Page 48 of Her Wicked Knights (Their Hallowed Queen #3)

Colton

I expected we'd be done with Whit's dog and pony show after Audrey was gone, but he texts us to gather and we do, albeit begrudgingly.

I don't like the thought of leaving Marley alone at all, especially after what happened at the funeral, but I want answers... like when's he going to let Marley in on the secret we all share? When is he going to let her know that she belongs to us, whether she wants to or not... that we're fated.

It's funny. Star-crossed lovers sounds so sweet, but the reality that we're all chasing her through multiple lifetimes is somehow more sad than sweet.

We've chased her across time and the veil of life and death, and finally, we've got her in our grasp.

It's hard not to just lead her to get in the truck and bring her here myself, so that we can get things moving.

I'm tired of being away from her; I wouldn't leave her again if I didn't have to.

I won't leave her again. As it is, the only reason I'm not with her is because she said that her and Hadley were going to have a girls' day and that she'd talk to us later.

It was a group text she sent early this morning.

The minute we leave here, I'm going to go make her let us in.

I don't point out how our numbers are dwindling, but we haven't yet gotten rid of the interlopers.

Nick, Carson, and Mark should be going their separate ways soon; they're off at the same college, doing God only knows what.

Not studying, based off how long they've been back here.

Whit hasn't broken it to them yet that they have no claim over Marley or her magic, that he's not about to give her up to them to take what they want.

I'm ready to see the loose ends start to get tied up so we can move on with our lives.

I've got a lot of lost time to make up for, and Marley needs to feel secure after what happened, which is something I'd much rather be doing right now.

.. particularly as the minutes pass and Whit doesn't show.

"I'm missing head from Candy Jones for this." Carson grumbles. "Where the fuck is he?"

"It's probably for the best that you miss that." Mark chuckles. "Last time she gave me head, she was all teeth. I had to choke her to get it through her head that if she bit me one more time, I was going to lose my shit."

I grind my jaw together, still furious with him.

I want to wrap my hands around his throat and choke him just the way he says he did to Candy, so that maybe he'll get it through his head that Marley Lavigne is off limits.

He fucking touched her... made her come apart on his fingers, screaming his name, writhing and moaning for him.

I've never wanted her more than I have since I had to watch her give it up to Mark.

I'm glad he didn't take things all the way with her, but he was inside her, and that's damning enough.

"I'm going to lose my shit if you don't shut the fuck up.

" I roll my eyes to Rev, who's watching me with a smirk on his face, almost like he wants to see me go after Mark.

He's not typically violent, but I know he didn't like watching Marley with Mark any more than I did.

The only one who liked it less than either of us is Tripp, who refused to watch the footage.

But I watched it. I watched it, and I memorized the curve of her lips, her little breaths, the way her mouth moves around a scream.

I've committed her to memory for when I can make her fall apart, and I intend to do it over and over again, until there's nothing left of her but the parts that she'll give over to me willingly.

I don't quite know what the plan is, if we will be rotating custody of her. I suppose we will have to establish a schedule for visitation, deciding whose bed she sleeps in which night.

"Someone needs to get his dick wet." Nick laughs. "Sorry we killed your girlfriend, but there's plenty of pussy out there. You'll find another."

There's no point in telling him that I could care less that we had to kill Audrey. It was justified the moment she volunteered Marley's name as the final sacrifice, and I won't let myself regret doing anything that keeps Marley safe, no matter how cruel it may seem.

"You know that's not what's got him all strung up." Mark smirks, turning to face me. "He's just pissed that the sweet little lady he's been pining over is actually a raging whore who couldn't grind her clit against my palm fast enough."

"Well, you drugged her, so it wasn't exactly consensual." Tripp sets his jaw and crosses his arms, but it's clear that's all he's got to say about it.

"She drugged herself." Mark laughs. "Honestly, it's Audrey who's to blame for that. I don't think she'd have taken it if Audrey hadn't egged her on. God, I love a girl who caves under peer pressure."

"You're fucking disgusting." Rev rolls his eyes, standing and raking his hand through his hair as he paces the aisle of the church.

