Rose of Jericho (Lilith Adams Series Book 2) (19 page)

“Lily? What’s wrong?” There was true concern in Chance’s voice as he tried to grab her wrist while she ran past him. Lilith pulled back and side-stepped into the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind her. She ripped up the lid to the toilet and hit the ground hard with a sudden wave of nausea. Lilith’s stomach twisted into violent knots as the grotesque scene replayed vividly in her head. 

Distantly she heard Chance knock quietly on the door. “Lily? Are you okay?” When she didn’t answer with anything but puking sounds, it thankfully went quiet outside the room. The image of Farren’s bullet tearing through Gregor’s head flashed over and over, leaving Lilith dry-heaving over the toilet. Her muscles burned from the effort to purge all the darkness from her system.

Finally the images began to fade and Lilith curled up on the cool tile floor, panting through the tears. Hearing her father’s voice was worse than a gut punch. Beyond that it was a reminder that Gregor felt like he was losing his daughter when he died. He knew she felt angry and betrayed. The guilt was crushing her into the ground. Why had she been so stubborn? If she’d just answered the phone when Gregor called…he would still be dead.

Chance was right. There was no scenario where Lilith could have saved her father’s life. Perhaps that was worse, knowing she was powerless to save him. What if she was powerless to save Chance or herself? Lilith’s head lit up like a bonfire as she kept going through the worst possible outcomes. Peisinoe’s threat played a main role in most of them.

Lilith took in slow, deep breaths trying to make the pounding in her head stop. Distantly, she heard something softly scrape down the door and then Chance’s voice rumbled softly from the lower half. She could picture him sitting on the floor with his back propped against it.

“Lily, I miss him too.” There was a feather-light thud as he leaned his head back against the door. “It tears me apart that we couldn’t save him, but once Farren had him, he was not about to let him go. Even if we’d raided the building with a large army, Farren would have already killed him.”

Lilith pressed her cheek against the cool tile as the migraine finally began to recede. Chance had said it all before but there was something open and comforting about his voice. He wasn’t trying to make her feel better, he was sharing his own thoughts and feelings which meant he’d listened to the voicemail.

For a while they just stayed like that, Lilith on the floor, Chance with his back to the door. She couldn’t see him, but she knew he was there and that was enough. Chance didn’t push her to open the door or communicate in anyway. He was just there, close by in case she needed him.

Chapter 15

S
omewhere
in the dark there was a phone ringing. Lilith blindly threw her hand out to feel around for her cell phone. Her fingers brushed against something wet and sticky on the night stand. Her confused brain was struggling to figure out why when her fingers hit something solid, warm and moist. Panic flared down her nerves as she frantically grasped around for the lamp but it must have fallen off the nightstand.

Suddenly, the room was flooded with weak, flickering light. Flames across the room. It wasn’t a nightstand next to the bed, it was an office desk. Lilith skittered backwards as the light revealed a body on the table. She looked down at her trembling hand to see it coated with blood. Her eyes flashed back up to the body on the table in horror. Long blonde hair cascaded over the side of the desk. It was too familiar. Lilith knew what was on that table. Her cousin’s mutilated body, the result of Ashcroft’s vindictive handiwork.

Lilith tucked her knees up under her chin and clasped her hands over her ears. It was just a nightmare and all she had to do was wake up. Miriah’s body was buried in New York City. She squeezed her eyes shut and screamed, trying to knock herself out of it, all to no avail.

When she opened her eyes again, the blonde hair moved. A chill raced down her spine, her eyes glued to the table in pure horror as the mutilated body sat up slowly and twisted around to face her. The smell of blood and decomposing flesh overwhelmed her and the sickening cracks and pops as the corpse moved grated down her spine.

Miriah’s dissected face stared at her, the lidless eyes rolling sickeningly in their sockets, her shredded lips opening, trying to speak. A shattered hand reached out toward Lilith and all she could do was watch in pure terror. Blood pounded furiously in her ears, blocking out the sound of snapping ligaments and tearing flesh.

Something scratched at Lilith’s shoulder and it left her skin burning like liquid fire. She shot off the bed with her heart pounding furiously. Her bare foot slid in liquid and she thudded painfully to the ground, knocking her head on the hard floor.

Lilith pushed herself up to stare right into Alvarez’s lifeless face. The gaping slash across his neck was still bleeding, dripping hot splashes of blood on her chest. His head moved and she looked up to see the cloudy eyes of her beloved partner staring right into her. His mouth opened and closed as if he was trying to talk. A wave of nausea hit Lilith as she scrambled backwards right into something solid.

When she whirled around, Lilith was facing the charred corpse of a man, shackled to the concrete floor. Duncan. His burnt hand reached for her, scraping against her skin. The crinkling sound of charbroiled skin breaking tore at her brain. She screamed with everything she had, emptying all the blackness from her soul into the effort. Why was she seeing all this? Why couldn’t she just wake up?

