Page 99 of Her Dark Lies

“It’s okay, boy. I won’t hurt her. Claire? What happened. Are you okay? Will you call off Romulus?”

“Malcolm’s dead,” she says flatly.

“Malcolm?”

“He attacked me. In the labyrinth. I was looking for Harper, I think she’s gone missing. She posted a weird photo on her Instagram and sent me strange texts, wanting me to meet her. But Malcolm...”

“Harper’s not missing. She’s upstairs, with my parents. What do you mean, Malcolm attacked you?”

She shows him the pale underside of her arm, already marked with a livid bruise. “He tried to take me to the cottages. Called me a stupid bitch. We fought. The dogs attacked him. I pushed him away, and he tripped. What do you mean, she’s upstairs?” Romulus is still growling, lips pulled back from his teeth. “It’s okay,” she says quietly, touching his head. “Jack’s on our side.” The dog stops, but sits at attention.

“Harper is safe, Claire. I promise.” His mind is roaring. “Was Gideon with Malcolm? Or were the two of you alone?”

“Just us. Why would he try to hurt me, Jack?”

“I don’t know. I need to go...see. Can you stay here? Will you be okay for a few minutes?”

She nods, and he takes her into the library. Jack grabs a chenille throw from the back of the nearest sofa and wraps her in it. He moves her toward the fireplace, pulls a chair closer, gets her gently settled. He puts another throw over her legs, and Romulus lays at her feet, still on alert.

“Good boy. Claire, I’ll be right back. Promise. Just stay here.”

He hears someone speaking in the hall, and Will Compton comes into the library.

“What’s going on here?” he says with a wink. “Hello, Claire.” Will takes Claire’s frozen hand and plants a chivalrous kiss on her knuckles. Jack relaxes a fraction. Will seems to be himself, even going so far as to remember Claire from their first meeting. What a damn relief.

“Jackson. How fortuitous that I’ve found you. Your mother just told me we’re moving up the wedding.”

Claire stirs from her nest. “What’s this? What did he say?”

“Mom thought, in light of everything, we should go ahead with the ceremony instead of the rehearsal.”

“Jack, no. We can’t. Not now.”

“Why not?” Will asks.

“Because people are dying around us! We need to get the hell off this island, that’s what we need to do.”

Jack can hear the anger building in her voice. So can Will. He drops to the sofa next to her and reaches for her hand again.

“Jackson, you go do what you need to do. Claire and I will chat a little.” When he hesitates, Will says softly, “Go. We’ll be fine. Petra is bringing up some tea. I wanted to spend some time by the fire—these rains make my bones hurt. Go on. We’re fine.”

Claire nods her assent. Her face is blank with shock. Jack has to take the risk that she will be safe with Will; he seems completely lucid, and Romulus is parked next to her, worshiping at her feet.

“Okay. It’s all going to be okay, darling. I’ll be right back.”

Jack calls Gideon as he leaves the library. No answer. Where the hell is the man?

Gideon must still be handling the situation with Henna. The guards had been split up when Jack assigned Malcolm to guard Claire’s every move.

Malcolm. The bastard. How dare he hurt Claire? He deserves to be dead.

The wind is whipping hard when he steps outside. Rain lashes his face. He puts an arm back inside and grabs an umbrella, but the wind is so intense it makes the rain blow sideways, so there’s no point. Instead, he uses his arm to shelter his face and heads into the labyrinth.

He finds the gory scene after only a minute. The rain has washed away much of the blood, but Malcolm’s sightless eyes are already clouded. The stake emerges from his throat like a pike.

Why would Malcolm turn on him like this? Why would he try to hurt Claire? And how many more have to die until Jack gets the message?

He’s gotten it now. His life is fucking cursed. He thought, prayed, that he was going to be allowed the grace to start over. To be happy. But the universe clearly doesn’t want that for him.