Made in Malice (Corrupt Credence Book 1)

While we’re waiting for my overpriced luggage to make it to the sorter thing, I pull the folded itinerary out of my bag. I refused to bring the small, monogrammed duffle with me when there was no need, so I left it in the luggage trunk, along with the fancy folder.

I scanned this sheet several times while we were on the plane, which wasn’t much different than riding a bus, other than takeoff and landing. It says there will be a driver waiting to take me to my “family estate.”

“Are you coming with me, you know, to the house?” I ask Alden. I figure he’s as safe as I’m going to get. He could have killed me several times already, but he only seems to look out for me.

“Yes.” He says it with a snap of finality, as if he thinks I’m trying to get rid of him. Little does he know…

“Cool, how long did they hire you to be my escort?” Calling him my protector sounds weird, but escort is almost laughable. When I think of an escort, an expensive call girl comes to mind. That doesn’t fit Alden’s image at all.

“Until I’m dismissed.”

“How long is that?”

“So eager to get rid of me, Miss Devlin?” He reaches for my trunk and the other matching luggage coming down the conveyor belt.

“Nova, and no, you’re kind of growing on me. Plus, I figure if something goes down, I can probably run faster than you.”

“You do, do you?” I think that’s a smile I see on the corner of his lip, but it’s gone too fast to really tell.

“I could take you,” I tease. It’s been a while since I let my guard down around anyone, and it’s not like I have much of a choice with him, so I might as well make the best of it.

“Surely,” he quips dryly.

“So you’ll be there when I meet them?” I ask once we start making our way to the exit with the loaded trolley. My stomach is in knots, and it’s not because I’m worried I’m setting myself up to be abducted. The reality that my parents hid something pretty dang important from me my entire life is sinking in, not to mention there was probably a good reason for that, and here I am, walking straight toward it.

“The property is very well protected.” He gives me a non-answer.

“From what, and why does that matter?”

“Any outside threat.” He glances down at me. “You’ll be free of me in certain locations.”

I laugh nervously. “Is there a moat surrounding the castle?”

“No, but the fence is impossible to cross without detection, and they would never make it to the house.”

My feet stop moving, and I gape at his back. I don’t think he’s joking. Alden stops after me, proving he is very aware of what I’m doing. “What are they, royalty or something?” I’m being flippant, but this is messing with my head.

“You really have no idea.” He says it as if he’s speaking more to himself than me, but I answer anyway.

“No, and I’m thinking maybe I’m not ready for this.” I look around, seeing countless strangers streaming past me—a sea of people with destinations in mind and futures planned out. Why the hell did I let some money and the promise of a family lure me here?

“Nova,” Alden says softly, slowly. He must know I’m about two seconds from running, because he releases the trolley and turns to face me fully. “They will not hurt you.” There’s conviction in his tone, but I don’t know him well enough to know if I can believe it.

“Why didn’t I know about them? Who are they?”

“I can’t answer those questions.” Alden takes one step closer to me. I know if I run, he’s going to come after me, and we’ll make a scene, which is the last thing I want.

“Can’t or won’t?” I ask, wondering why I put any trust in him at all. Am I really that desperate?

He doesn’t placate me with a response, which gives me my answer. He knows the truth, but he won’t tell me, which means his loyalty isn’t to me at all. It’s to the people paying him, my grandparents, which I should have assumed all along.

“I want to go back to my crappy apartment,” I admit out loud.

“They are expecting us, Nova, and you don’t want to disappoint them.” I can’t tell if he feels sorry for me or if his somberness means something else entirely. “They won’t hurt you,” he tells me again, but any trust I thought we were building has dried up.

When my feet remain rooted to the ground, he reaches for my arm, gripping me tightly so I couldn’t get away if I wanted to, then he comes close enough so I can hear his whispered words. “They need you, remember that, Nova.”

“Why do they need me?”

His lips thin, and I know I’m not getting an answer.

“I’m so dumb.”

“It would have been foolish to deny them. By coming this way, you will have freedoms, choices.”

“You’re saying they would have brought me here against my will?”

Alden steps back from me, and his grip on my arm loosens, leaving an ache behind. “Are you feeling better, Miss Devlin?” he questions as if the whispered conversation we just had didn’t happen and he was only checking on me because I felt ill. It’s also not lost on me that I’m Miss Devlin again.

“Fine, thank you. Must have been the flight.” I don’t meet his eyes when I answer.

“If you’re ready, the car is waiting.” He waits for me to walk ahead of him, then follows me with the trolley.

Panic flares in my stomach when we step outside and I see rows of cars lined up at the curb. I don’t even have a chance to enjoy the warmer temperature before Alden says, “This way,” then gestures toward a black SUV with the rear gate already open. There’s a man standing next to the open rear passenger door dressed in a suit. He ducks his head down when our eyes meet in some weird greeting.

Alden leaves the trolley at the curb near the rear of the vehicle, then ushers me into the backseat with his body behind mine.

The man at the door closes it the moment I’m inside, and I start to breathe heavily. Why am I more frightened to be in this car than I was on the plane? Alden slides into the seat next to me and instructs, “Buckle up,” without even looking at me.

My fingers shake as I look over my shoulder to find the belt, but I do as I’m told. I should have run for the hills the day Virgil showed up at my door.