Page 180 of Carnal Wagers

“Sadly, all good things must come to an end. We could’ve gone on forever in this purgatory. But you had to force my hand. You had to make her love you. You had to try to take her from me.”

A slap across my cheek came out of nowhere.

“How could you?”

The sting meant nothing. It was her words I locked onto. Her. Alizé.

My fight renewed. A push of adrenaline dampened the pain and sickness. I managed to lift my head and close a shaky fist around the knife in my pocket.

“What…you…do…my wife?”

Round eyes met that question. “Why would I ever do anything to her?”

That sudden guileless attitude caught me off guard and bled me dry of energy. My head flopped down with a thunk against the hardwood desk.

“What…give…me?”

“Same as I always do. You didn’t even taste the hellebore and foxglove tea mixed in your coffee. Have to say I’m surprised the effects came on this quickly. Must have been the caffeine.”

She picked up my untouched glass of whiskey and swirled it around.

“Good thing you didn’t drink this, or you’d be a goner.” She tapped my cheek. “And we wouldn’t want that. Well, not yet.”

She sniffed my untouched glass of whiskey and licked her lips.

“Ooh, the good stuff.” She walked to the bar cart and examined the bottle. “Yep, that’s what I thought. You know, my mam used to treat herself to a bottle of this exact same whiskey once a year, and here you’ve got a three-thousand-dollar bottle open for everyday consumption. Don’t mind if I do.”

She threw back the whiskey and hummed her delight.

“That hit the spot. Okay, time to get to work.”

She dragged something along the floor around the edge of my desk. Her duffel bag. From it, she pulled out rope. Then she shoved my torso off the desk and backward against my chair as though I were a bendable, life-size figurine. My head slumped to my shoulder under the spell of wooziness that promised to haul me away. I blinked, and somehow she’d already looped the rope several times around me.

I couldn’t move. Couldn’t think strategy. The world spun so slowly. It took everything I had to force my eyes to stay open against the need for sleep and the suffocating pressure crushing my chest from the inside.

“What…what are…?” I tried, but she clamped my chin in her hand and shushed me.

“You just work on staying awake. I’ll take care of the rest.”

I stared at the blurred ceiling, black-and-white spots plopping left and right, and blinked to keep focus. Not because she told me to, but because I hoped the effects of whatever I’d ingested would dissipate soon. I just needed to stay alert as long as possible.

Something clattered and tumbled. Other things clanked and jangled under her hums and whistling. The smell of heated metal singed my nostrils. I had no idea how much time went by, but when my fairy’s voice trickled through my lethargy, panic like I’d never known surged through my body. Suddenly I was wide awake again, and I swung in the chair from left to right against the pull of the rope.

“Cillian? Maeve?” Alizé called out.

“Here she comes,” Maeve chirped with a couple of quick, giddy claps.

“Stay away,” I begged, my voice raspy and thin. “Run. Go.”

I shifted and twisted violently, but the rope didn’t loosen. Instead the chair tipped over, taking me with it, and my head smacked against the floor. The last thing I heard was the clap of Alizé’s heels rushing closer before the world went black.

Chapter 45

A little earlier…

“Erel Thyssen, what did you do to my best friend?” I burst out in French as the call connected.

I’d dialed his number the instant my bedroom door closed, leaving my husband and best friend to tentatively get to know each other without me forcing the issue. Hopefully, that went well.