Insatiable (The Edge of Darkness, #1)(105)

I’ve been planning his death for a while now. When I get out of these shackles, I’ll make it fucking hurt.

A hand presses to my cheek, pulling me back to the now. “Where did you just go?”

Where I always go. The void in my head.

I gulp. Stacey takes my other hand, which has been rubbing the side of my leg repeatedly. “I’m… I’m not supposed to have any relationships outside of work.”

Stacey tilts her head, releasing my cheek to take my other fidgeting hand. “Why?”

A rush of humiliation courses through me. “Because I belong to them. If I don’t do what they say, people around me pay the price.”

“What?” Her eyes go wide. “Go to the police!”

I force myself to laugh. “They own them too.”

Technically, they own Scotland and over half of the underworld.

Sighing, I stare at her, take in how concerned she is for me. I pull my hands from hers and cup her cheeks, stroking my thumbs under her watering eyes. “Don’t worry about me, Freckles. I told you – this is my life now. I’m not dragging you into it as well.”

“You need to tell someone,” she says, holding my hands to her face. “Please.”

“And watch my family disappear, only for their bodies to show up months later?” I let go of her face. “No.”

“I… I told your dad.”

My eyes go wide. “What?”

“I went to visit him; I was worried about you and needed help.”

I tamp down my anger and close my eyes, fisting my hands. “You shouldn’t have done that, Stacey. If they find out, or he tries to do something, it’ll make it all worse. Don’t talk to him again, okay? Don’t talk to anyone about me. You’ll make it worse and my job harder.”

Her bottom lip shakes. “But…” She trails off. “How do I help you?”

“By leaving.”

Stacey goes ramrod straight at my bluntness. “What happens when I leave?”

“You don’t need to worry about that. As long as you’re safe.”

She’s quiet for a moment but then catches me off guard by climbing into my lap and burying her head into my shoulder.

For a brief moment, I have no idea what to do. She’s bracketing herself around me, hugging me, as my palms press into the mattress to keep me steady. I swallow, but when I feel wetness on my neck from her tears, I wrap one of my arms around the small of her back, fisting her hair.

I’m freefalling into a sea of tranquillity in her arms. My head is silent. My bones don’t shake, and I fill my lungs with her scent, wishing I could stay here forever.

I close my eyes, holding her to me. Her body cuddles into mine, one hand twisting into my hair and the other gripping my top at the back. Her hot breath is on my neck as she quietly weeps.

I massage my fingers into her hair, trying to keep my emotions in check. “Please don’t cry.”

“You weren’t supposed to have this life.” She’s shaking in my arms. “We should have moved away when we planned to. When I found out I was pregnant, we should have left and never turned back.”

There’s a tug against my heart. “I know.” I rub her back in small circles. No one has hugged me like this in so long. She was the only person I ever let get close to me, and I need to savour this while I can.

I lean back, remove my hand from her hair and tip her chin, so she looks at me.

“What we’ve been doing is risky. We can’t…” I blow out a breath, hating my words. “This.” Fuck. “We can’t.”

Silent, her eyes are lined with silver as another tear drops down her cheek. She doesn’t stop me as I kiss her forehead.

“Please pack your things.”

When she climbs off me, I check my phone, and I pale.

Bernadette: Five missed calls.

One voicemail.

Bernadette: Sebastian Ivanovich Prince. Twenty-three. Dark hair. Brown eyes. Six foot one. Father is a successful Russian CEO. Mother is a Scottish accountant. Bisexual. Drives a red Aston Martin. Has a scar on the back of his head from being hit with a glass bottle when he was seventeen. Shall I continue or do you understand?

Fucking shit. That means one thing.

Base officially has a target on him.

Keeping this side of my life a secret from my best friends has been hard going. So many times I’ve lied to get them off my back, but I think I need to tell them if Bernadette is going to start targeting them too. Base has a powerful family in Russia who could protect him. If Bernadette kills him, she’ll have a fucking war heading her way.

Relief fills me as Barry walks in – alive, watching me pace while Stacey zips her suitcase. “We need to leave now.”

I look at Stacey, at how shaken and emotional she is. It’s all my fault.

“Get her a vest,” I order, checking my gun is loaded, then shoving it into my waistband and gathering more weapons.

Stacey stares at the armoured vest in her hands, her brows knitting together.

I sigh. “Come here.”

She stands frozen as I take it from her hands and unfasten the straps to pull it over her head. Unblinking, she stares at my chest as I tighten it around her body.

“Breathe,” I say, and she blinks, looking up at me.

“I’m scared.”