Lily
Harrison shook his head in frustration when I glared at him over my morning coffee. He’d had me up at the crack of dawn when my house had been invaded by his tech team as they searched every inch of my house for hidden cameras. So far, they’d found four concealed devices in various spots around my home.
The fact that I’d been watched for so long, and that I’d had no idea about it, sickened me. Whoever was doing this had smashed every bit of security I’d had in my own house.
“You know you can’t stay here, Lily!”
“But I can’t live from hotel to hotel, Harrison. I can’t. I’ve done that for the last six months; it near off killed me.”
He scoffed. “Is that because you couldn’t fuck yourself up on a whim?”
“Fuck you, you arsehole!”
He’d woken as grumpy as I had, and I had a feeling it was something to with my question the previous night. Or, maybe, it could have just been the fact that whoever it was that wanted to kill me had just upped his game. Whatever it was that had upset him, the bitterness in him was back in full force. I wasn’t sure if I was glad or saddened by that. The fact that he’d become a lot closer than I liked unsettled me. Harrison seemed to think he had a right to discipline me, to tell me what I could and couldn’t do. My scars were mine, and, really, they were the only thing I truly controlled in the madness of my mind.
He sat in a chair opposite me, the plate of toast he’d prepared lying cold and limp in the middle of the table between us. His posture was stiff, and his expression was stony as he scowled at me. I couldn’t understand what I’d done wrong. However, I wasn’t in the mood for his frostiness, I had enough problems to deal with.
“Your captors sent you back after two weeks?”
His question caught me off-guard and I blinked in surprise. “Umm, yes.”
“Your parents paid the ransom, and they just sent you back?” He appeared stupefied by that fact and that confused me.
“Why are you surprised? All they wanted, in the end, was money. Mum and Dad paid what they asked for, they blindfolded me and dumped me by St Mayer’s hospital. The police never found anything further to go on after that.”
“Bullshit.” His voice was quiet, as though he was talking to himself, his brow creased with scepticism.
“I’m not lying to you, Harrison!”
Shaking his head, he twisted his lips in thought. “No, I know. It’s not that.” He reached out and started fiddling with the toast, picking at it as his thoughts ran rampant. “Every angle of St Mayer’s is covered by CCTV. There is no way they didn’t find anything from the security footage.”
“You think whoever took me has something to do with what is going on now?”
“I don’t know, but it’s the only thing I have to go on at the moment. I’m praying the tech team can trace the signal link from the cameras.”
A clatter from upstairs made me cringe. I hated the thought of strangers going through my stuff. Still, it wasn’t as disturbing as some weirdo doing the same thing. A shiver rushed through me at the thought of what he’d touched, everything I owned now infected with filth and sickness.
“I can’t stay here, Harrison.”
He sighed heavily and rolled his eyes. “I’ve been telling you that since you were discharged from the hospital, but now because it’s your decision, it’s okay.”
“Do you have to fight with me all the damn time?”
“Do you have to be awkward all the damn time?”
“God,” I snapped through clenched teeth, “Right now, I wish I had some arsenic stocked in the bloody cupboard!”
He snorted. “Right now, I wish I had some chloroform and a rag in my pocket. It’d be a damn sight quieter!”
Snatching up a slice of toast, I tore at it in frustration and returned casually, “Peace is over-rated anyway.”
He reared back in surprise. “What the hell?”
Shrugging, I sedately nibbled more toast, not allowing him to rile me further. “Well, it is. Your mind plays tricks on you in the quiet. Your body becomes lazy when the brain is untroubled.”
From the way he looked at me I could tell he didn’t concur. “Do you know how much I would kill for some peace right now?”
Twisting my lips, I smirked. “Well, you know you can always bugger off without me. At least you’d not have to check your cuppa for a dodgy smell every time you’re in the same room as me.”
“Arsenic is odourless, Lily,” he retorted with a smug grin.
Arsehole.
“I know that!” I fibbed.
“We’re done, Harry,” one of the tech guys said, poking his head around the kitchen door and cutting off Harrison’s smart reply. “Five in total.”
“Cheers, Ron.” Harrison stood and pulled a piece of paper from his pocket as he walked from the room, his conversation with Ron quiet and concealed from my ears.
My phone rang and Mark’s name on the screen made me smile. “Hey.”
“Jesus, Lily. I need to take some lessons from you on how to make the headlines.”
I laughed; his sick humour matched my own. “Well, I believe I have competition now you made the top ten, needed to up my game. Well done on that, by the way.”
“Thank you. But, seriously, are you okay?”
“I’m fine. A little lead in the belly gives me fire.”
“Well, I’m pleased to hear that. Although I recall it was a bullet in your back, not your belly,” he replied with a laugh. “So, you’re healthy enough to take me out to dinner then.”
Trying to suppress the grin on my face, I shook my head in amusement. “There’s an offer a girl can’t refuse. When would you like to be taken out for dinner, Mr Denver?”
“Friday?”
“Sure. I can do Friday.”
“Make sure you forward me the details,” he said before ending the call.
“What can you do on Friday?” Harrison asked from behind me, making me jump.
“Jesus!” I grumbled. “Do you have to sneak up like that?”
He sighed and rolled his eyes. “I didn’t sneak anywhere, I just walked back into the room.” He stared at me, his scowl fierce with irritation. “So, Friday?”
Turning my back on him and clearing the table, I placed the pots in the sink. “I have a date.”
A stifling silence greeted me instead of the raving opposition I expected, and I turned back around. His jaw was clenched as tightly as his fists, his body tense and rigid.
“I’ll make sure I wear the bracelet,” I promised. “I won’t take it off.” I wasn’t sure why I felt the need to ease the worry that was distinctive in the way he stood and glowered, but something inside me cared what he thought and felt. He was always so closed off, any emotion he bared to me a rarity. Whenever his feelings were so naked, I wanted to reach out and touch them just so I could experience more of them.
“I’m not sure it’s a good idea, Lily.”
“You want me to go without it?”
“Not the bracelet!” he snarled. “The fucking date.”
His quick-temper startled me, and I flinched and stepped back.
Seeing the alarm on my face, he bit his lip and closed his eyes to compose himself. “Shit! I’m sorry, Lily. I’m just concerned about this date. I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be alone at the moment.”
“I’m not going to be alone, isn’t that the whole point of being on a date!” I couldn’t keep the anger from my tone. “And if I'm perfectly fucking honest, I’m not sure being around you is any safer than being alone!”
I heard him hiss out a ‘fuck’ just before I slammed the door closed behind me. Jekyll and Hyde was more stable than Harrison bloody Cole, the man needed committing. I thought I had issues, but it was obvious I wasn’t alone on that count.