Trust
by Rob Sorenson
Chapter Fourteen
Willow forced her glance back to “Tara” before speaking firmly.
“Riley, don’t move.”
“Yes ma’am,” he said, recognizing the voice of command when he heard it.
Buffy was moving her head back and forth like an amazed tennis fan. Behind door number one, she had a ghost suspended in midair. Behind door number two, her ex stood nervously. During one of her head’s return trips from Tara to Riley, she caught him glancing at her. He spoke quietly.
“I thought Tara…”
She simply nodded.
“So…”
This time Buffy shrugged. Willow, oblivious to their quiet communication, approached Tara slowly.
“It would be a really good idea for you to show me who you really are.”
The prisoner spoke in a strained voice. “Willow…baby, why are you doing-“
Her lips were immediately sewn shut. “Wrong answer.”
Xander felt a chill. The last time he’d heard his best friend speak in that tone…he stepped forward.
“Will.”
She held a hand up. “I’m all right. Stay back.”
He began to move closer anyway, but Faith grabbed his arm.
“Willow, what is going on?” Buffy said gently.
Willow kept her eyes on her enemy as she responded. “Someone decided it would be a good idea to play a little trick on me. I was visiting Tara- the REAL Tara, not this…” she trailed off, visibly trembling. “She wanted me to permanently drain my mystical energy.”
Dawn spoke up in surprise. “You can do that?”
Willow took a deep breath. “Only to myself. No Wicca can permanently drain another of magic…aside from just killing them, that is.”
Xander spoke again, looking at Tara. Umm…how can you possibly tell it isn’t…”
Willow shot him a dark look. He held up his hands. “Hey, just asking.”
“It’s a glamour, nothing more.” She frowned, turning her gaze back to the fake Tara, whose eyes had widened with fear. “Which is very interesting now that I think about it. There were a few neat parlor tricks thrown in – the glowing, some levitation. Pretty advanced stuff.”
No one responded as Willow began pacing the room, thinking aloud.
“Still, anyone who knew Tara would know it wasn’t really her. The patterns of speech were totally wrong…and her aura was completely different. Even you guys would’ve caught on.” She stopped. “Well, not so much the aura part, but all of you knew how Tara spoke. So…”
She walked back toward the impostor. “We have ourselves a bad combination: a really powerful Wicca who’s kinda dumb. That narrows it down some, huh?”
After a moment, the image of Tara morphed into Amy. A collective exhalation could be heard around the room. Willow simply shook her head.
“I’m going to restore your power of speech, Amy. Then you’re going to answer our questions. If you mess with me even one little bit”- a flash of obsidian showed in Willow’s eyes-“I’ll turn you to dust. Do you believe me?”
Amy nodded. Willow flicked her forefinger, simultaneously lowering her to the ground and removing the magical stitches from her lips. The ring around her body, however, remained.
“Could you let me out of this, Willow? It really hurts, and I’m drained anyway.”
“Sorry. Really not feeling the need to reduce your pain right now.”
Buffy spoke quietly, but firmly. “Willow.”
“Fine, but we’ll need to restrain her hands, at least. Do we have rope or something?”
Spike stood. “Got some handcuffs upstairs.”
That got everyone’s attention. He flinched slightly at Buffy’s expression.
“Right. I’ll just go get ‘em.”
Andrew came out of the kitchen with a tray. “The food’s getting cold. Who loves wieners as much as I do?”
He stopped short when he saw Amy. “Oh! We have another guest! Cool! We haven’t met before. I’m Andrew. Welcome to Casa Summers.”
Dawn intercepted him before he could offer his hand. “Not now, Andrew.”
“Why, what’s going-“ Andrew stopped short, gaping at the tall, uniformed stranger at the door. “Umm…who’s this?”
Dawn turned in confusion. “Huh? Oh…that’s Riley.” She moved toward Riley with a smile. He returned her expression.
“Hey, Dawn. You got taller.” She hugged him. “Stronger, too.”
“So…um…”
“What the Hell am I doing here?”
She pulled away, still smiling.
“I wouldn’t have said it that way, exactly.”
“I might’ve,” Angel muttered from the kitchen doorway. Riley heard him and sighed heavily as he spoke.
“Angel.”
“Riley.”
“Weiner?”
“Andrew, get your weiners away from Riley already!”
