Beware, p.18
Beware, page 18
“Amachon tells the same stories.”
Joel nodded. “I’ve talked with him already.”
“Have you found any information about who might be dealing it?”
“That’s just it. They don’t charge for it ever.”
Molly snorted. “Figures. This drug only affects Tainted.”
“Really?”
“Malek and I, the other night, went to speak with Faye’s old dealer—”
“Current dealer.”
Molly’s lips parted in surprise. “What do you mean current dealer?”
Joel narrowed one eye at her. “She still buys heroin, all the time.”
“She doesn’t take it.” Molly’s heart raced at the though Faye might be still taking drugs and she had no idea it was happening. But that didn’t make any sense at all. Faye, while good at hiding her intoxication, wasn’t perfect at it. This new drug proved that.
“She buys it for the troll.”
“Oh.” Molly pressed her lips hard together and refused to look at Joel. She’d visited the troll several times over the years when she needed information or suspected him of something, but she had no desire to visit him ever again. Faye, however, seemed to be best friends with him, even before she’d crash landed in Molly’s maple tree four years before.
“You didn’t know?”
“I knew she visited with him.”
“She gives it to him to ease his pain. That prison he’s in is a torture device.”
Molly clenched her jaw, pressing her tongue to the roof of her mouth. She wasn’t going to say anything. Joel did not need to know, and if he hadn’t figured it out already like Faye had, she wasn’t going to be the one to break the news.
“I can’t imagine anything he did to deserve to be put in that thing. You know I asked Faye once why he was there and she said she had no idea.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Molly muttered. “Would you mind warming my tea? Amachon brought it up when he visited earlier.”
Joel stood up and took her cup from her nightstand and walked toward the dresser where the tea tray was. “I figured Faye of all people would know. They’re like best of friends.”
Molly glanced at her tablet, hoping for something to change the topic to. “You were talking about the fallout from the drugs.”
“Right, I was.” He came back with a fresh cup of tea and handed it over. He took up his vacated spot on the edge of her mattress.
Wrapping her hands around the cup, Molly let the warmth seep into her skin. “What did you find out about a dealer?”
“Nothing. They just give it away.”
“Who is they?”
Joel shrugged. “No idea. I think normally the dealer also ends up dead in the entire exchange of everything.”
“We need to find out not only who is dealing this to the second level dealers, but we need to find out who is making this drug.” Molly took a sip of the hot tea, thankful for its warmth. She refused to look up at Joel again. If she did, she worried he’d be able to see what she was hiding. It was hard enough to keep things from him.
“What’s got you so anxious?”
Cursing inwardly, Molly set her cup on the nightstand and crossed her arms. “I’m not anxious, Joel. I’m simply tired.”
“No, this is anxiety, which is very rare for you.”
Molly held the silence. She didn’t want to answer him, didn’t feel she needed to. It was none of his business. She tried to relax her muscles, focus on what they were originally discussing, take her mind off what she was hiding. That was the best way to keep him on his toes and away from what she wanted to keep hidden.
Joel was about to speak when he froze. His jaw dropped and then closed. His chest rose and fell rapidly. Molly panicked. She was had. She knew it. Joel stood up from the bed, his arms at his sides and his hands in fists.
“You didn’t.”
“I did nothing wrong.”
“You. You are the one who put him there.”
Growling, Molly tried to get up, but a wave of dizziness forced her to stay put. “I did nothing wrong, Joel. The punishment was justified.”
“What the hell can justify a torture prison for three decades, Molly? Tell me that? Did he commit genocide?”
“Not yet,” she muttered.
“Did start a war?”
“Attempt may be a better phrase.” Molly closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. “It was justified, Joel. Leave it at that.”
“No! You don’t do this. You are fair and even-keeled. You might push ethical boundaries, but you don’t do this. This wasn’t because he did anything except piss you off. This was pure revenge.”
“He killed her!” Molly’s voice reverberated in the room, booming through his panicked accusations. “That was enough for me.”
Joel stared at her, wide-eyed, like he’d never seen her before. Panic hit Molly. Her grasp on him slipped. Everything he had seen of her in the last few years, this was the final straw that could break everything they had built up together.
“Who did he kill?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Molly clammed up. She couldn’t force herself to say her name, to even think it in this situation was to taint her memory.
“Who, Molly?”
Shaking her head, she glared. “It doesn’t matter. It was justified.”
“For killing one person he has been tortured for thirty years? Not justified, and you know it. That’s what makes this so much worse. You know he doesn’t deserve it.”
“Get out.” Molly’s voice was low, a dark edge in it.
“What?” Joel sounded shocked.
“Get out, Joel.”
She knew she shocked him. There was no getting around it, but she had to get away from the conversation. She had to step back, collect her thoughts, figure out what she was going to tell him. He had been a child when she’d put the troll in his prison, and honestly, it was none of his business.
“Now.”
At her final word, Joel spun on his toes and stalked to the door, slamming it shut behind him. Molly released a breath she’d held pent up and closed her eyes. That had been near a disaster, and she’d almost lost everything she had built up with him. She still might. A tear slipped from the corner of her eye, and she brushed it away angrily. She would not cry anymore because of the pain he had caused. She’d done what she’d needed to do all those years ago, and she hadn’t regretted it once.
