Free Lily: Captive to the Dark by Alaska Angelini Page A

refuse to stop until you’re the Lily who was forcefully removed from my room. She fought with every ounce of strength she had to try to stay with me. I want her back and you’re going to give her to me.”
    I removed my hand, taking her mouth with all the brutality I felt she deserved for her betrayal. I couldn’t get enough. For the briefest moment, I felt her kiss me back. “That’s it. Let yourself go. Come back to me.” My arms wrapped around her as I deepened the kiss. At my hand tugging at her hair, she broke the connection, taking in a deep breath.
    “This is so wrong.”
    “No, this is right. We belong together and I’m going to show you why.”
    I fixed her dress as I let her feet search for the ground. Slade’s fancy sports car was parked in front of Lily’s building, but the Town Car was nowhere to be seen. They had to be out looking for her or dealing with Alec.
    “One night to try to convince you,” I said in her ear. “You give me that and if you want to go home in the morning, you can. If you refuse to stay with me tonight, we leave the country immediately. Your choice.” Before she could answer, I continued. “One night or Afghanistan. Either way, I get my chance. Think my proposition through. There, you’ll never escape and you know it. I’m willing to be miserable under my father’s roof if it means I get to keep you, so I’m fine with it either way.”
    A frustrated sob left her. “This isn’t fair. You have to see how complicated things would be. My brother would kill you if he knew how we met. We have to go our separate ways. You have to leave while you still can.”
    “Slade doesn’t scare me. Besides, do you really think he can best me at my own game? Death is nothing more than a delivery service in which I excel. He doesn’t stand a chance.”
    The fighting grew stronger. “Zain, tell me you’re not going to hurt my brother.”
    Killing was something I never joked about and I wasn’t going to lie to convince her either. “Your brother is safe…for now. Unless he gives me reason. Now, choose. One night, or do you want to go back?”
    Lily closed her eyes and a shiver had them reopening. Was it from the cool air or her imagining what the night would hold? I knew she didn’t want to verbally admit her true feelings. She was trying to view me as the enemy now — as if I had been the one who ripped her off the street and sold her. But I was determined to pull out her need for me, no matter what.
    “Do you give your word you’re truthfully going to let me walk away?”
    “Yes.”
    The tension left her body and I loosened my arms as she found her footing. “Fine. One night. That’s it. I’m warning you now, you’re not going to change my mind. We can talk all night and try to figure out this mess, but it’s a waste of time. You should just go home. Things can’t go back to the way they were between us.”
    Oh, they wouldn’t. They’d be better. We’d be here, away from my family and the danger that surrounded them. There was nothing that could force my hand in taking her back to that hell. I’d never broken my word before, but tonight I would. Desperate times came with desperate measures. Lily would be mine again. She’d come to overlook our past and focus on our future.
    “I love you and I’m not going anywhere.” I cupped her face, giving her one last kiss. She remained quiet as I eased us around the side and led her quickly into the building. “No talking until we get to my place. If you speak to anyone, I’ll shoot them. You know I’m not lying. If you say I’m going to lose you, what’s left for me? Don’t do something stupid.”
    “It was you I saw earlier?”
    “Yes. I told you, I’ve been here all along. When you stand at your window crying, I feel it. When you sleep, I’m there when you wake from the nightmares. You didn’t have those when you were in my arms, did you?”
    She kept her head down as I pushed the button to the elevator. “You