The soldier smiled. “It’s ok, Dawnie. I’m actually pretty starved. Long flight from Australia.”
Andrew’s eyes widened. “Australia?! How exotic! The Great Barrier Reef! The Outback! Cate Blanchett!”
“AC/DC,” Xander interrupted, holding out a hand to Riley. “Long time, man.”
“Yeah. Too long.”
“Oooh! Wait here!” Andrew took off for the kitchen. Riley watched him go with a slightly confused expression.
“Is he always like that?”
“Pretty much.”
Riley cleared his throat. “Umm…look, while we have a second…I was out of the country when I heard about you and Faith. I wasn’t able to respond to personal messages at the time.”
“Oh hey, man, that’s cool. It was kinda spur of the moment anyway.”
Faith was looking at Riley from over Xander’s shoulder, noticing his forced smile.
“Right. Anyway, belated congratulations.”
“Thanks. So what brings you-“
“Check this out, Riley!” Andrew came running back out, nearly running headlong into Angel. “A genuine Bloomin’ Onion, just like in the Outback.”
“Ummm…actually, I never went to the Outback, but I’m willing to go out on a limb and say they don’t have those there.”
Andrew’s face fell. “No way, really?”
Dawn raised an eyebrow. “Does this mean the Alice Springs Chicken doesn’t come from Alice Springs?”
Xander nudged her. “No, but the Jackeroo Chops definitely come from Jackeroo.”
Andrew’s lips pursed. “I see. It’s ‘mock Andrew’ time.”
Riley reached for a piece of the deep-fried treat. “No, it’s ok. I really AM starving, and I love these things.” He dipped into the sauce and opened his mouth. Andrew spoke enthusiastically.
“Wait’ll you taste the sauce. It’s Spike’s special recipe.”
Riley froze, onion next to his lips. At that moment, Spike came bounding down the stairs.
“Sorry it took a moment. Couldn’t find the key.” He tossed the cuffs to Willow. “Take care. Might be a bit slippery.”
Faith couldn’t keep the smile from her face. “You go, B.”
Buffy closed her eyes. Spike flinched again. His apologetic expression quickly changed to annoyance when he spotted Andrew and Riley.
“Here now! Don’t be givin’ it to just anyone. Lot of work, that was.”
Buffy spoke tiredly. “Spike…”
He squinted at her. “Right, then. I’ll just take my masterpiece and go.”
Spike snatched the tray from Andrew and stalked into the kitchen. Riley glanced at Xander.
“He hasn’t changed at all.”
Xander caught Buffy stiffening slightly out of the corner of his eye. He shook his head slightly.
“Dude, you really need to call or write more often.”
Buffy spoke hurriedly. “Riley, can we talk for a second?”
“I hope so. Flew a long way.”
“I mean…” she glanced pointedly toward the others. Her sister picked up on the gesture and took Xander’s arm.
“Xand, let’s go see what Willow is doing.”
“I can see her from here. Looks like she’s trying to find something to wipe off those handcu- OW!” He rubbed his arm where Dawn had pinched him. “What was that for?”
“Come on.” Before he could protest further she dragged him back into the living room.
Buffy headed toward the back yard, followed by an even more befuddled Riley.
“You didn’t have to send them away. Everyone should probably hear this.”
“Just…trust me, ok? We need to talk alone first.”
“Just flounces in like G.I. Sodding Joe and everyone starts doin’ backflips.”
“I think you might be overstating it a little bit.”
Spike raised his eyebrows as he held the plate of onion out.. “Really? Didn’t realize you two were so close.”
Angel sighed as he took a piece. “Ok, admittedly we didn’t get off on the right foot-“
“You tried to put the foot in each other’s ass, as I recall. Might qualify as a bit more than a bad start, I’d wager.”
“Just for the record, his foot got nowhere near my ass.” He took a bite of the onion. “Why do I taste cheap beer in the sauce?”
“Red, you might wanna motor down a little.”
“I’m fine.”
Faith shook her head. “No, you’re really not. Getting some funky vibes off you right now.”
Willow sighed heavily, closing her eyes. “Just back off, ok? Why don’t you leave the two of us alone?”
“Don’t think that’s such a hot idea.”
“Look-“ She broke off when Xander and Dawn walked into the room. He spoke with concern.
“Will?”
