"Jacklyn, Jacklyn wake up!"
I inhale a sharp breath as my eyes flutter open to James's handsome face and forest green, concern filled eyes staring down at me. He places both hands on either side of my face.
"Are you okay?" he asks softly.
I nod. Big mistake. Sharp pains shoot through the back of my head. Wincing, I sit up with Jame's arms supporting me. My mouth goes dry as I look around.
"Where are we?" I whisper.
James sighs before meeting my gaze. "Your sister's men knocked us out and locked us up in here."
I scoff. "She has "men" now? What the actual hell is this place?"
I rub my temples to ease the onset of a pounding headache.
James gently grabs my wrists and looks me in the eyes. "We need to find a way out of here, it is clear your sister does not want to go home, she's old enough to make her own decisions. You and I need to leave right now."
I shake my head. "I can't leave without my sister Jay."
James abruptly stands up. "I don't understand you Jacklyn, she locked you up in here like some thief, she dragged you into her mess, and on top of that she most likely gave you a concussion!"
I stand up too, ignoring the shooting pain in my head. "She is my sister James, and she's clearly confused."
James grabs me my the shoulders. "I don't give a damn about your sister, not after what she's done to you. The only person I care about right now is you, Jacklyn. I lo-"
His eyes lock with mine.
"What is it? You what?" I whisper.
He is standing so close, our noses almost touch. I am suddenly engulfed in his scent: sage, lavender,....a hint of charred firewood. His hands slide down to my waist. Tugging on my hips, he pulls me closer to him. James's eyes hold mine, his lips slightly parted. I tilt my head upwards and lean into him.
"Am I interrupting something?"
I immediately pull back from James to find my sister glaring at us, her hip cocked to one side. Folding her arms, she shifts her gaze from me to James, then back to me again.
"My boss is waiting to meet you."
My eyebrows crease. "Your....boss? Is waiting to meet...me?"
She nods curtly before sauntering off, her skirts swishing as she goes.
I step forward as James stops me. I turn to him.
"We want to get out of here right? Maybe this boss of hers knows how, because according to Vivian we can't leave the way we came."
James does not protest further as the keys to the cell are fitted in and we are escorted out of the jail.
"Where are we going?" I ask the gruff looking man leading us.
He grunts and continues walking without a word. I feel James tense beside me as we are ushered into a large room. It appears to be part of an abandoned warehouse. I scan the room and immediately I find three men stationed on the higher levels of the warehouse, the tips of their boots show through the slits in the walls as they walk. James shoots me a look to let me know he noticed them too. I nod and focus my attention ahead.
"Wait here," the gruff man says before walking up to what I assume to be the leader, a woman by the looks of it. Her long, flowing black skirt spills over the sides of her throne looking chair, and her silky black hair tumbles in midnight waves over her pale shoulders. She pulls back the hood of her vest to reveal her face and that....that is when every curse word I ever learned runs through my head, threatening to rush out of my mouth. I bite my tongue. This woman...whoever she is, has no fingers. And that can only mean one thing.
I grit my teeth together and shoot a glare at my sister, who is staring down at me from her spot next to this woman...this...witch. And she has a cunning smile on her face. Not for the first time that day, I wondered how I ever thought my sister was innocent.