Hell House: A Kildale Academy Novel, page 23
“You can stop fucking with me. Why were you guys chasing me? You ripped my back open!” All three of them gasp when I turn gesturing to the blood seeping out of my back. Pierce doesn’t even give me a second, before he’s wrenching the shoe out of my hand.
“Who did this to you?” He demands, crushing my body against him as he inspects the wounds. I look up at him in confusion.
“It wasn’t you guys?” They look at me with something that looks like a mix of fear and concern.
“Lukas! Give me your jacket.” Pierce snaps. I see Lukas shrug out of his jacket and Pierce applies pressure with the black dress coat. “Hold on baby, I’ve got you. Walker, go check the woods. See if the fucker that did this is close.”
I reach up feeling close to blacking out and run my fingers against Pierce’s stubble.
“I couldn’t see who did it. I thought it was you.” He frowns at me, his devil mask sitting on top of his slicked back dirty blonde hair. “Lukas, go get help. She’s losing a lot of blood.” Lukas takes off running, as Pierce gathers me into his arms using his body to heat me up. “Stay with me.” He demands.
“I make no such promises.” I manage to whisper, before I slip out of consciousness.
CHAPTER SIXTY
Walker
I stalk through the trees, the red sky is shit for seeing anything, so I swing out my phone and turn on the flashlight. Whoever fucking hurt Salem was going to pay. My feet stomp through the forest, snapping twigs and sending rocks flying. I remember the look on her face when Pierce and Lukas’s father called Salem a whore. The man was lucky to still be breathing. I’d never felt my Wrath slip into place so fast, ready to rip out his throat with my bare hands. It took everything I had to shove it down, so I didn’t end up murdering one of the most prominent CEOs in the country. But the way she looked as us, like she was disappointed, that gutted me the most. Especially since I’d been keeping her at arms length since that day in her bedroom, when I lost control. I couldn’t live with myself if I hurt her.
I swing the flashlight letting it bathe the dense forest in visibility. I’m careful not to get too close to the edge. One wrong step, or one strong gust of wind could have me on the bottom side of a cliff, smashed or impaled beyond recognition.
A rustling to my left has me swinging my flashlight in that direction.
“Emmet? What the fuck are you doing out here?” Was he the one that hurt Salem? My rage is threatening to spill over and pummel his face in. He stumbles, obviously drunk. Fuck. I almost laid out my friend.
I grab him by his jacket collar, helping him find his footing.
“Had one too many, must have lost my way.”
“Yeah, well you were about to toss yourself over the edge of a cliff. Have you seen anyone else out here? Someone attacked Salem.”
“Sss- she, okay?”
“I don’t know. Listen, let’s get you back to the house. I’m not seeing anyone else out here.”
“Thanks, brother.”
He hangs on me, but instead of being assaulted with alcohol breath I expect, I’m hit with the smell of mint. He could have just popped a mint in his mouth, that doesn’t mean he was out here hurting Salem. I shake my head desperate to get back and see if anyone else found anything, and most of all if she’s okay.
CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
Pierce
Looking down at Salem in the hospital issue bed on the infirmary wing has me pacing back and forth with anxiety. They’d diagnosed her with dehydration and dismissed her wounds as an unfortunate run in with the foliage.
The nurse had the audacity to claim that she was intoxicated. I knew she hadn’t drunk a drop of alcohol the whole night, so that theory was utter bullshit. They wanted this wrapped up in a tidy little bow, no fuss made for the important alumni that still graced our shores.
Normally they wouldn’t disclose anything about a patient’s condition to anyone but family, but I was a motherfucking Ledger and money talks. If my father taught me anything, it’s that everyone has a price.
Salem shifts, obviously uncomfortable in her bandages. Fuck. I feel helpless to do anything but be right here. I wrack my hands down my face, slapping the sides to stay awake. I’d been up all night, not letting myself take my eyes off her for a second. Other than when she was carted off by the on-staff doctor and nurses, I’d been plastered to her side, waiting for those jade green eyes to open. I was desperate for those lips to tell me to fuck off.
Fuck, this was torture. I’d never been this out of mind for someone before and I wasn’t sure I liked it. I was supposed to use her, the same I’d done to girls before. Why her? Of all the women I could fall for, it had to be Salem Knox. No matter how much I try to fight my feelings, I end up coming back for more.
“Anything?” Walker says handing me a cup of black coffee and sets down a bag of clothes he got from Skye for Salem to change into.
I shake my head grateful for the jolt of caffeine. “Did you find anything.”
“No. Unless you want to count a drunk Emmet.”
“Emmet was out there?”
“Yeah. Seemed pretty wasted too. If I hadn’t caught him, he might have gone right over the edge of the cliff.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah.”
We stand there sipping our coffees, staring down at Salem.
“She looked so scared.” Walker whispers.
I swallow a hard lump, ashamed I drove her to want to arrive and leave alone.
“Pierce?” Salem croaks out. “Walker?”
“We’re right here, wildcat.” Walker grabs her hand, and she squeezes her fingers around him blinking up in confusion.
“What happened? Why is my back on fire? Wait. Where am I?”