“For the last time, I’m fine! If I wanted to rip her skin off, I’d have done it already!”
Dawn and Faith froze; Xander visibly flinched. Willow’s mouth dropped open in shock. She shook her head.
“I’m sorry. Oh God, Xander…” she covered her face with her hands. He moved quickly toward where she stood.
“It’s ok, Wills,” he said soothingly as she began to sob in his arms. “It’s ok…”
“I thought she was back. Just for a second…I thought it was really her.”
“I know.”
“Her grave. She came…to her grave.”
Dawn spoke from behind them. “We all thought it was her, too.”
Willow moved from Xander, eyes wide. “Oh Dawnie, I’m so sorry. I just…I should have taken her to my place. I didn’t mean…”
Dawn hugged Willow tightly. “No, you needed to be with us. We’re going to figure this out together, ok?”
Faith tilted her head toward Amy. “You’re in deep shit. Might wanna start talkin’.”
Amy glowered at Faith. “Give me a couple of hours to recharge and I’ll show you what deep shit really is.”
Willow’s head snapped around; Amy swallowed hard as the redhead’s eyes flashed darkly.
“Threaten one of my friends again and you won’t have a couple of seconds to beg for your life.”
“Easy, Red. I’ve been promised a lot worse by better people. So…what do we wanna know?”
Willow walked close to Amy. “Who were you working with?”
Her fellow Wicca said nothing, merely smirking In a moment Amy began to wince with pain.
“Those handcuffs getting a little tight? Losing some circulation, maybe?”
Still Amy remained quiet. Willow began to pace slowly in front of her.
“See, the stuff you said was way too sophisticated, Amy. Forgive me for saying so, but you’re not bright enough to do this without a script.”
“Fuck you,” Amy hissed through gritted teeth.
Willow’s face remained impassive. “No need to get snippy. It’s not as if I blame you for your lack of education…I mean, you were all caught up in the rat race, right?”
Amy’s eyes blazed. “You kept me in that cage. A little competition was too much for you, wasn’t it? I was further along, and you couldn’t stand it!”
“I didn’t cause what happened. You did it to yourself.”
“You could’ve brought me back sooner. I was only useful to you after your precious Tara couldn’t deal with how strong you’d become. She was jealous.”
Willow swallowed hard. “That’s not how it was and you know-”
“She wanted you to be weak. Looks like it worked, too. Instead of taking me on directly, you brought me here. Are we afraid of what we might do, Willow?”
Willow’s voice was flat. “Yes. I am. You should be too.”
“Why should I be afraid of you? You don’t have what it takes to hang in my world any more. Surrounding yourself with a bunch of mere mortals? We’re better than this.”
“Hey,” Faith interjected. “Might wanna check the program again.”
Amy rolled her eyes. “Oh, yeah. You can hit stuff real hard. SO impressive. Look,” she said, refocusing her gaze on Willow. “If I thought you’d actually kill me I might be worried…but you’re terrified of what you’re capable of. If you weren’t, I’d be dead already.”
“I don’t just kill people.”
“Since when, Miss Goody Two Shoes? Tell you what: let me out of these cuffs and I’ll get out of Sunnydale for good. This town stopped amusing me a long time ago.”
“Yeah, right,” Dawn sneered. “As if.”
Amy scowled. “I don’t even need the use of my hands to kill you, Dawn. Might want to leave this conversation to the power…urk…”
She began to levitate off the couch, eyes bugging out as Willow slowly raised her hand.
Buffy and Riley were seated next to each other on the back porch.
“So…the last email I got from you was from Pakistan, wasn’t it? How’d you wind up in Australia?”
Riley shrugged. “I go where the job takes me.”
Buffy nodded absently. “So…how’s Sam?”
“She’s good. Haven’t had a chance to see her in a couple of weeks.”
“I thought you two had transferred together.”
“We did, but the UN decided they needed two separate units for Special Ops. There was never any question about who should lead the second squad.”
“Oh. So…where is she now?”
The wicker groaned slightly as he shifted uncomfortably.
“Congo.”
Buffy frowned. “Something supernatural I haven’t heard about there?”
“Not every mission we undertake is supernatural. Counter-terrorism is another aspect of what we do.”
“There are terrorists in the Congo?”
“I really can’t-“
She held up a hand. “Right. Say no more.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. Sometimes certain things shouldn’t be known.” Buffy looked down, scuffing her toe along the concrete patio. “I mean…if it can do people no good, why share?”
