Blackbird (Redemption 1)

I turned, my hesitation apparent in every slow, calculated move of my body.

An older man I had never seen before walked toward me nearly as slowly as I had turned. Something about him seemed familiar, but I couldn’t place it until he was sitting on the edge of my bed. Although his were a pale blue, his eyes had that same cold and terrifying look as the devil’s. His expression suggested he had all the time in the world.

I scooted away from him and pulled the comforter tighter to my body. My skin crawled when he smiled wickedly at my actions.

After long moments of staring at each other, he finally dipped his head to the side. “Truly, you don’t need to fear me. I am only here to see how you are—to check on your progression.” His proper British accent surprised me, and somehow, made him more terrifying. When I still didn’t respond to him, he said, “I can only assume from your expression that Lucas has warned you about me.”

I couldn’t hide my shock or confusion.

Who was Lucas? Was he the devil? And who was the man in front of me that someone as terrible as the devil would warn me about him?

The man gave me a once-over that chilled me to my bones even though I was mostly hidden from his sight. “Your new hair color becomes you, even more so than the original. Lucas made a great choice.”

I was now certain that Lucas was the man who’d bought me, and I rolled his name around in my mind a few times as I thought of him. Devil suited him so much better.

“How do you know?”

“Ah, you do speak.” The man laughed. Something about the sound pushed ice through my veins. “How do I know what?”

“That it looks better than the original.”

“I was here when you had your spell with dehydration.”

/> I didn’t know if I believed him. Everything about him made me not want to trust him, made me not want to be in the room alone with him—but that might have been because he was perfectly comfortable sitting there when it was obvious I was naked under the comforter. “Are you a doctor?” I finally asked.

“No, darling. I’m Lucas’s mentor. My name is William, in case I forgot to mention that before.”

I nodded because I didn’t know what to say and looked around the bedroom until my restless gaze landed on the closed door. I waited, silently pleading for the devil to walk through there.

It surprised me, and I hated that I wanted him there at all, but I would rather the devil than the man sitting on the edge of my bed. And despite the evil that radiated from Lucas and the fear that had so often filled me in his presence, I somehow knew he would keep me safe from William.

“Where is Lucas?”

William’s lips pulled into a sinister grin when he answered. “Work.”

Chapter 14

Day 21 with Briar

Lucas

I straightened my already straight tie, and messed with the cufflinks on my shirt as I watched the city pass by me. The scowl on my face deepened with every mile traveled.

I had a home office for a reason. All the men in this world did. For the first two months, none of us were expected to leave our new girls. I could do everything I do at the office at my house—including this meeting I was supposedly needed for.

My eyes rolled when my phone rang, showing one of the partners’ names on the screen. I lifted it to my ear, and didn’t bother with a greeting. “I should be there in fifteen.”

“Where?”

“The office for the board meeting.”

There was a pause before he said hesitantly, “There are no meetings today. Aren’t you working from home anyway? I was just calling to get your opinion on—”

“No meeting?”

“No . . .”

I thought for only a second before I hissed a curse as my stomach dropped. “Is William in?”