You have 3 days.

I can't get Victor's deadline out of my head.

The note was delivered mid-day yesterday, but Kieran didn't get it until late last night. Almost 24 hours have passed since then, so...

38 hours left. Maybe less.

Kieran is out with his friends trying to figure out where Victor is keeping Rose, while I'm just here at home chewing my nails down to the nubs, doing my best to push the guilt to the back of my mind.

This is all my fault.

I only got about four hours of sleep last night, even after taking my medication that's supposed to help. I don't know if I'm developing a tolerance or if my anxiety is just stronger than the most heavy-duty sleeping pill.

Probably both.

The last I heard from Kieran, he was working with Finn and Zane on part one of the plan: find Rose. The remaining parts being to rescue her and kill Victor—as if that's the easy part.

When Vic and I were together, I loved that he was so smart. He always had a plan; his plans had plans. But now that he's my enemy, his intelligence is the worst thing about him. You can't outthink Victor, but that's exactly what we're trying to do.

Kieran and his friends act like it's going to be easy: just send in someone to save Rose. It just can't be Kieran or an Incubus or Succubus or any of Kieran's known friends, because he'll be expecting them. Of course, we'll have to sneak up on him somehow, even though they think he'll have demons around who can hear us coming from miles away and can sense if we lie.

Basically fucking impossible.

And I can't stop thinking about Rose and that ticking clock.

And how this is totally, entirely my fault.

I hear the sound of keys in the front door and I turn to see Zahra making her way inside.

"Hey!" she calls, closing the door behind her. "What are you doing home? You aren't working tonight?"

She walks over to Pumpkin, who is stretched out in front of the fireplace like a fuzzy orange Twinkie, and gives him a pat on the head.

"I called in sick. I'm not actually sick but... It's a long story."

That's a hell of an understatement.

"Jesus, girl, are you okay?" She sets her purse down on the table and sits beside me on the couch. "You look miserable. What's going on?"

I take a deep breath in and sigh.

How do I even begin with this? It's not like I can tell her that my ex is a demon and has kidnapped Kieran's sister in order to convince him to trade me for her.

"It's Victor... he's... he's harassing Kieran now. It's bad."

"Shit." Zahra doesn't curse much, so when she does it feels so strange. Clearly it's a sign of just how bad this situation is—and she doesn't even know the half of it. "How did he find out about Kieran? Does he know where you are?"

"I... It's a really long story. I don't... honestly I don't know. He called me and I didn't realize who it was, so I answered. I think he figured out that Kieran and I were together. Fuck, Zahr... this is all my fault."

I cringe and drop my head into my hands. Guilt has been gnawing at my gut all day, but now that I've said it out loud, it feels more real.

"No no no," she says, scooting closer and wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "This is Victor's fault. You didn't do anything, he did."

I sniffle and I feel tears run down my cheeks.

"But I could stop it."

"How could you possibly stop it?"

"He kidnapped Kieran's sister!" The words leap out before I have a chance to stop them.

She pulls away slightly, her eyes wide and her jaw slack as she searches for confirmation that what I've said is real.

"What?! Sam... oh my god, are you serious?"

"I'm serious."

"Shit."

That's twice in one conversation. It's official: this is very, very bad.

"Do the police know?" she asks.

What would the police even do if I told them my demon ex kidnapped the sister of my immortal boyfriend? Anything they could do would probably just be more likely to get Rose killed.

"Yeah, they know."

"I'm so sorry, Sam. That is so messed up." She takes my hand in hers and gives it a quick squeeze. "He's not right in the head, babe, you've gotta realize that. That's not on you."

"He's gonna kill her." I suck in a shaky breath and start to sob. She wraps her arms around me and hugs me tight.

"You can't control his actions."

"What if I could?" I wipe the tears from my cheeks.

"What do you mean?"

"What if there was something I could do? What if I could make him stop?"

"You can't, Sam. That's the point."

But I can. I know I can.

So I have to try.

*****

It rings just once before he picks up.

"Hi, Samantha," Vic says. His voice is smug and expectant, like he had been waiting for my call.

"Is Rose okay?" I ask.

"She's okay. I wouldn't hurt her. Do you really think I'd hurt an innocent woman?"

"You kidnapped an innocent woman, Vic."

"Well, you did give me the idea, Sam."

"I did not. What the hell are you talking about?"

"You made a point of reminding me that he wasn't always a demon after all—he was born a human. Which means he has a human past."

My stomach sinks.

He's right. This is even more my fault than I realized.

"You need to let her go."

"I don't want to hurt the girl. You know that, right?"

"Then don't, Vic. Let her go."

"Okay," he says. "I will."

The weight falls off my chest for a moment.

Is it really that simple? Is he not really the monster I've built up in my head?

"You will?"

"Yeah, I will. I'd do anything for you, Sam. You know that."

I want to believe him, but everything about this is too easy.

"Come meet me," he says.

"Vic..."

"That's my condition: I need to see you in person."

I honestly thought he was going to insist I trade myself for her—and it was a trade I was ready to make. I can't let him kill this innocent woman over his obsession with me. But if he just wants to see me in person, then maybe this is more doable than I expected.

"Okay."

"I'll text you an address."

Alarm bells go off in my head. That seems like a good way to get kidnapped, especially by someone who is already a known kidnapper.

"No. I'll text you somewhere. Public."

"Smart," he says, chuckling softly. "You've always been a smart girl."

"And I want you to bring Rose."

He laughs again.

"Like I said... smart. You always take me by surprise, you know that? That's one of the things I love about you."

It's a bit of a backhanded compliment, but I am dealing with a psychopath here, so I guess that's a best-case scenario.

"Is that a yes?"

"I'll bring Rose."

It's ironic that Victor thinks I'm so smart. This is probably the dumbest thing I've done in my whole life.

*****

I've been waiting at a café table for thirty minutes.

Victor is late. He's never late, yet when he chases me for months and I finally agree to meet up with him, he's suddenly a no-show.

"Would you like to order while you wait?" the waitress asks.

"Sure," I say. I can't exactly sit here forever without ordering. "I'll have a latte, please."

It's 11:30am. I wonder if Kieran came back to the house by now or if he and his friends have come up with some sort of a plan. I check my phone, but I have no calls or texts, so I'm guessing not.

The waitress drops off my coffee and I take a few sips.

Where the hell is he?

Maybe Kieran found him and their plan has actually worked out.

Another 20 minutes go by and I find myself staring at the bottom of an empty cup.

How long should I wait before I give up?

If it were any other circumstance, I'd call it after an hour, but the stakes are too high here. Kieran's sister is counting on me and I may be the only one who can get her out of this mess.

"I missed you." I hear Victor's low voice in my ear and I shudder. He steps around my chair and sits down across from me. He smiles and takes me in with a deep loving gaze. In another life, the same look might have given me butterflies, but today it makes my skin crawl.

"Where's Rose?" I ask.

"Is that all you have to say? After all this time?"

I narrow my eyes and cross my arms.

"You're late."

"I'm sorry about that. I had a good reason for that, I promise."

"You were getting Rose?"

He chuckles and shakes his head.

"Not exactly. I was waiting for something."

"Damn it, Victor. You want to play coy, fine, but I'm not playing this game with you."

I reach for my phone out to text Kieran, but I stop halfway, feeling woozy. It's like I'm having one of my sleep attacks, but stronger. My vision blurs and my ears are ringing. I try to speak, but my throat feels thick and my tongue weak.

What's happening?

"Wha- why d-" The words from my lips sound muddled, almost incomprehensible. He gives me an apologetic smile and shakes his head.

"I had to wait for you to finish your drink."

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