Riley smiled slightly. “Ok, out with it.”
She raised her eyebrows questioningly. “What do you mean?”
“Buffy, you obviously brought me out here for a reason. Is there something going on you haven’t told me about?”
She sighed heavily. “Do you remember when Spike’s chip started to malfunction?”
“Haven’t even seen the bloke since I got it out. Could beat him to a bloody pulp if I was of a mind to.”
Angel took another bite of steak and shrugged. “Been there, done that. Well,” he corrected himself, “maybe not a bloody pulp, necessarily. He wasn’t walking too good, though.”
Spike raised his eyebrows hopefully.
“Yeah? Did he, you know, howl in pain?”
“Not really a howler. More of an agonized grunter.”
Spike considered a moment. “Better than nothing.”
“I was trying to get to Buffy. Maybe if I’d concentrated a little more…”
“Right. Funny, init? Always thinking we have all the time in the world to enjoy the little things…”
Andrew spoke up from the kitchen table. “Umm…guys, I’ve never heard anyone else say bad things about Riley.”
“Who the Hell asked you, mate?”
Xander moved quickly. “Willow, this isn’t worth it.”
“I believe I told her what would happen if she threatened any of my friends again.”
Amy’s face was a mottled red due to a lack of oxygen, legs dangling beneath her. With an effort, she managed a sickly smile as she croaked “There’s the…Willow I wanted…to see. You’re…no better than…I am.”
“I never said I was.”
Willow dropped Any unceremoniously back to the cushions of the couch, restoring her breath.
“This game is getting tiresome. I got you out of that rat cage. You have ten seconds to tell me who hired you. If not…”
She snapped her fingers, causing an all too familiar cage to appear in the living room.
“I hung on to it just in case you pushed me too far. I think this qualifies as a good strong shove, don’t you?”
Amy’s eyes widened. “You wouldn’t do that.”
“Why not? I’d say you earned a return trip to the Habitrail.”
“They won’t let you!”
Xander made a show of rubbing his chin in thought. “Well, I’m against killing you, but this…honey, what do you think?”
Faith smiled. “Well, all I know how to do is hit stuff really hard. I got no opinion one way or the other. Dawnie?”
Dawn shrugged. “None of us got to eat those burgers anyway. Might as well make use of the leftover cheese.”
Willow raised an eyebrow. “Well, then…motion carries. FYI, Madison, you have three seconds.”
She raised her hand.
“Two…”
“Ethan Rayne! It was Ethan Rayne…I have no idea why he wanted me to do it! He offered me a hundred thousand dollars. Please, for the love of God…don’t do this!”
Willow held her position. “Is he operating on his own?”
“I don’t think so…he said stuff about ‘his employers’ being very demanding. Made me memorize lines about the Spirit Cleansing spell. And…and something about you needing to be neutralized.”
“What else?”
“That’s all I know…I swear. Willow, come on!”
“Sorry. Don’t believe you. Better think a little harder about where Ethan was headed.”
Amy’s eyes darted between the Scoobies wildly. “Look, I have no reason to protect the guy! I got paid already…wait. Wait! I overheard him making plane reservations to LA for this afternoon! I don’t know what time!”
Dawn immediately hustled into the dining room. She smiled when she saw Wesley and Cordy sitting together in the dining room. Wes was already clicking away on the Summers PC.
“Great minds think alike.”
He grinned back. “Yes, well…I’m afraid there’s no way to access passenger manifests.”
Cordelia impatiently motioned him away. “Back off. Let the pro handle it.”
Dawn nodded. “Right. Let me get Willow.”
Cordy glowered at the youngest Summers. “I was referring to moi, thank you very much.”
“You can hack into airline computer systems?”
“Hey, I spent a couple of years with a vampire who couldn’t master the ‘send’ button on his cell phone. Throw in Giles Junior over here and I had no choice. Someone had to learn.”
Back in the living room, Xander raised a forefinger as he addressed Amy. “Didn’t we pay you a million bucks just last year? You spend it all on cauldrons and scented candles or something?” He winced slightly at Willow’s glare. “Not that I’m stereotyping…”
Willow turned her gaze back to Amy, shaking her head. “It wasn’t really about the money, was it?”