“You’re in the hospital wing.” Walker says squeezing her hand he’s still holding.
She sits up abruptly with a wince. “Woah, baby. Lay down. You’ve got about fifty stitches in your back.” I go over to the head of her bed, helping her lay back down careful not to spill my coffee all over her.
“Do you want to tell us what happened? When we found you, you were shaking with fear.” Walker asks, rubbing her arm. I feel a flare of jealousy at seeing him touch her, but I shove it away. The most important thing is she’s okay and finding whatever dead man did this to her.
“I…. I was walking down the path, but it felt like someone was following me. You know that feeling? Well, then I heard their steps behind me, but I couldn’t see them.” She breathes in wincing. “I was almost to the house when I felt someone swipe at my back with claws.”
I catch Walker’s quick look at me. We hadn’t seen anyone but that didn’t mean that someone didn’t attack her. Those woods were dense. Perfect for getting lost in. Or hiding.
“Oh, good you’re up.” A nurse chimes as she rolls in a cart. “Now I need you two to scoot I have to check on Ms. Knox’s dressings.”
“When will she be able to come home?” I ask.
“She should be cleared later today. Now shoo.”
Walker and I leave the room. “I’m going to head back to the house, get her set up somewhere more comfortable.” I nod my agreement, determined to wait outside this door until the nurse is finished.
I finish my coffee tossing the cup and check my drained phone. They really ought to keep chargers up here. I make a mental note to bring it up with the head of this department.
“You can go back in. She’s going to be alright. She’s lucky to have friends like you.”
Yeah, I’m sure all good friends set their friend’s rooms on fire. I let the guilt wash over me before I stride into her room, every bit the asshole she loves to hate.
Salem looks guarded and tired, but every bit as beautiful as the first time I saw her.
“Wow, you look like shit.” She doesn’t pull any punches and I fucking love it.
“You’re one to talk.”
“Ha. Ha.”
“We’ll find him Salem.”
“What if it was a woman.”
“Then they’ll be every bit as dead just the same.”
She sucks in a breath. I let her see just how serious I am. She bites her lip.
“Where was this kind of energy last night when your dad was calling me a whore?”
“Things with my Dad are complicated, but you’re right I should have said something. I’m sorry.”
“What was that?”
“What was what?”
“Those words. Did I just hear the Pierce Ledger apologize or am I high off the hospital drugs?”
“Definitely the second one.”
“That’s what I thought.”
“Alright, Ms. Knox. You’re all set to go. Just remember to change your bandages every 4-6 hours and follow up with a doctor within two days.” The nurse says as she comes in with a roll of bandages and ointment for her to take. “You’re allowed to take some ibuprofen for the pain. One to two 200mg tablets when you change your bandages. Do me a favor, drink it with water. We just had a kid who swallowed them dry and they got stuck in his esophagus.” Salem makes a grossed-out face.
“I promise to take good care of her.” I say.
Salem narrows her eyes at me. “I can take care of myself.”
“It’s not a bad idea to accept some help. The wounds are hard to reach.” Salem looks thrilled at the nurse’s words.
“Well, sorry we had to meet this way Salem.”
“What’s your name?” She asks.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m Jacqueline. Your bag of items is right over there by the window. Please let me know if you need any help getting dressed.” She leaves again, leaving Salem scowling at me.
“Need me to turn around while you change?” I point at the bag Walker left. She grabs it, sucking in air between her teeth with the sudden movement.
“Ok. Listen I know that nurse saw a lot of my parts, but would you mind…”
“I don’t mind.” I say grabbing the back of her gown’s strings. I pull gently letting her remove her arms from the material. She covers her front with the blue floral gown as I check the bag for a shirt.
“Well, there’s a bra in here if you want it, but I think it’ll rub your wounds if we try.” She shakes her head. “No bra it is.” I scrunch up a plain black t-shirt, working her head through the hole careful not to knock against her bandages that go from the nape of her neck down to her mid back. She works her arms in, letting me guide her when she needs it. She glances down.
“Underwear?” She asks. I dig in the bag, retrieving a back lacy see-through pair. I raise my eyebrows.
“Who does Skye think you’re going to need these for?”
She squares her shoulders, “Myself.”
I thumb the lace, half tempted to keep them for myself, but instead I go to the foot of her bed, taking her hospital sock clad feet in my hands. I slide the skimpy material up her creamy legs, noting the bandages coating her knees. A smattering of birthmarks dot her legs, something I hadn’t noticed before, but now I fight the urge to follow the trail of them with my lips.
“Can you stand?”
She nods. Panties laying right below her knees as we work together to swing her legs over the edge.
“Hold onto me.” She wraps her arms around my neck standing with me. Her t-shirt falls covering her front. I guide her undies up her legs as her grip becomes shaky. I settle the thin material around her hips, the scrap of fabric barely covering her ass. I sit her down and have her step one leg at a time into her black leggings.
“Alright, baby. I need you to stand one more time. Think you can manage?”
She must be tired because she doesn’t even sass me. She nods, linking her arms around my neck as she pushes up off the bed. I quickly hoist the leggings on. Her arm slips, but I hold her tight by the sides of her pants. “Okay, I’ve got you. Salem, sit for me, okay?” She sits, and I smooth her hair back.
