Tears welled in her eyes. She couldn’t wipe them away. There was no choice but to let them fall.
“I preferred the screaming,” the other man muttered.
“What do you want?” Holly whispered.
“You ought to know that by now. Haven’t you been poring over old Pearlie’s books?”
“You knew Pearl?”
“Everyone knew Pearl,” he replied. “Or knew of her. She used to substitute for my kindergarten teacher every now and then. Nice lady. I was sorry to hear about her passing.”
“Are you seriously offering me condolences while you’re holding me against my will?” Holly snapped.
“She’s got some bite to her.” The other man grinned. “That’ll make this loads more fun.”
Holly’s insides twisted themselves into slick knots. What did he mean by that?
“It’s unfortunate that you happen to be her granddaughter,” the oily one said. “I don’t pretend to be a good guy, but I give credit where credit’s due. She was a good lady.”
“I can’t believe this,” Holly muttered. “Can’t you do Pearl one last favor and let me go?”
Both men looked at her and chuckled. “I’m almost tempted to agree because you were ballsy enough to ask,” the oily man said. “But no. I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
“Can you at least tell me what’s going on?” Holly pleaded.
“Oh,” the oily man tutted. “That’s disappointing. I would’ve thought you had worked it out by now.”
“No one ever said the maiden was smart.” The other man shrugged.
“True enough.”
Shit. They knew she was the maiden. They had to be part of the faction who wanted to return to the dark ways. She glanced at Loch, who was staring at her intensely. She threw him a withering glare and looked away. She wanted nothing to do with him. When she was rescued, she’d leave him to rot.
At least her captors didn’t trust him, either.
“Boss, see that?” The other man pointed to the sky. Two birds, one snow white and the other pitch black, flew overhead. “They’re ready for us.”
“Took them long enough,” the oily man grumbled. “They were supposed to be ready hours ago.”
“Must’ve had trouble securing the mine.”
Mine? One of the old Silver Mines?
“I told them an abandoned mine isn’t the best place for a hideout. Sure, it comes with built-in defenses, but those defenses don’t care who they crush!” the oily man exclaimed.
“Don’t let the head honcho hear you talking like that,” the other man warned. “Did you see what he did to Caleb?”
“Caleb was a brainless lout. He doesn’t need his eyes,” the oily man muttered.
Holly felt sick.
“But, I need mine, so let’s get moving.” He got up and sliced the rope that kept Holly against the tree. “Can you walk, or do I need to carry you over my shoulder?” The way his eyes roved over her body made her shudder.
“I’ll walk.”
He was obviously disappointed. “Fine.” He attached a new length of rope to Holly’s wrist bindings and yanked her to her feet.
A wave of dizziness hit her. She stumbled forward into his chest.
“Nothing is going to convince me to let you go,” he purred in her ear. “But, you’re highly encouraged to try.”
“We don’t have time for this.” The oily man sighed before turning to Loch. “On your feet.”
“You’ve got this all backward, Fang.” Loch sighed as he got to his feet. He looked totally unamused. “You’re going to look like an idiot when you bring me in there and they hear my story.”
“You might not get a chance to tell it,” the oily one, Fang sneered. “I’ve been itching to cut out that silver tongue of yours since I met you.”
“You can, but it won’t make you sound any smarter.” Loch smirked.
Fang punched him swiftly in the nose. Blood poured down Loch’s face. Holly winced and looked away.
“Maybe that will teach you to act smarter.”
For once, Loch kept his mouth shut. Fang grabbed the rope attached to Loch’s bindings and pulled hard. The other man took Holly’s rope. Holly fell back as much as the rope would allow. When she struggled against it, it bit into her skin, instantly drawing blood.
“I wouldn’t fight too hard if I were you,” the other man called over his shoulder. “The rope is embedded with fairy glass. It’ll shred your skin to pieces. And don’t go fainting on us, either.”
“She hit the deck hard that night,” Fang added. “I wonder if it did any permanent damage.”
Well, that was one mystery solved. These two were the ones outside her house that night. The thought sent a shudder down her spine. What if they were there on other nights? What if they were watching her long before that?
She hesitated again. The rope bit into her, drawing more blood. Holly took a few steps forward, ensuring there was some slack in the rope. She held up her wrists to examine the damage. Sure enough, there were tiny sparkling bits in her lacerations.
“So, there are fairies, too?” she muttered.
“Are you talking to me?” Loch said quietly, falling in step beside her.
Holly went silent and looked away. She wanted nothing to do with him.
Loch sighed and tried again, “I’m the only friend you have in this mess, so you should probably not shut me out.”
“Friend?” she snapped.
Loch quickly shushed her and glanced at Fang and his sidekick. They were engrossed in conversation, but caution was still necessary.
“How can you call yourself my friend?” she continued in a whisper.
“Because I am. I need you to trust me.”
“You’re insane if you think I’m going to trust you.”
“What other choice have you got?” Loch asked. “I don’t see any of your grizzlies in