Amy said nothing. She didn’t have to. Cordelia’s voice broke the silence.
“Eww, he’s flying Southwest.”
Willow walked quickly into the dining room. “Has he left yet?”
“I mean, if a guy is willing to pay a hundred grand for a wiccan mercenary, you’d think he could afford a better class of seat. Of course, it IS only a thirty minute flight or something…”
“Cordelia!!”
“Ok, ok! Jesus. Right, here it is. Flight number 13, scheduled to take off in five minutes.”
Willow nodded her thanks, returning to the living room. “Faith?”
“Yeah?”
She again nodded, this time toward Amy. “Keep an eye on her. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Back? Where are you-“
Willow dematerialized before the Slayer finished her sentence.
Riley shrugged.
“Ok…I guess this would be a good thing, right?”
She wasn’t exactly sure why, but Buffy had been unable to look Riley in the eye when full details of Spike’s chip removal were revealed. Now, though, she met his eyes with surprise.
“I thought it might…I don’t know, shock you?”
The soldier appeared genuinely nonplussed. “A vampire with a soul isn’t exactly a brand new concept. Buffy, I put the decision in your hands for a reason. When it comes to things like this, your instincts are pretty good.”
Wow, she thought. “Thank you. I guess I thought…I don’t know.”
Riley favored her with the smile that used to make her breath catch.
“You learn a few things if you manage to live long enough in this game. Chronologically speaking, I’ve got a couple of years on you…but I finally came to the realization you’ve always been a lot further along than me. Especially when it came to matters like this.”
Buffy looked away again, slightly embarrassed by the compliment. “I don’t know about that. Most of the time I was pretty much winging it. You were always better at the organizing-type stuff.”
“Yup. No argument here.”
She tried to fight a smile, but failed. “Hey. You’re supposed to be telling me I knew what I was doing all along.”
“Right. Sorry.” Riley sat up in his chair, gazing earnestly into the Slayer’s eyes. “Look, a good soldier follows orders. If I may say so, I was damn good at that. Problem is, it takes other qualities to be a good leader. If you react the exact same way to every situation, eventually the enemy picks up the pattern and kicks your ass. History proves that over and over. Whether you get it or not, the biggest reason you’re so damn hard to beat is your willingness to throw out the rule book and trust your instincts.”
Riley stood suddenly, facing away from her as he continued. “I have a confession to make. I’ve taught a few leadership classes in the last few years. Elite military units all over the world hung on every word I had to say. I stood there and went on and on about the adaptability of great military leaders throughout history…just the sort of thing that would put you to sleep, by the way.” He rounded on her with a embarrassed grin. “You know what?. Not one time did I ever have the courage to tell them I learned everything about leadership from a beautiful blonde college freshman - who just happened to possess the ability to throw a car the length of a football field.”
Buffy felt the color rising in her cheeks. “I think the ‘throwing a car’ thing is a little exaggerated.”
“What if you were pissed?”
“Well…ok, maybe.”
“My point is this: if you say Spike plays for the good guys now, that’s good enough for me. Anyway, we’re a few years down the line and everyone’s still here. Pretty much says it all.”
Buffy stood to embrace him. “Thank you.”
“Of course, a guy can have a soul and still be an asshole. History’s proven that too.”
She smacked him lightly on the arm. “Stop it. You were doing really well there for a second.”
“I didn’t mention anyone specific. Anyway, we have more important things to worry about. I came here on business. Instead of repeating myself, can we possibly get everyone into the same room at the same time?”
“It’ll have to be the living room. We have a witch imprisoned in there.”
“Right. Almost forgot. Umm…about Willow. Is she going to be ok? I mean, from what little you’ve told me-“
“She’ll be fine as long as she’s around us. I think that’s why she brought her here. At least I hope so, ‘cause Amy can’t have my burger.”
Riley nodded firmly. “Ok then, let’s reconvene in the living room.” He began to walk back inside. Buffy cleared her throat nervously.
“Umm…Riley, there is one more thing I’ve never really got into with you.”
He re-entered the house with a sigh. “Can we get business done first? Honestly, I don’t know if you can top Soulful Spike.”
Buffy trotted hurriedly behind him. “More like soulmate, actually.”
That stopped him in his tracks. “I’m sorry?”
She stopped as well, seemingly shocked at her own choice of words. “I mean…um…” she broke off with a frown. “Where’s Willow?”
