Chapter Twenty-Four
Harper
The next morning I wake early. When I check the clock it says five-eighteen. Did I really suck off Vincent in the hallway last night? How fucking humiliating. After he made those dirty remarks about me and James. How he said he saw us. And then he took me out of the kitchen on purpose, so he could fuck my mouth in the hall.
I’m filled with rage. And shame. And regret.
Jesus Christ. I might as well just be with him since I just fucked everything up with James. I highly doubt he’s the forgiving type. Good God, for all I know he’ll kill me for what I did last night.
Insane, they say.
I mean, yeah, I can certainly see it. You have to be insane to kill people like that. And the whole prisoner-of-war thing. Vincent gave me a lot of information last night. A lot of bad information about James. He wants me to hate James. At the very least, he wants me to fear James.
And I do fear James. I do. I fear that he will find out what I did last night and never want me again. I fear that he’s dead somewhere. That the Company got to him and killed him before he could come back to me.
I fear that I’ve made a mistake that will change my life forever. A mistake that can’t be undone.
And Vincent’s confession about Nicola. If he’s been as forthcoming with her about how she ended up as Number Two as he was with me, well, I can imagine she hates James. In fact, I can’t think of a single person alive who doesn’t hate James aside from me.
My heart sinks. My life feels like it’s over. I hate this Company. I hate this house. I want to go back to the desert and fuck in the heat. I want the Hummer. And Sasha.
That makes me cry.
Sasha is dead. And no amount of wanting will bring her back.
And now I come full-circle, thinking James is the devil. An evil demon who kills on command. Because he shot a little girl in cold blood.
I need to get out of here.
I throw the covers off me, put my clothes back on from yesterday, and then head downstairs to the kitchen. It’s still dark outside, but I can feel the dawn creeping up over the horizon when I look out the eastern windows.
There’s a light on in the kitchen and the sounds of someone doing dishes.
We forgot to clean up our mess last night. We never even finished our waffle. I walk into the kitchen expecting to see the maid, and then stop dead when it’s Vincent placing the dishes in the sink.
He looks at me and smiles. I can’t manage one myself.
“Someone got hungry last night.” He shoots me a good-natured grin and I stop in my tracks.
“What?”
“This,” he says, pointing to the mess. “If I knew you were a cook, I’d have asked for something special already.’
“What?” I can’t breathe.
“Are you OK, Harper?” He turns to look at me for a moment. “I’m sorry I never showed for dinner. I just didn’t feel well and ended up going to bed early. But it’s OK,” he says, fanning his hand at the flour and eggs that were left out on the counter. “This is your home too. So help yourself if you get hungry. You don’t have to wait for me to feed you.”
I can’t breathe.
“So what did you do last night?” He turns the water on and lets it run in the bowl that’s still half full of unused batter. “Besides make a mess in the kitchen?” He smiles at me over his shoulder.
“What time did you go to bed?”
“I was so sick. It must’ve been the seafood I had at lunch yesterday. It’s a good thing I didn’t bring you along or we’d both have been sick last night.”
Is he joking?
“You look tired, baby. You should go back to bed. People won’t be arriving until tonight.”
“What?” Oh my God, it’s like I’m in an alternate universe.
“Harper,” he laughs. “What’s gotten into you? The party is tomorrow, baby. Nick said he’ll be here tonight. That should make you happy.”
“Nick is gonna be here.” I do a little jump and clap my hands, the weirdness forgotten for a moment. “I can’t wait!”
“That’s better.” And then he walks over and kisses me on the lips like we’re a married couple and we meet in the kitchen every morning before he goes to work so we can talk about our upcoming day.
The weird is back. But Vincent is already walking away. “Be good, Harp.”
And then I’m alone.
I walk quickly back to my room and shut the door as I try to fit the pieces of this puzzle together. Did I imagine last night? No! Surely not. The mess was right there in the kitchen.
Did he forget? Was he so sick that he forgot I sucked his dick in the hallway?
But then the bathroom door creaks as someone pushes it open. “I thought he’d never fucking leave,” the deep voice rumbles and makes my whole body tingle. “I told you. I’m gonna fuck that pretty little pussy and take your ass too.”
I’m too stunned to move, but the man in my room isn’t. He walks towards me like he owns the entire world and stops when he’s close enough to force me to look up to see him properly.
“I told you I’d come back.”
James did say that.
But this isn’t James. I can see the difference in his eyes.
This is Tet.