Lib Novel Page 41
“It’s me,” I whispered as relief hit hard.
“Where thehellhave you been? We’ve been looking for you!”
She was pissed…reallypissed. I smiled. That only meant one thing.She cared.“I need you to listen to me, V, okay?”
Silence. “Okayyy.”
“You know that Plan B? Yeah, well, that went sideways.” I glanced at the doorway, listening to Riven’s housekeeper putting away groceries. “So I’m now making it up as I go along. But I need you to take this number down, okay? If you don’t hear from me or if…”I turn up dead.“Anything else happens, I’ll need you to follow it.”
I pressed the button to access Maria’s contacts, then her messages, finding Riven’s caller ID. It wasn’t the Unknown number I wanted, but it was something. But there was something about the message…it looked like a damn grocery list. Made sense. Still…what he’d asked for nagged at me. I closed the message down and read her back the number.
“Now, repeat it back to me.”
She did, reciting it perfectly. I exhaled hard.
“Helene?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you safe?”
I opened my eyes, listening to the movement in the distance. If I told her the truth, what then? I knew Vivienne, maybe a little more than she wanted me to. She was stronger now.Protective.Even if it was me. “I am for now. I just need you to take care of yourself, okay? Stay with London and the sons. Tell Ryth…tell Ryth I’ll be back as soon as I can.”And with Hale’s head on a fucking spike.
“Okay, but if you need me to come and get you, all you have to do is tell me and I’ll be there.”
Pride swelled in my heart. There might be hope for us yet. “I will.”
“Be safe, Helene.” Her voice deepened. “Don’t piss me off.”
My smile widened. “I’ll try not to do that,” I finished, ended the call, and quickly deleted the number I’d called from the list of calls made.
But it was the message that stopped me from calling out to Riven’s housekeeper. I opened it back up and found Riven’s text, scrolling down the list he’d sent her:
Vegan butter.
Nut butter.
Is Nutella vegan? If so, get that as well.
Vegan crisps.
Oat milk.
Fresh vegetables…a lot of them, and fruits as well. Everything in season from that fresh fruit market on Maddison.
Also, wine. The usual.
Spare no expense.
Spare no expense?
My pulse was booming as I reread the instructions. This wasn’t just any list, this was…
You’ll eat what I give you. Do I make myself clear? You’ll eat, shower…do everything I tell you to do. You call me a monster now, but you haven’t seen the things I’m capable of. You don’t want that, Helene Montgomery. Trust me.
He’d been a monster at that moment. Terrifying me. But that…
That message wasn’t from someone who liked to be cruel.