Suddenly, something hit her like a pile of bricks, knocking her backwards onto the floor. Spencer’s contorted face grinned down at her with bloody teeth. He pinned her to the ground, his red-rimmed eyes manic with hate as he slashed and punched at her. Lilith screeched as she pushed and shoved, trying to protect herself but something warm and wet was splattering her face. That’s when she saw the gaping bullet wound in his head. The image of Chance shooting him flashed through her mind leaving her with the same conflicted feeling she’d had when he died in Goditha.

Dead Spencer was still attacking her and he used her moment of distraction to crack her in the jaw. Pain lit up the entire side of her face as Spencer struck down with his fangs aimed right at her neck. Lilith squeezed her eyes shut and screamed in sheer panic. Nothing happened. The tearing pain she expected to feel never came.

When she opened her eyes again, Spencer was gone and she was lying on the blood soaked floor with only the flickering light as company. “Wake up! Dammit! Just wake the fuck up!!!” Tears stung her eyes as she slapped herself in the face. Nothing worked.

“Get up! I have no time for your sniveling. I want my book before I put a bullet in your brain.” Lilith’s eyes flashed open to see Farren’s vicious face hovering inches from hers. His cold, calculating eyes pierced right through her as his hand clamped on her arm. His bony fingers dug into her, making her whimper in pain as he yanked Lilith to her feet.

“You will end up just like your father!” Farren snarled the words, his hand gripping her jaw painfully tight. He wrenched her face to the right, forcing her to look down at Gregor’s lifeless body. Tears flooded her eyes until she could barely see. All her she could focus on was the angry red bullet wound in her father’s head.

“No!” Lilith pushed and struggled as she shook her head violently, but Farren had an ironclad grip on her arm. She knew this was all a dream. Why couldn’t she wake up!

Farren gripped her jaw again with bruising strength and forced her to watch in sickening horror as her father’s corpse slowly slid up the wall to his feet. His cloudy grey eyes opened slowly and a raspy, guttural voice rattled out of his mouth. “Liiillllly.”

“No! This isn’t real!” Lilith screamed the words until her throat felt raw. She slammed her elbow into Farren’s solar plexus as hard as possible and his grip vanished. Lilith didn’t think twice, she shoved away and just ran. She ran with everything she had left toward the flickering light.

Between stinging tears that felt like acid and the growing light, Lilith could barely see. She wiped furiously at her eyes while she ran until she hit something warm and solid. It felt like running right into a brick wall except that brick walls didn’t have arms that clamped around her. Lilith screamed and fought against whoever was restraining her. Her nails scratched deep and her legs kicked as hard as possible.

“Lily. Stop.” Chance’s voice flowed over her like an ointment for her soul. Lilith just collapsed in a mess of tears in his arms completely overcome. She didn’t care if this was part of the dream or if she’d finally woken up. He was here. Her safe harbor. Her escape from the animated corpses. He was always there now, in her nightmares, comforting her. Ever since Miriah’s apartment.

Chance softly wiped at her cheeks and angled her sore chin up at him. His hazel eyes with their specks of green were the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. The flickering light was gone and the hotel room looked completely, blissfully normal. There were no moving dead bodies, no Farren, no smell of rot and charred flesh. She’d woken up. The nightmare was gone. Lilith clutched him tighter with tears of joy.

Chance smoothed a hand through her hair softly and pressed a tender, lingering kiss against her trembling lips. Lilith felt a faint headache starting in the back of her head but she ignored it, brushing her lips against his. She needed to feel something beautiful after so much ugliness.

The faint sound of music eased into the room, dancing around in the air. For some reason it was completely disturbing, sending a slight chill down Lilith’s spine. Chance caressed a hand from her hair, over her ear and along the delicate side of her neck easing away her sudden apprehension.

His other hand slid around her waist, drawing her tight against him. Heat trickled through her nerves, lighting up her entire body. Her head swam with the sudden passion surging through her as their kiss deepened becoming more urgent and hungry. His warm hand smoothed over her throat in a tender caress making her heart skip a beat.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, alarm bells went off as his hand slightly tightened around her throat. It didn’t seem violent, more like a thrilling sense of possession that only fueled her fire.

Chance slowly pulled back, ending the hypnotic kiss abruptly. When Lilith’s eyes fluttered open in confusion what she saw made her heart beat like a wild caged animal. His warm hazel eyes that were filled with adoration just seconds ago were blank and vacant. It was a horrifying sight that felt like a knife wedged in her heart.

Her ears started ringing painfully as tears stung at her already sore eyes. “Chance?” She started to raise her hand to touch his cheek but one strong hand caught her wrist and clamped both her hands behind her back. Panic started to swell in her chest making it almost impossible to breathe. “What are you doing?”