Molly moved to sit on the edge of the bed, gripping the fabric of the sheets tightly between her fingers. As much as she tried to hold it back, the tears were going to come. They were going to spill over her cheeks, and there was nothing she could do about it. Her breathing quickened. Her eyes stung. Reaching for her tea, she flung it across the room with a scream, listening as it shattered against the wall. Every precious ounce of control Molly had been so careful to build up over the years vanished in an instant. It always did when Pearl was involved.
When the door opened, Molly’s magic unleashed from her fingers. She flung her hand out, slamming it and whoever it was against the wall, invisible fingers tightening around her victim’s neck. She didn’t dare open her eyes. She knew it wasn’t Joel. He wouldn’t come back so soon.
When she heard the sharp gasp for breath, Molly glanced up. Faye’s slate-gray eyes stared stoically at her. Releasing her magic, Faye dropped to the ground, coughing and sputtering as she tried to regain her breath. Finally kneeling on the floor, Faye made eye contact with Molly.
“If I knew you wanted that, all you had to do was prepare me a little.”
Without another word, Faye surged forward. Her superior speed meant she was in front of Molly before she could even think about speaking. Faye knocked her back onto the bed with a hand wrapped around Molly’s neck and lips pressed hard to Molly’s mouth.
This. This was exactly what she needed.
Molly surged up, shoving Faye onto her back. Straddling Faye, Molly continued the bruising kiss, adding in nips that threatened to break skin. Roughly she grabbed Faye’s breast and gave a hard squeeze that she knew would hurt. Faye gasped again, this time a mix of pleasure and pain.
“You better make this good,” Molly ordered.
“Wanting to forget something?”
“Shut your mouth.”
“Shut it, or use it?” Faye bucked her hips, knocking Molly to the floor with a thud.
The air rushed from Molly’s lungs, and Faye was on top of her as she caught her bearings. Faye’s nails were long as she ripped through the fabric of Molly’s clothes, tearing them off. With her breasts bared, Faye’s long teeth sunk into the flesh. Molly’s back arched as a moan escaped her throat. She dug her fingers into Faye’s damp hair, holding Faye’s head to her body.
Her magic came unbidden as it flashed from her into Faye. The connection made, she let it simmer in the background as she coaxed Faye away from her body. “Don’t stop there.”
Faye grunted, her long black nails scraping down Molly’s side and leaving bloody welts in their wake. “Need to take your mind off something, Molly?”
Molly swallowed, trying to hold back the scream of pleasure building. She did not want to let Faye in on what she and Joel had been discussing. No good would come of that. She’d known Faye had been aware that she was the cause of the troll’s imprisonment, but they’d never discussed it further.
Breathing heavily, Molly licked her lips and reached down to smear the blood Faye had so graciously not lapped up against her skin and against Faye’s cheek. Every second they stayed connected, her power grew that much faster. Faye knew it. It was why she’d shown up, and Molly had been expecting her as soon as Amachon had told her she’d escaped.
“What is it, Molly?”
Not answering, Molly pushed Faye off her and leaned up. “I’m not here to talk.”
“What if I am?” Faye eyed her suspiciously.
“You’ve never been a talker.”
“Is that your polite way of tell me to shut it and shove it?”
Molly didn’t have time to answer as two of Faye’s fingers pushed inside her. Molly’s body clenched against the intrusion, but she relaxed after a moment, and shifted to give Faye better and easier access. “Make it good.”
“Don’t I always?” Faye’s arm moved rapidly and forcefully.
Molly wrapped her arms around Faye’s shoulders, digging her nails into her scalp and dragging them against the tender flesh. Rocking her hips to each of Faye’s thrusts, Molly closed her eyes. Faye’s nails and teeth dug into her wherever they could reach, little pinpricks of pain and pleasure all mixed in together. Each of her senses was overwhelmed as Faye held her in place, forcing her body to react exactly how she wanted it.
When she crested over her orgasm, Molly moaned, her lips against Faye’s ear. Reaching between her legs, she ripped Faye’s hand from her body, heaving breaths as she tried to center on what they were doing and what needed to happen next.
“Faye…” her voice broke.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s not the point.”
“But I want to.”
“Not right now. Wanna tell me what got you in such a tizzy?”
Grunting, Molly pressed her forehead into Faye’s shoulder and closed her eyes to shake her head. “No, not really.”
“I saw Joel leaving. He looked pretty upset.”
“He is.”
“What about?”
Molly kissed Faye’s shoulder, then the hot skin at her neck. Maybe she could still distract her if she tried hard enough. She had the energy now that Faye had given her what she truly needed. Nipping at Faye’s skin, Molly pressed her hips into Faye’s body. “Did you help Malek yet?”
“No.”
The vehemence in Faye’s voice surprised her. Molly pulled away, staring down into those slate-gray eyes she had come to love over again. “Are you going to?”
Faye scrunched her nose. “No.”
“Faye, you should help him. You know you can.”
