NovelOnlineChapter 0242
Beside me, Elva yawned. “I’m tired, Mommy.”
I immediately crouched down beside her. I touched my hand to her forehead, but I didn’t feel a fever.
Still, my nerves were frayed and I couldn’t help but worry. “Do you feel hot?”
“No. Just sleepy.” She rubbed at one eye.
I hated to leave early. We really needed this victory to stay in the competition. The stakes were so
much higher now that I knew the underground organization had their sights on me and Elva. The
minute we
stepped foot off the palace grounds, we’d likely be snatched up.
But I couldn’t chance Elva’s health. She’d been doing so well since she started receiving regular
treatments. I wouldn’t dare risk taking her heath any steps in the wrong direction.
“Honey, do you want to go
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt“There you are, Piper.”
A shiver rattled my bones. I knew that voice. I dreaded that voice.
I looked up and Terry was beside us, standing too close, peering down with the eyes of a viper.
“A pleasant picture, seeing you on your knees,” Terry said. He smirked, but the joy of it did not extend
beyond his lips.
“A vile thing to say in front of a child.” I pushed myself up to my feet, then ushered Elva behind me.
“I meant it innocently, I assure you.”
I hadn’t needed Julian’s mental self–defense lessons to know that was a lie.
“But is that anyway to greet me?” Terry continued. His gaze narrowed slightly, like a predator eyeing his
prey. “After all, we are such good friends now that you feel comfortable visiting unannounced. I only
wished I knew you were coming. I would have prepared one of the cells for you.”
He was needling me, trying to get a reaction. I had to stay calm, as Julian had helped me train. I
couldn’t
let him get to me. Only if I was calm, could I poke back.
“You had your hands full, as I recall,” I said, attempting a sneer.
Something sparked in his eye, a flicker of fire. “Yes. I did.”
I tasted bile.
This wasn’t going to work. I didn’t want to go toe to toe with Terry. I didn’t want to even be in the same
room as him. But I especially didn’t want to talk about my sister somewhere Elva could overhear.
“You shouldn’t expect a return visit,” I said, struggling to maintain my composure. I was proud when my
voice didn’t waver. “That path has been permanently sealed.”
It was a bluff. The secret tunnel might have been sealed but I already knew Terry had brought Piper
back into the house through some other means. Unfortunately, I couldn’t call him out on it and press for
more
information. Not with Elva in earshot. 2
Just then, Elva peered around my shirt to look up at Terry.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmTerry flashed her a crooked grin.
Elva gasped and returned to hiding behind me.
“Why don’t you just go?” I said. “I’m sure many other women would be interested in speaking with you
tonight.”
His smile turns cruel.
I wanted to run from him. To take Elva, and fly to an entirely different continent if I had to. Whatever it
took to get away from him and keep him away.
Terry leered openly at my barely–exposed cleavage. He licked his lips.
“Oh, Piper. Don’t you know? I’m a benefactor tonight. And as a benefactor, it is my obligation to speak
with each and every candidate, including you. Such a lovely little practice, isn’t it? A bit of money, and I
get what I want?”
I swallowed the rising lump in my throat. “You donate the money to charity,” I said. “You don’t get
anything.”
“I get time with you,” he said.
“That time is up.”
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