Page 30 of Lightning Angel

“So am I,” she said and walked to him. He wouldn’t be able to do anything to her now; the Lightning Knight had made sure of it. Alexa smiled down at Brandon with newfound courage. “Better watch your back next time.”

Despite twitching in agony, he smirked up at her. “You too, pretty doll. We have a deal, remember?”

Alexa grounded her teeth. “Get out of my house. If you come back, you’re done for.”

Brandon chuckled and tried to push himself to his feet. After a lot of grunting and slow movements, when he finally got on his feet, Alexa took a step back by instinct. His smirk widened. He stepped toward her like a panther, but before the third step, he was yanked back by the same violent force.

And this time, Alexa saw it.

An invisible hand gripped the collar of Brandon’s shirt from behind and held him off. She saw the fabric being clenched.

He’s still here.Her heart sang.

Brandon jerked and looked around him again. Whenhe turned back to her, she tried to keep her expression neutral.

He shook a finger at her. “I don’t know what game you are playing, Alexa. But, Monday is your deadline. If you won’t agree to my deal before that, you’ll live all your life regretting the chance you had to save your sister. I will leave for now, but I will be back. Be ready.”

With that, he stomped out of the kitchen past her, not even touching her, only to stop at the foyer and call back, “Oh, and reminder; don’t tell anyone. You don’t want to find out what will happen next.”

The front door banged shut. Alexa hurried out of the kitchen to make sure Brandon had really gone. She saw him getting into his car that was parked behind Cassie’s on the street and drove away.

She locked the door and slumped against it, and the tears she didn’t know were there began to flood out of her eyes.

What was she going to do?

Then she remembered it. She wasn’t alone.

He is here.

“Lightning Knight,” she began, partially feeling foolish to talk to an empty room even though she believed he was still there and partially brimming with hope. “I know it’s you; who else could it be? And it seems I should ask for your help now. I don’t know what to do. If you’re so keen on playing my knight, you might as well want to save me from this. Because I’ve never felt so helpless before. Please, if you’re still here and listening, please help me like what you did with Melissa. Or, in any other way. Just… help me.”

* **

Brandon hadn’t returned…yet. Cassie was convinced he was staying with Alexa. Daphne didn’t find anything amiss about her, with how good at pretending Alexa was.

Alexa didn’t remember ever living in fear. She even dreaded using her bathroom, wondering what if Brandon somehow had a camera in there too, and used the rarely-used common bathroom downstairs instead.

The deadline dragged closer and Brandon kept sending her messages every day, reminding how little time she had before Cassie returned. As though she didn’t know already.

There hadn’t been a sign of the Lightning Knight either.

Alexa had looked out for any sign of him being around, with hope and eagerness, but everything had been perfectly normal since that day. And she couldn’t help but feel disappointment and dread.

Maybe he wasn’t there, after all, when she asked him for help. Maybe he left as soon as he thought her threat had left the house; maybe he didn’t stay for her meltdown. But, if he helped her with Melissa—who wasn’t a threat at all—when she hadn’t asked or even wanted it, wouldn’t he be helping her when she was in real danger?

Alexa failed to understand him—orit, whatever this Lightning Knight was. One thing, she was sure, the world she was living in wasn’t the kind of world she had thought it to be. Something supernatural was out therelike she read in her books, and one of them had somehow collided with her own life.

But where was he when she needed him?

Several times, Alexa considered contacting the police or the organizations that advocated for women and children. What if they could arrest Brandon for his attempt at sexual assault? She did have his messages as evidence after all.

But…

There werebutsandwhat ifsin every loophole she tried to find.

What if it got out of hand? Could she trust the authorities with hers and her sister’s lives and their reputations?

What if Brandon found out? What if, when he realized he was going to jail, he released the pictures in revenge?