“Can we not talk about me fucking a man while my fingers are still sticky from you?”
Molly bent her neck and pressed their mouths together, tangling their tongues. She pushed Faye to the ground, covering her body, ready to give Faye as much as she had received if not more. Faye pushed at her shoulder and tilted Molly’s body to the side.
“I said that was enough.”
Masking the pout she wanted to give, Molly turned onto her back and stared at the ceiling. If Faye was done, they were done for the night. Her skin cooled from Faye’s heated touches, her nipples hardening as a reaction. Faye pushed up on her elbow, tracing one thin long black nail against her skin, which sent shivers through all of her nerves and goosebumps along her skin.
“Malek—”
“Not now, Molly. What did you say to Joel?”
“Nothing.”
“Fine, what does Joel think you said?”
Sighing, Molly closed her eyes. “He made a connection I’m surprised he hasn’t made prior.”
“Connection to what?”
Molly stared Faye straight in the eye. “The troll under the bridge is there because I put him in the prison.”
“I know. Want to tell me why?”
“No.” Molly pushed to sit up and then stand. Stalking to her closet, she grabbed a robe and slid it over her shoulders. If Faye wasn’t going to let her reciprocate, then she was done with the conversation.
“I have ways to find out.”
“Then use them.” Molly glared. Two of them attacking her on this in one night was nearly too much. She wouldn’t be able to hold her tongue much longer, especially with the migraine still lingering. Though that should be vanishing soon enough thanks to Faye.
Faye stood and followed Molly, still perfectly dressed in her tight jeans and low cut black tank. Molly longed to touch, to distract, to strengthen the bond they still shared. She was loath to give it up and break it until she had to.
“I don’t want to bite Malek.”
“Then don’t.” Molly threw her hand up. “It’s your choice, but it would be a nice thanks for what he did for you.”
“He didn’t do much if I recall.”
Molly stilled. “You recall? Do you remember? Because he’s the one who found you.”
“I’m aware, and aside from bringing me back here, he didn’t do much. I don’t know what you think he did or didn’t do, Molly, but the magical effort to cleanse my blood was far more you than him. Think about it.”
“I already know.”
“Then why would you suggest it.”
“Because that is the purpose of using sex to get answers, is it not? He did something for you, you must do something for him. Create that trust and that bond.” Molly stepped in closer to Faye, taking her hand gently. “You can do this.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Since when as that ever stopped you.”
“Fair.”
Molly carded her fingers against Faye’s cheek before cupping the side of her face and pull her in for a kiss. “I’ll tell you someday. I promise, but please, not today.”
“I’ll hold you to that.” Faye kissed her hard. “Guess I’m being sent on my way.”
Laughing, Molly pinched Faye’s ass and gave her a tap. “On your way then.”
“I could bring him up here.”
“You could, but I think this is something you need to do. Malek trusts me. He’s trying to earn mine. He needs to know you trust him.”
“I get it, Molly. Go fuck the other witch and leave this one alone for a bit.”
“You always have such a way with words.”
Faye raised an eyebrow at her before leaving the room and Molly alone. Sitting at her desk, Molly pulled open the drawer in the center, lifted the papers on top and slid out the picture. She smiled down at it, good memories finally flooding into her mind. It was all worth it, and she still maintained, it was justified.
Chapter Twenty-One
After Faye had left her room, Molly couldn’t settle. Her bare feet padded across the floor as she paced back and forth, caught between her rage for her conversation with Joel and Faye, her desire to keep everything hidden, and guilt. For the first time in three decades, Molly felt a tinge of guilt tickling at the back of her heart.
Perhaps Joel had been right. Thirty years ago she had overreacted and done something she perhaps shouldn’t have and Lamek had suffered the consequences since. Cursing, she pulled off her robe and slipped into her favorite green dress. Joel had no idea what he was talking about and regret was not something Molly allowed herself.
The four inch heels Molly put on were perfect for what she needed, a distraction. With Faye’s help, she was feeling much better than hours before. Futzing with her hair and putting on a new layer of makeup, Molly stepped out of her bedroom for the first time in days. The halls felt so familiar yet so different.
Everything crumbled around her. Molly pressed her hand to the wall of the house, the house she had built from the ground up so many years before. Tears stung at her eyes. It was as though the house was living around her, that she could do nothing but feel the pulse beat beneath her fingers.
The house had been with her through thick and thin, through so much. Molly smiled and stepped away. She took the elevator down to the third floor and stepped out to find Amachon staring at her. The tears once again came unbidden, only this time she couldn’t hide them. And she didn’t need to.
Wrapping her arms around Amachon’s middle without warning, she burred her face in his chest. Amachon hesitated to put his arms around her, but eventually he hugged her back, dragging his large hand up and down her back. She melted into him.
“What is this about?” he asked slowly after a few minutes.
Molly shook her head into his chest, then drew in a deep breath. “Joel brought something up.”
“What?”
Sighing, Molly pulled back and wiped her eyes. “Pearl.”
Amachon grunted and stepped away. “You haven’t spoken of your sister since she died.”
Whimpering, Molly shook her head. “I haven’t had cause to think of her.”