Faith was leaning against the fireplace. “Went out to find someone. According to Xand, you know the guy.”
Buffy blinked. “Right, ok…but I’m worried about her.” She nodded toward Amy.
Faith was offended. “Hey, I got it, B. Check it out, I gagged her. Now she can’t move her hands or talk.”
“I see that, but Amy can…” Buffy waggled her fingers in the air. “You know, do some kind of telepathic mind warp thingy.”
Xander nodded in agreement. “Good point. I’ve seen Will do it a bunch of times. It’s a hypnotic suggestion type of deal.”
Faith considered. “Huh. Well, Red said she was drained.” She turned to face the prisoner. “Hey Amy? Since we ain’t doin anything right now, can you put one of those suggestions in my head so I actually enjoy cleaning the house? ‘Cause I really hate that shit.”
“Babe, why didn’t you say something? We can hire a maid.”
“Uh-uh. I’m not gonna be one of those spoiled rich-bitch types who can’t scrub their own toil-“
“Faith.”
She started slightly, looking back to Amy. The witch’s eyes were fixed on her.
“Come over here.”
Faith did as she was told.
“That’s right.
Focus on my voice.”
Xander raised an eyebrow. “You ok, honey?”
“Take the gag out of my mouth.”
“Faith?”
“DO IT NOW!”
The brunette Slayer’s eyes widened. “Whoa. She’s really doing it!”
Xander frowned. “Doing what?”
“Talkin’ in my head. That is wicked cool.”
The thought broke off when a sudden left jab plunged the witch into unconsciousness. Faith tilted her head with a smirk.
“Try doin’ it now.”
Ethan Rayne looked at the foil packet with disgust.
Bloody peanuts and soda. Whatever happened to the days when a civilized man could enjoy Beef Wellington with an aged Merlot while flying?
He slipped the snack into
the seat pocket in front of him and signaled the flight attendant for some
headphones. Perhaps if he closed his
eyes while listening to the soothing tones of Debussy…
“I’m sorry, sir. We don’t offer headphones on flights of this
length. Would you like some more
peanuts? I see someone’s already eaten theirs!”
He forced a weak
smile. “I’m quite sated, thank
you. Are we taking off soon?”
“Five minutes tops. We’re number one in time performance five
years running, you know.”
“How
very…predictable. My compliments.”
“Would you like a pillow?”
Only if I can smother you with it. “No, thank
you.”
“Ok, then. I’ll check on you later.”
“I’m tingling with
anticipation.”
The clueless airline minion sashayed down the aisle, showing more teeth than Ethan thought a normal human could possibly expose without their lips being removed. He sighed inwardly and looked out the window, ruminating over the day’s events. It had been a shame the plan hadn’t worked; he should have known the silly witch would cock it up. All that power…combined with all that stupidity. I really could use someone like that on a full-time basis. Perhaps if we both somehow survive this…
“Is this seat taken?”
He froze. Oh, dear.
Slowly he turned, forcing
a smile. “Actually, I could have sworn
a gentleman was, in fact, sitting there.
Still, it is lovely to see you again, Miss Rosenberg.”
Willow gave him a smile of
her own. “Oh, I saw you sitting over
here, and he was nice enough to agree to switch seats with me.”
“Indeed? I should think I would have seen such an
exchange. Being that I was sitting
right here the entire time.”
Willow’s expression
brightened even more.
“Well, that just goes to
show you Ethan: if you don’t pay close
attention, someone is going to try to mess with your head.” The smile faded. “You of all people should know that.”
He swallowed as her eyes
glittered dangerously. “Now…you really
should consider how many witnesses are among us. Wouldn’t be prudent to make a fuss, now would it?”
“Don’t worry. If you don’t tell me what I want to know
by…hang on a second.”
Willow hailed the flight
attendant again. “Ma’am, remind me how
soon we’re taking off?”
“Three minutes tops. You know, we’re number one in on time-“
“I heard. Thank you.”
Willow turned slowly back to Ethan, all traces of friendliness erased.
“According to the Mary Lou
Retton lookalike, you have three minutes to tell me who paid you to soil the
burial site of someone I loved. If I
even think you’re screwing with me…”
She leaned in close.
“I promise no one will
hear you make the least bit of fuss.”
- End Chapter Fourteen -