King for a Day (The King Trilogy #2)(26)
Author: Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

I was still digesting the fact that Vaughn was standing right in front of me. With two arms, no less.

“Yes, Miss Turner, it is your turn.” Vaughn’s eyes sparkled with malicious elation. “Take my head. I dare you.”

I blew out a breath. This was bad. So, so bad. But what could I do? Throw myself at his feet and beg for mercy? Or say I was sorry? Uh-uh. My only option was to try to defend myself. I seemed to recall seeing a few sharp objects in the kitchen area.

“Okay. But let me get you something to numb the pain first.” I headed toward the kitchen.

“Where the f**k do you think you’re going, Miss Turner?” Vaughn asked.

I stilled and slowly turned to face them again. All three were smiling, clearly enjoying watching me squirm. I didn’t want to give them the satisfaction.

“So,” I lifted my chin, “how did they manage to get that arm back on? All those stitches must’ve really hurt.”

Vaughn laughed, amused by it all. He knew he had me trapped. “Oh, no. I like pain. And so will you…Well, you’ll learn to live with it, anyway. At least for the few days I keep you alive while I skin you.”

My stomach turned, and bile crept up my throat. Where was King? Because if he’d been real, now was a really, really good time for him to show up.

Unsure of what else to say, I cleared my throat. “You don’t think that King will let you get away with this—taking his stuff, taking me?”

He looked at Miranda, and they both shrugged. “We are not going to take anything. The Club will.”

“It won’t matter to King. He’ll still come after you.”

“Where he is at,” Vaughn said, “there’s not much he’ll be able to do. The dead do not speak.”

What. Oh no. No… “You killed him?”

“No, no, no.” Vaughn seemed more amused than ever. “We would never harm a gorgeous, silky hair on his beautiful head.”

My heart sank into a deep, dark hole. Was King still alive but they intended to kill him soon? Or have someone kill him? Or did they mean he was dead already? I didn’t know.

No, he can’t be dead. He just came to see you. Or had I been imagining his visits?

Miranda looked at her watch. “Oops. We gotta run. Having breakfast martinis with Talia to calm her down. She was pretty pissed that you ruined that serum, but we’ve assured her you will pay. Oh, and the next time you try to poison someone, you might want to use something odorless.” All three turned toward the door. “See you at seven o’clock. Tah-tah!”

Wait. They’re leaving? Not that I was complaining, but I simply didn’t understand.

“By the way,” Vaughn said, “we have Mack and Arno. If you run, they will be killed when the Club takes over King’s estate.”

Just when I thought the situation couldn’t get any worse, it did. And I felt myself sinking deeper and deeper into a pit of despair. This was all my fault. I should have insisted they run. Why had I thought I could go up against these monsters? I was no match. Not for horrible, evil people like these.

“And if I stay?” I asked, my voice trembling. “Are you going to let Arno and Mack go? Unharmed?”

“Are you trying to make another deal, Miss Turner?” Vaughn coughed up a slimy phlegm ball. “Your word means nothing to me. You’re not a member of the Club.” He headed for the door.

Quick. Say something! “That doesn’t mean you can’t make a deal with me. Tell me what you want.”

Vaughn’s hazy brown eyes narrowed. “I already have what I want. Or I will. And that will include the joy of peeling the skin from your body, Miss Turner. Of hearing you scream. There is nothing else that I want from you.”

“Fine. But I won’t be here when they come for me unless you guarantee that no one will harm Mack or Arno.”

Vaughn walked over and stood a few inches from me. Being near him made my entire body feel like it was being overrun with toxic radiation. “You won’t run, Miss Turner. We both know that heart of yours is much too kind to permit Mack and Arno to take your place.”

“They won’t scream for you,” I said. That was what Vaughn kept saying he wanted: screaming. My screaming in particular. “They won’t even break a sweat for you.”

Vaughn chuckled. “Very well.” He flipped his wrist through the air. “I’m in such a good mood today, I will agree. It will be my gift to you.” He took my hand and kissed the top. A thick blanket of red light coated my vision.

I snapped my hand away. “How do I know you’ll keep your word?”

He thought it through for a moment. “I will have them call you to confirm they are free.”

“Fine.” It was the best I’d be getting from a man like Vaughn, and frankly, I was about to break down and cry, cry like I’d never cried before.

We’d failed. I failed. It was game over. All of King’s deals were still outstanding, and by now, everyone probably knew Mack, Arno, and I were only pretending to be King. And if they didn’t know, surely Anna—the hundred year old frenemy of Talia, who Mack had slept with—would be telling every club member in this hemisphere the moment she learned that Talia was still alive.

We were screwed, and there was simply no other way to say it.

As soon as the evil couple and their man-toy departed, I slammed the steel door shut and curled up on King’s armchair. When the tears finally came, they didn’t stop. I didn’t want to accept that it would all end like this. King and me dead. Arno and Mack…well, who knew? And my family, devastated.

I went to the kitchen and splashed cold water on my face, then dialed Justin. As usual, the idiot didn’t answer. “Justin.” I sniffled. “I—I—” I was about to tell him the truth, that I needed to say goodbye, but I realized he’d only attempt to save me and make another deal with Vaughn.

I whisked a tear from my eye and held the phone in my trembling hand. Justin—God, how I love you. I hope that you’ll move on and be happy. That you’ll be there for Mom and Dad to help them, too. And…I want you to know how grateful I am to have been your sister through all those times you were there for me. Those were the words I wanted to say, but couldn’t. And it broke my heart not to be able to tell my little brother how much he meant to me.

Instead, I said, “I, uh…everything is going to be okay. I’m just a little shaken up. I just wanted to say that I love you and…call me back, all right?” I ended the call and screamed.