“You good?” She licks her lips and nods.
“I just want to sleep.”
“Okay, baby. I’m going to get you out of here so you can sleep.”
And I do just that. Even going so far as to have a new mattress delivered via helicopter with special pillows, so she can sleep comfortably.
CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
Emmet
“There’s another player on the board. That’s the only explanation for it.”
Headmaster Hayden stirs his piping hot herbal tea, his displeasure palpable.
“What were you doing out there? Do you realize that you could have put the entire plan in jeopardy?”
I narrow my eyes at him. “I was taking a walk when I saw Salem get attacked. I knew that if she saw me, she would suspect me. Trust me, I played it off well. Walker doesn’t suspect a thing, and Salem never saw me.”
“You better hope they don’t find us out, or I won’t hesitate to snap your neck and send you flying back to purgatory faster than you can say your own name, Envy.”
I held my tongue about the body he was currently residing in not being able to snap a saltine cracker let alone my neck, but I wouldn’t put it past him to poison the shit out of me.
“You better fix this. Make sure they trust you implicitly. Do whatever it takes. We’re too close to Samhain to fuck it up now.” Spit gathered at the edges of his puckered lips, spraying saliva like he was Jonathan Groff.
The last thing I needed was someone trying to rid us of the only hope we had of getting the veil open.
“And you’re sure you didn’t see anyone?”
I can feel my patience thinning. “No. Like I said before, all I saw was Salem go down hard like she was attacked by air.”
His nostrils flare and I sense he isn’t telling me something important. Knowing better than to ask, I make to leave his house and head back to my room where I can get some information on Salem’s condition.
“Did you get the device from your father?” Remembering the flash drive in my pocket, I hand over the tech capable of blocking the island’s signal.
“No one should be able to get a phone call in or out once you activate it.” I tell him.
“Just think, Envy, in two weeks time we could be reunited with our families again.” His cloudy eyes shine wistfully.
I leave him to his memories and brace the cold, bracing myself for what I had to do the next coming weeks to make sure I never had to leave this body.
CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
Salem
My back feels like it’s being sliced open by a thousand tiny knives as Pierce and Walker assist me to an unfamiliar bedroom on the first floor.
“Where are we going?”
“We can’t have you ripping out those stitches trying to climb up to your princess tower.” Pierce jokes.
I blink taking in the ornate carvings of the room complete with a plush carpet and intricate wallpaper design. “Looks like I got upgraded to the Queen’s suite.”
“This is my room.” I spin my head towards him. “It’s fine. I’m going to take the couch and Garrison is going to take your bedroom for the time being.”
I feel a frown forming trying to figure him out. Why was he being so nice? He’d called me baby multiple times since last night and even apologized. It was throwing me for a loop.
They set me down on the world’s comfiest bed. I could fall asleep right now.
“Knock, knock.” Skye calls from the door. “Whoa, nice room.”
I gesture for her to come in and she takes a seat next to me on the side of my bed. “I’m so glad you’re okay. I was worried about you all night.” She grabs my hand with a squeeze. “I brought you your phone.” I grab it, noticing it’s been charged.
“Thank you.” I can hardly keep my eyes open and feel the need to lay down.
I see Walker placing my bag that carries my ruined dress and beat up shoes.
“Take these.” Pierce says, handing me two slim white pills and a bottle of water.
I let go of Skye’s hand and obey, too tired to put up a fight. Just getting dressed and over to the house seemed to wipe me out.
“We’ll leave you alone to get some rest, but I’ll be back in 4 hours to change your bandages.” Pierce says shooing Walker and Skye out, shutting off the lights.
I lay back and do exactly what my body is begging of me. Sleep.
CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
Skye
The kitchen is packed with the guys arguing over what to make for Salem as she recovers in Pierce’s room.
“Everyone knows you make chicken soup for someone who’s sick!” Graham says swinging a ladle at Walker who’s attempting to make her a sandwich.
“She’s not sick, she’s injured!” Walker says slapping more meat onto the bread and easily dodging Graham’s makeshift weapon. The sandwich meat is piled on higher than she could even open her mouth, but I say nothing, instead enjoying the chaos that’s unfolding before me while munching on some chips. My feet swing lazily from the stool as I pop another chip into my mouth, chomping its salty exterior and trying not to focus on who or what could have attacked Salem right outside our house. But, with all the guys home it feels safe. I swallow down a sharp piece wondering if Salem was the intended target or were they on their way here, after the three of us who were the only ones not attending the ball. That thought sours my stomach, making me toss the remainder of my chips into the trash, wiping the grease from my fingers.
“I already ordered a gourmet dinner that’s being flown in from Seattle as we speak.”
Walker and Graham gape at Pierce who’s shaking his phone at them like a trump card.
“No fucking way.” Walker slams a piece of bread down on top of his meat tower. “What am I going to do with this then?” He gestures at his leaning tower of meat.
“I don’t know, eat it yourself.” Pierce says with a shrug, leaving the room while typing out something on his phone. His posture all business.
