Page 87 of Revere

“I’m going to run to the bathroom really quick while you do that.”

“Don’t even think about making yourself come without me,” he warns.

I wasn’t planning on it, but since he’s spent the night torturing me, I decide to be difficult. “We’ll see.”

“You’re going to pay for that later, baby.”

I’m counting on it.

Sliding out of the booth, I head toward the bathroom as the waitress circles back to our table. She smiles widely at Jacob, like she’s been doing all night. And he must catch me burning an irritated glare into the back of her head because he meets my gaze across the restaurant and winks at me right before I turn the corner to the bathroom.

I’m underdressed for this fancy of a restaurant. If I were at home, Mom would scold me for wearing jeans, but Jacobinsisted I be comfortable. He’s always looking out for me in small ways.

When I started staying at his apartment, he unpacked all my bags so I wouldn’t feel like a guest. He stocks the fridge with my favorite foods. He always seems to know what I need before I ask for anything. He takes care of me.

A bulb flickers when I walk into the bathroom, but other than that, it’s nice. Marble floors reflect in the large, gold-framed mirrors. I pat my long braid, trying to smooth the flyaways at the sides of my rosy cheeks.

There’s no hiding how I feel for this man when it’s written all over my face. And soon, I’ll be leaving him to return to Bristal.

My heart sinks at the thought, but I do my best to push it aside. I’m not wasting what little time we have left with each other.

With a final coat of lip gloss, I roll my shoulders back and step out of the bathroom. The long hallway is dim, with a line of gold sconces illuminating the path. I glance in one direction and see a red-haired man leaning against the wall. He gives me a quick once-over that sends a chill down my spine, so I decide to try the opposite direction and hope that leads back to the restaurant as well. But the moment I move that way, another man turns the corner. He wipes his blond hair off his forehead and grins at me.

Alex warned me to be careful after everything that happened with my father, but I wanted to think I was far enough away from Bristal that it wouldn’t be an issue. That I’d be lucky, and my father’s enemies wouldn’t find me here.

Looking both directions, I see I’m cornered. There’s no way out, and the red-haired man has moved too far for me to try and lock myself in the bathroom.

“I see it now.” The blond grins, just as the other man closes in behind me. “You would distract me too.”

I have no idea what he’s talking about, and I don’t get the chance to consider what his words mean. One of them grabs my arms as the other presses a cloth to my mouth. And then, there’s nothing but darkness.

Cold, empty, nothing.

30

BITE OF THE SNAKE

PATIENCE

Through the dark fog,I swear I smell apples.

Something sweet and tempting.

Red and ripe.

The fruit of the vine.

It reminds me of Jacob’s cologne, which is fitting. My greatest sin. My first real taste of disobedience.

I never understood Eve’s fall. How one bite could be worth all that destruction.

Not until I met him.

An ache in my wrists cuts through the fog in my mind. Darkness fades, and my eyelashes flutter. My shoulders ache from how my arms are stretched, but when I try to tug, something metal digs into my wrist. Two links in a chain grind together, pinching my skin.

The sting of iron grinding against flesh has me snapping my eyes open. Overhead, I see my wrists bound to a metal bedframe. My feet are free, but there’s nothing within reach besides a crumpled blanket on the mattress.

The room is dark and cool, like it’s underground. The walls and floor are solid cement. It reeks of urine and vomit, which might be from the bucket beside the bed or the soiled mattress.