Pretty in the Dark (Dark and Wild #2)

Prologue

PROLOGUE

P ale moonlight highlighted the mist that swirled through the wet grass on the garden grounds. The chilly October air made her breath come out in little puffs. Her eyes scanned the bushes and trees with their bare branches. The squeak of the garden gate made her pause, one foot half-raised to take another step on the stone path that would lead from the house to the shed.

She strained to listen for the sound of footsteps as her heartbeat thundered in her ears.

Without warning, a gloved hand covered her mouth as a powerful arm wrapped around her, pulling her into the shadows. Her eyes went wide with panic. A scream caught in her throat as she struggled.

“Shhh…shhh…Blaire, it’s me.” David Black’s whispered voice filtered through the haze of panic and adrenaline.

His hand slipped from her mouth and she turned, her body shaking as she threw her arms around the broad shoulders of one of her oldest friends.

“Oh god, David, I have to go. He’s going to kill me.” Her words were whispered in terror. At any moment, the man she'd left asleep upstairs could wake and discover that she’d fled the bedroom that he had her locked in. She looked over David’s shoulder at the dark, quiet Wild estate. The house's shadow cast the rest of the garden where the moonlight didn’t touch, in near total darkness.

“Blaire, why are you here? You weren't supposed to be here." A glance down at his leather-gloved hands told her everything she needed to know.

“Oh my god, you’re here to kill him.”

David’s lips pressed together in a firm line, but he didn’t respond to her accusation. His eyes flicked up to the silent house, then back to her. “Niko is on his way, Blaire. You need to tell me what you were doing here. Now.” There was a biting command to his tone, and it made her shift uneasily.

“I thought I could talk to him. Reason with him, but he’s unhinged. Niko can’t come here, David. Edmund will kill him.” Her voice trailed off, fear causing her throat to close up.

“Niko is not going to leave you behind, Blaire. And I’ll take care of Edmund. Now, come on. He should have the car here any minute now.”

She let him lead her away but kept casting furtive glances over her shoulder, sure that she saw movement in one window. The dark house sat ominously in the night, like a brooding, disapproving figure watching her as she made her escape. A shudder went through her.

The gate squeaked again and she froze, her nails digging into the leather of David’s jacket where she held on to keep from slipping on the slick stone.

She gasped, letting go of her friend when she saw the figure that stood there, not caring if she slipped as she ran toward him. “Niko!”

Thick arms wrapped themselves around her as he drew her into him. “ Sunshine …” His voice was a gruff whisper against her hair, and she relaxed. Niko was here. “What are you doing here, my love?” He pulled back to look down at her. She knew he would be angry at her involvement, but also that he would understand. This was her mess. She needed to undo it. Only now, she saw that there was no other option. Edmund was insane.

David stepped up next to her, casting a worried frown in her direction. “She thought she could reason with him.”

“He’s crazy, Niko.” She shook her head as the tears spilled down her face. “He wouldn’t rip up the contract. He said he’d kill me before he let anyone else have me.” She drew her hand down to the front of her dress, pressing against her stomach there. “He said he didn’t care that I was already carrying your baby. He just wants me..." she whispered her words in terror.

Niko’s eyes darkened, the night already making them look black and soulless. “Did he touch you?” he growled the question, and she shook her head.

“No, no, Niko, I wouldn’t let him. He made me stay with him and locked me in the upstairs bedroom.” She gulped. She didn’t tell him what else he’d said. That the minute the baby was out of her, Blaire would be Edmund Wild’s completely. Whether or not she wanted it.

Some of the tension in his shoulders relaxed. “He’ll not hurt you or me, sunshine . I promise. Come on, Kage is waiting to meet you.” The moonlight glinted off his white teeth as he smiled down at her, as if her worries were nothing more than a bad dream. A dream she was more than ready to wake from. “I’m ready to meet him, too. I hope he’s ready for a sister.” Niko’s grin widened.

“So you know it’s a girl, huh?” His hand caressed her stomach, the gentlest swell of her belly the only tell that she was pregnant.

David coughed. “Niko, you need to go.” Niko’s eyes flew to David and he frowned.

“No. You take Blaire back to my penthouse. I’ll handle this.”

David shook his head. “Niko, you need to take care of Blaire and the baby now. I’ll take care of Edmund.”

The two men stared at each other in quiet assessment. Then Niko nodded and turned to Blaire, taking her by the hand and pulling her towards the blacked-out sedan at the end of the drive.

“You never knew when to stay in your lane, David Black.”

The crisp voice pierced the night air like the crack of a whip.

All three froze in their tracks.

Blaire turned her head toward the dark shadow that was descending the front porch stairs, her eyes going wide in terror.

Edmund’s ice-cold gaze met hers, and the smile that creased his thin lips reminded her of the grinning skulls. “Going somewhere, love?”