Page 8

Barbara

I couldn’t believe I thought of him as an ally just this morning. When I woke up, my plan fully formed in my head as if my brain had worked all night long to come up with it, I was filled with hope. I was angry and scared, too, but mostly hopeful.

What must have helped was the fact my nose spent the night buried in the thick material smelling of cigarettes and a hint of a male scent that was faint but devilishly good once I took a good whiff of it. He would be on my side, I just knew it.

Well, now I knew better. Phantom wasn’t just a total jerk but also a pervert who climbed trees to peep at girls and made rude, inappropriate jokes. With barely three hormonal brain cells in his head, I had no idea how he even managed to save me last night. What was my mother doing, hiring someone who had the temper of a pubescent boy? Did she want me dead?

“Forget I said anything,” he said fast, right after pressing his knuckles to his grinning skull teeth like he sincerely regretted his words.

When he turned away as if about to escape, I reached for him without thinking. I grabbed his bicep, and he froze, his body charged with energy.

“Nuh-uh. No. Stay right here,” I demanded, gripping tight. “See, you can claim you were in that tree to perform your duties or whatever. But the thing you just said? You can’t talk your way out of it. I’m reporting you.”

He was still, and for a moment, I marveled at how hard his body was under my fingers. I sensed his armor through the thin material of his tight shirt, and it was cool with no give. Like hard plastic, except, plastic would have been warmer.

It was an odd sensation. Like touching a prosthetic, I supposed. I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact his armor was fully organic. Abominations were fascinating, even if this particular specimen was a total moron.

Phantom still didn’t turn to face me as he spoke, his voice perfectly even but strained. “The thing I just said that I deeply regret? Well, it turns out, it might apply to touching, too.”

It took me a few seconds to understand him, and when I did, I unfurled my grip finger by finger, angry he would make another stupid joke like this. It was in poor taste and it made me feel hot around the neck even though I knew he was just making fun of me.

I might be na?ve, but I wasn’t stupid. Grown men didn’t get erections just like that. For whatever reason, he wanted to fluster me, and I refused to be affected.

When I fully let go and stepped away, doing my best to ignore the way my palm tingled, he turned around, his eerie grin firmly in place.

“I don’t care if this was just a dumb joke,” I said, raising my index finger. “You were out of line and I’ll report you.”

This was my only bargaining chip, and I refused to let it go. My plan depended on his cooperation. I was determined to get it.

His expression rearranged into a grimace, and I couldn’t tear my eyes away. Standing so close in bright daylight, I saw that the main structure of his face remained motionless. What moved were small parts that looked like bonelike yet mobile pieces of tissue in the hollows of his cheeks, around his jaw, in his forehead, and around his brow ridges. The entire thing was creepy yet mesmerizing.

“Please, don’t do it,” he said grimly, clenching his fists. “If I get one more strike for inappropriate behavior on my record, I’ll spend the next year guarding some boring, self-important old man who barely goes out and smells of feet. That’s what my boss threatened to do, and she always keeps her word.”

I bit back a grin, a wave of relieved joy flooding my chest. Finally, something went right, and I now had plenty of room to negotiate for what I needed.

“Oh, so you do that sort of thing a lot, huh?” I asked, folding my arms on my chest. I couldn’t help gloating. This small victory made me feel so big after a long time of feeling small and helpless.

Phantom sighed and looked up, seeming resigned. “This thing? Believe it or not, it’s the first time it happened. But yeah, I’m not exactly a choir boy. So, what will it take? You want something in return for letting this go, don’t you?”

“Don’t tell my mother what I do when she isn’t home,” I said fast, my heart drumming in my chest. “I’m not stupid. I know I can’t ditch you, and I won’t. You’ll come with me everywhere, but I need you to keep it secret. As far as she’s concerned, I attend my lessons and behave like a perfect lady.”

He studied me for a long moment, his black, armored fingers tapping against his bicep. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep myself from squirming as he regarded me. Because what if he refused? Would I actually report him and risk losing his protection? I was terrified he’d call my bluff.

“Fine,” Phantom finally said, reaching into his pocket for a black cigarette case. He lit one, holding it between his teeth. I glimpsed something like dark flesh glistening in his mouth before he pulled the cigarette away, blowing smoke out through his nose hole.

“I’ll do it,” he continued before taking another drag. “But if you get yourself in danger or engage in risky behaviors, I’ll have to make a report. Your parents are paying me, doll.”

I bristled, shooting him a filthy look. He ignored it, blowing out so much smoke, his face disappeared in a cloud of it.

“I’m not your doll,” I hissed. “And I’ll be safe. I just don’t want my every step to be monitored.”

I couldn’t risk my mother getting wind of what I was doing. My plan didn’t even involve anything dangerous or bad, but I needed to do things I was forbidden and shielded from, like eating what I wanted, visiting public places, or mixing with commoners , meaning normal people.

My goal was to learn how to function in the real world. I also wanted to find out if there was a way to resist mind control.

Because I was done being a puppet. I wanted to live on my own terms.

“Monitored,” Phantom murmured under his breath, puffs of smoke escaping his mouth. “Do they watch you around the clock?”

“Not so much now,” I said with a shrug. “She trusts me to act properly, and I mostly do. When I was younger… Ah, doesn’t matter. Do you have a car? Mine has a tracker, and besides, I’m supposed to always take my driver.”

He stilled, giving me a long look. “They track your car’s location?”

I shrugged. It wasn’t as bad as it sounded. “Yeah. For my safety, mostly. So? Do you have a car?”

He took a long drag, grinned, and blew the smoke right in my face. I gasped and inhaled out of shock, coughing. It was foul and scratched my throat, filling my lungs with fire.

“I have a ride,” he said once I straightened, my eyes watering. “Ready when you are, princess.”

