Page 38 of A Violet Obsession

He actually believes what he’s saying.

He’s completely and totally insane.

The buzzing in my palms intensifies. It’s crawling up my forearms now, spreading into my chest, and underneath Voss’s voice I can hear something faint and indistinct.

Not now. Please, not now.

Because I don’t need the warning. I know I’m in danger.

“I know you were part of it.” The shift is sudden. Voss’s measured voice cracks into a shout that makes me flinch. “I interrogated the other thieves thoroughly, and they confirmed you were the key. But you got greedy at the last moment and ran away with it.”

I shake my head, tears clogging my throat because how do you rationalize with a madman. “I didn’t. I swear. I don’t know why they’d say that.”

He leans into my space, eyes glowing, and his breath hot on my face. “They weren’t in a position to lie.”

I crane my head back, panic climbing. “Torture is a historically unreliable way to extract accurate information,” I hear myself babble.

Voss steps back, a ghost of a smile playing at his mouth. “You’re an interesting woman. I’ll give you that, Ms. Jenkins née Stewart. But the time for games is done. Give me the crystal and I’ll leave.”

“I can’t!”

The man who dragged me from my bed steps forward and backhands me across the face. My head snaps sideways, and stars burst behind my eyes. Before I can even register the pain, he strikes me again on the other cheek.

Copper floods my mouth, and I’m shaking so hard my teeth are clicking against each other. From the hallway, I hear Hera’s low, guttural growl. She’s watching from the shadows.

Stay there, baby. Please stay there.

“You took the necklace out of the cabinet, Lily. I’ve obtained a copy of the security video.” Voss’s voice is flat with irritation. “I don’t enjoy hurting women, but the amethyst is too important to be squeamish.” He holds out a hand, and one of the men places a gun in it.

A whimper tears out of me before I can stop it. “Please.”

“The thieves say you did it. The video says you did it.” He gestures back and forth with the gun, punctuating each point. “Ipso facto—” He levels the barrel at my face. “You took the necklace.”

My lungs lock. My entire body is rigid.

A fragment of an image flashes behind my eyes—standing in front of the cabinet, the buzzing so loud it felt like it was inside my skull.

Was it last night? Another time?

The tingling in my hands is so strong now my fingers are numb, and the pressure behind my ears sharpens into something impossible to ignore in its urgency.

Go. Go. Go.

Pain streaks through my head, sharp enough that I cry out.

“I don’t remember.”

“You don’t… remember?” Voss lets the gun drop. His expression shifts from fury to fascination. “What does that mean?”

“I—I—” My breathing is out of control, my vision narrowing to a tunnel with Voss at the end. “There are gaps in my memory. There was a buzzing, and then I wasn’t there. I can’t⁠—”

Don’t pass out, Lily.

I struggle to get air into my lungs as he takes a step toward me, eyes glittering. “Did you feel it?” His voice vibrates with urgency. “Did it speak to you? Can you still feel it?”

The desperation in his voice reaches me. This might be my only chance.

“Yeah,” I say weakly. “Something like that.”