เข้าสู่ระบบRILEY“Are we going to Wonderland, Mommy?” Domi asked me as the car continued down the road.“Not exactly, honey,” I let him down gently. “But… we are going to an amusement park downtown! Doesn’t that sound fun?”He pouted a little, tugging at my sleeve. “You promised that we’d go to Wonderland with Auntie Hannah when I wasn’t sick anymore.”“Well, you’re not completely better yet, Domi,” I explained as I adjusted his seatbelt. “You’re getting better, but not enough to travel for a long time, and Wonderland is too far away. But we’re going to have so much fun today, okay? And once you’re all better, we’ll go to Wonderland and ride as many rides as you want.”Domi took a deep breath, and his little shoulders slumped for a moment before he nodded. “Okay, Mommy.”“Cheer up, bud,” I teased him softly. “There’s all kinds of fun things we can do at the smaller park, and I’ll buy you a biiiiiig thing of cotton candy. How does that sound?”Domi grinned. “Yes, please.”I ruffled his hair and t
RILEYAs Killian’s lips drew closer to mine, my mind returned to the dream.The rational side of me knew that I needed to push him off, break free from his hold, but the illogical part of me yearned for more of his touch.My breathing was unsteady, my body eager as the sweetness of his breath ghosted over me.Just as our lips were about to press against one another’s, the sliding door flew open.“Don’t be mean to Mommy!” Domi declared, and the speed at which we pulled apart was probably supersonic.Our son’s face was contorted into a determined frown, and had I not been flooded with the adrenaline of what almost happened, I would have laughed at the sight of such indignance on a four-year old’s features.“He’s not being mean to me,” I said as I fought to regain my composure.“I heard him!” Domi insisted, his vibrant blue eyes darting to Killian and narrowing. “He was yelling and being loud.”“We were just having a disagreement, Domi,” I tried to explain. “Sometimes grownups raise thei
RILEYHannah stayed in the valley for another day.I thought she would return to the city soon after I woke up, but she remained at my side, vigilant as if she were my guardian angel.In a way, she was, but I had to remind her repeatedly that I wasn’t paralyzed, just exhausted from the whole ordeal.“Shut it,” she said as she drew the blinds closed early that afternoon. “Stop resisting. You need to get some sleep, missy. The doctor said you were overly exhausted and malnourished, so I know you haven’t been taking care of yourself. Close your eyes and get some rest.”I grumbled in protest but rested back and closed my eyes.There was some truth to her words, but it was hard for me to slow down when I knew Domi needed me. Yet, at the same time, I couldn’t be my best self if I wasn’t healthy.So, I got some sleep, and when I awoke, Hannah was packing her things into a bag.“Hey,” she spoke soothingly. “I have to get back to the city. Levinson & Archer is requiring me to come in right awa
RILEY“T-tell me everything,” I said as I sat up further.“Whoa whoa, easy,” Hannah said with mild alarm, coaxing me back onto the pillows. “Don’t move around a bunch, you’re going to mess with the tubes.”I huffed at her fussing, but remembered the very same way I’d have to do this when Domi got too excited.“Fine,” I muttered as Hannah adjusted my blankets around me. As she tucked me in, I sighed. “Just like the orphanage, huh? Don’t you ever get sick of taking care of me?”My best friend exhaled a laugh. “I’m not your caretaker. I just don’t want you to hurt yourself. Besides… you took care of me back then as much as I did for you.”“Whatever,” I murmured, and then I took a deep breath. “Okay, spill. What happened?”Hannah took a seat in the plush chair beside the bed.She explained the details of that night, the way that Lisa had informed Killian of my absence, and how he, Dale, Lisa, and Jason had tracked her down to look for me. As she described with great detail the lengths th
RILEYMy consciousness came and went after I realized that my drink had been drugged.I remembered trying to call for help, to tell someone what had happened, but the pub was too loud, the music too distracting for anyone to hear me. Even if they had, I was too dizzy to speak too loudly.But I hadn’t gone without a fight.I struggled to get out of there, my legs wobbly but persistent as I left the pub.“You’re not going to get very far,” Gareth had warned me.I must have made things difficult, because in the next breath, he cursed.“That’s enough out of you,” he said next, and then he guided me forward.I blinked rapidly, my vision getting blurry.I remembered Gareth shoving me into his car, fastening my seatbelt as he leaned in closer.“Don’t worry, beautiful,” his voice purred in my ear. “I’m going to take good care of you. Just like I always have.”After that, everything became a blur of distorted sound and color. It was like trying to take in the world through a kaleidoscope, frac
KILLIAN “Are you sure this is the right building?” Dale asked Hannah seriously as we gazed up at the luxury apartment building before us.The human woman nodded. “I don’t know what unit he’s in, but I know he has an apartment here. He was telling someone at work about it.”I took a grounding breath as her words settled in.This was a bustling part of the city with plenty of humans around. If we wanted to avoid unwanted attention, we had to wrap this up quickly.I hated this situation more than I could properly express.Riley had already caused me too much trouble, but that’s not what pissed me off the most.No, I was truly angry at the fact that I couldn’t stop myself from interfering. She’d woven herself into the very fabric of my life, and this night had already been stressful enough without her adding to it.Yet… I couldn’t just let it go.This Gareth person sounded like bad news, and whatever she was doing here was risky at best, stupid at worst.Certain she’d be a liability in a