“Don’t do it again,” I gritted out, my voice husky from coughing.

He laughed openly before taking another big drag from his cigarette, the tip burning bright for a moment.

“I’ll do what I fu—freaking please. You get one favor and that’s it. If you want another, wait until I fu—do something stupid again.”

“What’s wrong with you?” I asked. “Why do you keep stuttering?”

This time, I was prepared when he tried to blow smoke in my face. I ducked out of the way, giving him an angry look. “Come on! Stop being a jerk!”

“Then stop being so pretty when you’re angry,” he shot back, throwing the cigarette butt on the ground.

I gaped at him, lost for words. “How is that… What do you… What the fuck is wrong with you?” I exploded, my anger obliterating my manners.

My voice sounded shrill, and my entire body boiled hot with fury. He had no right to make fun of me that way! It was so humiliating. Like calling me pretty was such a big joke, because—what? No one would call me that seriously?

I was reasonably attractive. I had to be for the magazines and other media to like me so. Though, I usually appeared in public with my face full of makeup, and that had to make a difference. My face was bare now. Maybe that was why he made fun of my looks.

But even then, it was completely inappropriate and rude. Something really was wrong with him.

“You would have to ask my psychiatrist,” he said with a wide grin, folding his arms on his chest. “He’s got theories.”

I shook my head, bewildered. Some of my anger abated thanks to his unfazed manner. But then I understood fully what he said, and I got worried for my own safety.

“You’re seeing a psychiatrist? God. Are you even allowed to work as a bodyguard, then?”

He shrugged, his skull grinning eerily as he cocked a hip, exuding nonchalance.

“It’s one of the conditions for my employment. I have to see the good doctor twice a month and pour my heart out. I mostly tell him my sexual fantasies.”

God. He was… not even ridiculous. It was too weak a word. When an urge to laugh fluttered in my belly, taking me completely off guard, I decided it was enough.

“I’ll shower and we can go. Is fifteen minutes enough for you to get ready?”

He chuckled darkly. “After you got me all worked up, I’ll be done in three. See you.”

He strode to the house, and I was left standing there, trying to decipher his cryptic words as a hot blush stained my neck. Another bout of outraged fury boiled in my belly. Because he couldn’t have meant what I thought he meant. Right?

He was fucking with me. Again. And I was completely unequipped to deal with someone like him.

I huffed, balling my hands into fists, and stomped to the house to calm down in a cold shower. I wouldn’t let Phantom’s lack of manners stop me, that was certain. I would just… ignore him.

Yet, when he showed me his ride fifteen minutes later, that strategy went right out the window.

“You can’t be serious,” I said, eyeing the huge beast of his motorbike that gleamed in the sunlight, the fixtures of polished chrome clashing with the matte black of the body. “How are we supposed to… No. This is unacceptable. Forget it.”

I turned in place, thinking frantically how else I could get to the library. We lived in Kent, and the nearest one was at the university. Could I walk there? I was never allowed to go out on foot, and now, it was probably doubly dangerous. Though, we’d already avoided the paparazzi camped in front of the gate by going out through the back exit. I was also dressed to blend in, in jeans and a black hoodie that looked nothing like my usual outfits, my hair stuffed under a baseball cap, sunglasses on my nose.

“I promise it won’t be awkward,” Phantom said with a grin. “I took myself in hand extra hard to make sure I’ll behave. You have my word. There will be no uncomfortable boners while you squeeze me with your thighs.”

Did he just…? Yes, he did. A part of me wanted to laugh hysterically, but I forced myself to ignore him instead. My reactions seemed to encourage him, so maybe if I didn’t let him provoke me, he’d finally stop.

But it was overwhelming. My plan alone filled me with dread, and instead of being of any help, Phantom only created more tension. My nape felt hot, and the word “boner” sat in my brain like a tumor.

Boner. Boner. Boner.

I buried my face in my hands, the urge to cry ridiculous, considering I was livid. But also—helpless and at a total loss. It hit me then, how crippled I was by my upbringing. I was so incapable, I couldn’t even go where I wanted on my own. I had no idea how to navigate the real world.

On the road, cars passed us sedately, and I watched them while my hands clenched into fists. How did normal people travel? Maybe I could call a cab? There was bound to be a bus stop nearby, too.

Or, again, I could walk. There were apps for pointing me in the right direction. Yeah, I could just download an app and figure out how to get to the library. It couldn’t be that hard.

“You’re not angry.” Phantom sounded disappointed.

I jerked away, realizing he stood right in front of me. As I looked up, his face hovered just over mine, the skull teeth grinning obscenely. Something flickered in the depths of his eye sockets.

“Guess I’m not,” I said, my voice so quiet and defeated, I cringed internally. “I just… It shouldn’t be this hard.”

When his grin widened, I realized I just gave him an opening for another lewd joke. I huffed with frustration.

“Please, don’t make a pun. Could you at least, I don’t know, pretend you’re a professional? You’re making it even more difficult than it already is.”

He stepped away, his grin shrinking as he looked around. His eyes fixated somewhere behind me.

“You’re no fun. What is it you’re trying to do, anyway?”

I shrugged, bracing for another wave of ridicule. At this point, I was eager to get back home and hide in my bedroom, but that was out of the question. I had to try, at least . The rest of my life depended on it.

“Get to the library,” I said in a small voice, taking off my sunglasses to rub my eyes. “I realize it’s not something I should have difficulty with, so yeah. Let’s get it over with. Make fun of the spoiled, rich girl who doesn’t even know how to find a public library.”

But he did no such thing. Instead, I was suddenly crushed to his body, his arms tight around me, an armored palm pressing my face to his hard, cold throat.

Behind me, something clicked. Someone just took a photo.