Hannah doesn’t stop until we are in the drawing room, it’s empty. She releases my hand and creeps back over to the door, closing it gently.
“Okay Hannah, you have to tell me what’s happening.”
She nods and moves away from the door. The white cone-shaped skirt whooshes as she walks quickly to me.
“We all got a warning about keeping our hands to ourselves.”
Dread starts to weave its way along the base of my spine.
“Everyone knows that Vicky hurt you and that now she’s gone.” Tears blur Hannah’s eyes.
I felt terrible “It’s okay, I’m sure she will still find someone.”
Hannah shakes her head, a few red curls coming loose. “It’s not that. She will be punished.”
Ice enters my veins and grips my breath. “Punished?” I whisper. I don’t want to know, but I also need to know. Look what he did to me when I spoke to Alex, what would he do to Vicky? My legs feel weak and I reach behind me, seeking out a chair and I slowly sit down.
“Yes, they said she was being punished. What if they kill her?”
A laugh bubbles up my throat. “Okay, now your imagination has gone wild.” I’m standing, shaking my head. “I’ll find out.”
Hannah grips my arm. “NO! Please, I don’t want to see you hurt.” The fear in her eyes is real and my heart starts to pick up pace.
“You’re talking about murder?”
“I know it sounds insane.”
“It really does, Hannah.” I am finding this conversation is growing wings and flying away with itself. I need to find out what happened to Vicky.
“Do you know something?” The fear in her eyes is growing, expanding and passing onto me.
“No. It’s just some of the girls think Lucas might have killed her.”
Now I’m laughing, but Hannah continues to stare at me.
Is Lucas capable of murder? He wouldn’t hurt her over a slap. This didn’t make sense.
I walk away from Hannah even as she calls me back. But I need to know. It’s a fire that’s started to spark inside me and I don’t want it to rage. I need the truth, but I need to be careful too.
Mark walks out of the dining room, his eyes meet mine and I force a half smile.
“I’m looking for Master Lucas.”
One eyebrow rises slightly, but the surprise is short lived. “He is in his study.”
I shrug. “Where is that?”
Mark continues to stare at me, I don’t know what he’s thinking, maybe debating whether to take me or not but he makes his mind up. “Follow me Miss O’ Leary.”
Mark takes me towards the back of the house. The noise grows further away and I twist my hands nervously.
When Mark stops I nearly walk into his back, stopping myself at the last second. He glances at me over his shoulder before he knocks three times in quick succession on the door.
“What?” A growl from Lucas has me shuffling.
This is a bad idea.
“Maybe this isn’t the best time,” I say to Mark just as the door opens.
Lucas glares at Mark before his eyes pin me to the floor.
“Maybe this isn’t a good time,” I say. He’s holding a cloth to his bloody nose. His black clothes look like he’s just been in a scuffle. He looks brooding and dark as he fills the door frame. I just want to run.
“You have already disturbed me, so come in.” He opens the door fully.
Mark steps aside to let me into the lion’s cage. I inhale a deep breath asking God to give me the courage, as I step into Lucas’s study.
I’m waiting for the door to slam, but he closes it surprisingly gently behind me. The room shrinks and my hands grow damp as he walks past me and sits down in a large leather chair behind a mahogany desk.
“I can come back another time,” I stutter.
He takes the rag away from his face, blood still leaks from his nose. “Just spit it out Ella.”
He’s angry. I got him at a really bad time. He’s staring at me like if I don’t speak soon he will get up and shake it out of me.
I force myself to stand tall. “Where is Vicky?” I hold my hands in front of me now. Hoping I look confident and calm. Like I’m not ready to run from the room.
“That’s why you are here?” He pushes the rag back up to his nose to catch some more blood.
My mind scatters and I feel like I’m on the ground trying to pick it up. “What other reason would I be here?”
“I thought maybe you came to apologize.” He removes the rag and allows me to see his lips curling up into a smirk.
I fold my arms across my chest. “Apologize for what?”
He places the rag on the table and stands.
My stomach dips.
“For being so rude last night.”
Heat travels up my neck. The kiss. The almost kiss. My heart rate skyrockets. Was he talking about that? Did he even care? Was this just a mind game?
“I don’t think I was rude.” I had so much more to add, but I am still treading carefully. He’s like a bomb ready to explode and I don’t want to be the one to set him off.
“Yes you were,” he says it so matter of a factly.
I bite my tongue.
He walks around the table with a grin. “I see your struggle. You can’t help yourself. You always have something to say back.”
I unfold my arms from my chest, not knowing what to do with my hands as he continues to walk towards me. Fresh blood gathers under his nose. The scarlet liquid I can’t look away from.
“What happened to your nose?” I ask without thinking.
He touches it and his fingers come away with blood on them. His eyes flicker to his fingers. I inhale sharply as he puts his fingers in his mouth and sucks off the blood.
His smile widens at my reaction, there is blood on his lips.
“Did Vicky do that?” I ask, thinking maybe she fought back.
“You think I fought with Vicky?”
“I don’t know, did you?” I swallow around the lump in my throat as Lucas eradicates the distance between us. I can’t look away from his bloodstained lips.
“You still have to be punished for speaking to Alex.”
My eyes skip to his. There are specks of brown floating amongst the mass of ink. They are barely surviving in the pool of black. But they are there.
His eyes snap to my lips and my tongue flicks out and wets them. I’m frozen as he lowers his head to me. He’s so much taller, so much bigger, and I’m just consumed with Lucas. His soft full lips touch mine and it’s a bolt of lightning through my system. My hands automatically go to his chest and I have no idea if I want to pull him closer or push him away.
He pauses, his lips on mine and I have no idea what he’s waiting for. I know I should stop this but my body leans in towards him. He is giving me the opportunity to stop this. With every ounce of strength I possess I move my face away from his. My heart beats wildly in my chest and I have no doubt he hears it.
I release his shoulders and take a step back. His eyes bore into mine.
My nerves are jangled. “Are we even now?”
The brown in his eyes has no chance as the darkness closes around them and distinguishes the small amount of light. Once again I want to reach for my words, take them back and shove them down my throat.