Page 10 of Consume Me

That was true, but I had to consider every weapon in my arsenal, and the Council of Ghosts wasn’t even the most dangerous one.

“I’ll set up a meeting,” I said. “In the meantime, Brex?”

“I’ll review the security footage with Georgia and pull up the CCTV around the museum. There are eyes everywhere in London. We just have to find the right ones.” His confidence bolstered mine, but I knew it was false bravado. He stood and waited for Georgia.

She paused for a moment, opening and closing her mouth like she was going to say something but kept losing her nerve. It was very un-Georgia-like. “Yes?”

“I just found out about the baby,” she said. “Clara was going to tell you. I thought you should know that. I don’t think she wanted to accept it herself.”

“I’m not angry with my wife,” I said smoothly. I didn’t have any anger left for Clara. Not right now. Georgia looked at me like she wanted to say more, but instead she followed Brex away from our new, unofficial strategy room.

“Should we see the Ghosts?” I asked Smith. I hated how unclear the path before me was, and I could only hope he was thinking more clearly than me. I had more means at my disposal than most men alive—that didn’t mean I could always call on them.

“We could,” he hedged. If he resented losing an entire night’s sleep, he didn’t show it. Then again, he’d kept odd hours when he’d played attorney to the city’s criminal elite. He was used to this and used to dealing with them. That’s why I kept him with me now. “There’s someone else we should see first.”

“Who?”

“You aren’t going to like it,” he warned me.

“Where are we going?” I stood, already determined to make the call. I knew once I did that I couldn’t take it back. But when I’d said I would do anything to get Clara back, I’d meant it.

I thought back to the day we’d met the Council of Ghosts. He’d asked me how far as I was willing to go to end this. I’d thought then that I knew my absolute limit.

It seemed Smith planned to test that. “I asked you if you would sell your soul once. It’s time to meet the devil.”

Chapter 4

CLARA

I gave up. After the girl ran, I’d gone up and down the dark corridor, checking doors, but none of them opened. Whoever she was—if she were even real—she was gone. There was no sign of anyone else, either, but I couldn’t be alone. If someone wanted me dead, I would be. I’d been helpless when they knocked me out and brought me here. But I’d woken up, which meant someone wanted me alive. It wasn’t a very comforting thought but it was all I had. Eventually someone would come to me and explain why I was here. They would bring me food. I could reason with them.

I could beg.

I told myself these things to stay calm, because I knew that if I let myself think about this too long…

So, I waited, door open, in the little room where I’d found the clothes, where I’d seen the girl. Part of me wanted to shut the door and push the chest of drawers against it. I wanted to hunker down until Alexander found me.

I imagined him here now, his arms wrapping around me. I could almost feel his strong body pressed to mine—see that self-assured smirk flash across his face. My fingers brushed over my stomach, wishing they were in his hair as he swept me into a relieved kiss. I closed my eyes and for a moment I could swear I caught his scent—bergamot and vetiver and something indescribably him. I knew when I opened my eyes the false peace I’d felt would evaporate. He wasn’t here. I wasn’t safe.

I didn’t want to face it, but I couldn’t ignore what I’d seen when I’d paced the hall—or, rather, what I hadn’t. There were no windows. No signs of light. The doors in the corridor were heavy and reinforced. One of them must have led out and I didn’t want to know what lay behind the others. I hadn’t learned much by exploring except one thing: I was a prisoner. And wherever I’d been taken was secure.

So how was he going to find me?

I swallowed against a swell of panic. Freaking out wasn’t going to help, and there was the baby to consider. I’d been drugged and forced here that was more than enough stress. I couldn’t add anymore to the baby’s heart.

I was about to wander down the hall again and hope to spot a clue when a smiling woman appeared in the door.

She tugged at her white nurse’s uniform and my adrenaline spiked. Why would she wear that? My hands covered my swollen belly protectively.

I should have barricaded the door. I should have waited for Alexander to come.

“Would you come with me, Ms. Bishop?” She asked in a pleasant voice as though I’d just been called in from the waiting room at the doctor’s office. But this was wrong. This was all wrong.

“I’m married,” I said coldly.

“Our files indicate that you aren’t. My apologies.”

Was she kidding? I stared at her, waiting for her to crack and show that she knew who I was. Because how couldn’t she? But she didn’t look away. She didn’t smirk or frown. She simply returned my stare with a blank expression. “Where do you think this came from?”