.
He walked over to the dresser, where it sat against the wall, and dug a pair of jeans out of one of the drawers. He took a few steps back toward the bathroom but then stopped. The towel dropped, revealing every masculine inch of him. She should’ve stop looking but didn’t. He tugged the jeans up over a perfect ass as she noticed he also wasn’t the underwear type.
He turned back toward her and she pressed her eyes shut.