Chance just stared sightlessly right through her as his hand on her throat tightened painfully. Lilith gasped and tried to push against him but he had her firmly clamped against his body. “Chance, stop! You’re hurting me.”

“Fight it. It makes it so much more fun!” The familiar lilting, sing-song voice stabbed Lilith with pure dread. Peisinoe’s face hovered over Chance’s shoulder, her red, manicured nails curling possessively over his arm. She grinned at Lilith with the look of a hungry cat staring at the mouse she intended to toy with.

Peisinoe’s blood red lips tickled over Chance’s neck up to his ear, but her eyes stayed firmly locked on Lilith. “Squeeze.” Her voice rose and fell in a melodic tone as Chance’s hand on her throat tightened even more, leaving her gasping and struggling. Her chest was already starting to burn. Tears flooded her eyes as she stared at the blank, vacant look on Chance’s handsome face.

“Chance…please.” Her voice was a bare, raspy whisper. A desperate plea. She had to get through to him. Lilith watched in horror waiting for a spark of recognition that never came.

Peisinoe’s bubbly, Marilyn Monroe-style laughter filled the room. To Lilith it felt like hot pokers stabbing her in the head. “Oh he’s in there. He knows exactly what he’s doing.” She rested her chin on Chance’s shoulder, examining him like some sort of rare specimen. Peisinoe caressed a hand over his cheek and through his hair. “He just has no control. I own him. It’s a pity that when I release him he will be irrevocably broken.” She released a dramatic sigh as her bright blue eyes roamed over his handsome face. “Perhaps I’ll play with him a while longer before I release him. Shame to ruin such a striking specimen so early.”

With a demented glee, Peisinoe cast her deep blue eyes to Lilith’s terrified face. There was a smug satisfaction lingering there but it was quickly replaced by an empty boredom. “Oh, the suspense is just killing me.” Her melodic voice dripped with sarcasm as Lilith struggled for air against Chance’s grip. “Enough games. End it.” Peisinoe whispered the words against Chance’s ear with vindictive delight. Her teeth tugged at his ear lobe as her deep blue eyes pierced right through Lilith.

His hand tightened around Lilith’s throat without a second’s hesitation making her vision blur. Her head was pounding, her lungs burning, desperate for air. She kicked and shoved but Chance’s held her wrists behind her back with ironclad force. He didn’t even flinch at her kicking legs and knees. He just stared blankly into her face like she was less than a stranger. She was nothing, not even a person.

Lilith heard a pop and a crunch as her lungs flared like they were filled with molten lava. With a crashing wave of pain and panic, the world went dark.

“Lily!!!” The voice sounded like it was at the end of a long tunnel. She was distantly aware of someone shaking her but her limbs felt like they were dipped in lead and she felt so very far away.

“Dammit! Lily! You need to wake up!” She recognized the smooth voice with hints of a Cajun accent. Chance. Was she dead? In a coma? Why couldn’t she move?

Slowly Lilith’s eyes fluttered open. The light from the LED alarm clock was like a piercing spotlight that sent waves of fire through her brain. Lilith gasped in pain and squeezed her eyes shut as a coughing fit racked her body. She curled onto her side, gasping for breath as a warm hand caressed along her back.

Everything snapped clearly into focus in an instant. Peisinoe, Chance’s blank face as he choked the life out of her. Lilith scrambled off the bed, falling hard on her knees and scuttled into the closest corner. Her eyes flashed around the semi-dark hotel room searching for the blonde bombshell from hell.

“Lilith,
Cherie
, what is going on?” Chance was kneeling on the bed in his black t-shirt and matching boxer briefs. It should have been a welcome sight, but all Lilith could see was the blank look on his face as his hand squeezed her throat.  That cold stare that looked right through her.

“Where the hell is she?” Lilith screamed the words and pulled herself up to her feet, still wedged into the corner of the room. She didn’t recognize her own voice. Her throat was raw and throbbing with pain. She felt like she’d actually been choked. Even her chest burned and ached like nothing she’d ever felt before. It couldn’t just be a dream, could it?

“Where is who?” Chance looked completely confused. “You were having one hell of a nightmare. You kept screaming but I couldn’t get you to wake up.” He slid off the bed and started over towards her.

“No! Stop right there.” Lilith’s heart was pounding faster and harder than she could ever remember. It couldn’t have been a dream. If Peisinoe left her alive it would make sense that she’d manipulate Chance’s memory. Wouldn’t it? Could she actually do that? Cohen hadn’t mentioned it. Shit. What if Chance was right?

“Lily,
Cherie
.” His voice definitely sounded wounded. He took another step with his hands outstretched in a sign of peace. “I’m not going to hurt you. Please, you were having a nightmare. You even stopped breathing for a moment. It scared the hell out of me! I had to give you CPR.” There were tears in his hazel eyes and his voice started to waver. It pulled at her heart, but she couldn’t wipe out the memory of his hand around her throat, callously crushing the life out of her.