I catch Tripp's eye just long enough for him to catch the question in my gaze, but Tripp only shakes his head, like he doesn't know what's got Rev so pent up.

I know he hates being here, in this church, particularly after the first time Whit got into his head.

That messed him up more than any of us. I still don't remember what happened, but I know Whit did the same thing to me, that he took control of me like I was a puppet, and that I came back into the forefront of my consciousness with my pants around my ankles and my cock out like it was show and tell.

Thankfully, Rev's seen my cock plenty of times in the locker room already, and Whit didn't seem too interested despite being the one who made me take it out.

Maybe he just likes to watch. I'm not sure if I could blame him if that's it; I certainly liked watching my friends in the locker room at the theme park.

I don't know if I should be embarrassed, but I'm not. It was like being a witness to a private show, like I was there without having to take part in any of it, and it was fucking hot. I wish I'd seen more before we were interrupted.

"Something doesn't feel right." Rev says, turning his attention to Tripp. "I don't know how to explain it..."

Tripp purses his lips together, thoughtful.

It's unfounded, sure. Whit gathers us like his little henchmen and then strolls in late with his music playing acting like he's walking out to a wrestling match or something, but something about this feels different. He's later than usual.

I slip my phone into my hand and navigate to the text thread that she included Tripp, Rev, and I in together.

How's girls day? Ready for some male company yet?

I send the message, but pretty much as soon as I do, a little triangle symbol pops up, saying my message couldn't be delivered.

"What?" Tripp asks, his eyes narrowing on me as I stare at the message, trying to figure out what went wrong. Instead of answering, I switch over to Marley's name and fire off a simple text.

How's it going?

When the message comes back undeliverable again, I hit dial and press the speakerphone, letting it ring through the echoey church just once before it makes a chiming sort of sound, followed by a robotic voice.

"The person you're trying to reach is no longer available."

"No longer available?" Tripp shakes his head and pulls out his phone, presumably to try himself.

I switch to the map, expecting to see the little icon of her positioned on the road we all live on. But when I open it and zoom in, she's not there. And when I zoom out, she's not on the map at all... nowhere.

"What the fuck?"

"Call Hadley." Rev suggests, as Tripp hangs up the phone, shaking his head, too. He calls while I go to the user list and look for Marley's profile, but her location isn't being shared, and her page seems to no longer exist.

Hadley's phone, at least, rings. But that's all it does. It rings and rings, and then it goes to voicemail.

"Call Whit." I tell Mark, looking up so that he knows the instructions are for him. If there's anyone he'll answer for, it will be his own flesh and blood, surely.

To my surprise, Mark doesn't argue. He just pulls out his phone and taps around for a minute before putting the phone to his ear. After a moment, he shakes his head. "Nothing."

"His location isn't on." I say. "Did his phone ring or is his disconnected too?"

"Disconnected." Mark shakes his head. "That makes no sense. He just texted us an hour ago."

"He took her."

"No..." Tripp shakes his head. "She wouldn't have gone anywhere with him. She doesn't even know him, really?"

I scrub a hand over my face, trying to think clearly for a moment.

All my thoughts are screaming in my head, and none of them as loudly as the revelation that he fucking took her.

There's no way it's a coincidence that her phone is suddenly disconnected at the same time his is.

He took Marley for himself, and she's gone.

But as I look out at the others, I realize there's someone else missing.

"Where's Jake?"

Nick cranes his head, like he expects that if he just looks, Jake will appear.

But now that it's crossed my mind, I realize I haven't seen him at all.

And it would have been pretty obvious if he was here, considering that I beat him to a fucking pulp yesterday.

It's very possible he's not here because he can't open his eyes from all the swelling, but if there's a chance he did anything to her, I have to consider it.

"I'll fucking kill him..." Rev warns, suddenly not so scared of killing anymore. "If he hurt her..."

Tripp's already calling him. I expect his phone, too, will go to voicemail or say disconnected. Instead, he answers on the fourth ring, his voice thick with confusion and what I imagine is pain.

"Where's Marley?"

"What?" Jake asks, and then he's silent for a moment as he waits for us to answer his question.