Wicked Ugly Bad (A Kinda Fairytale) (13 page)

Scarlett
whacked his shoulder in annoyance.

Dower
couldn’t have been more invested in this philosophical debate.  “Look, there’s
them
and there’s
us
.”  He made an emphatic hand gesture that indicated one side
versus another.  “Good and Bad shouldn’t mix.”  He glanced at Letty.  “No
matter how many Good broads need to be fucked by real men.”

She
made a face at him.  “Then,
you’ll
certainly be out of luck.”

Marrok
shrugged.  “I don’t ‘mix’ with Letty, so much as I bend her over that table and
take her from behind while she begs me to spank her.”  He nodded towards the
table beside Dower.

Scarlett’s
mouth dropped open and Marrok almost smiled.  If she was going to invent a
torrid affair as their alibi, she really needed to work on not looking so shocked
when he added some spicy details.  The table thing had just come right off the
top of his head, but now he was sort of intrigued by it, if he did say so
himself.

Dower
was, too.  His gaze slid up and down Letty’s body, like he was picturing
Marrok’s story playing out and not find the idea “disgusting,” at all.

Marrok
arched a brow.  “Don’t knock it ‘til you try it, Dow.”  He made it sound like an
offer, his tone clearly suggesting that the other man could share Letty’s lush
curves.  Marrok would see him dead first, but Dower didn’t know that.  “You
know the Good ones love to be Bad.”

Dower’s
puritanical bitching aside, he suddenly wasn’t so outraged over the notion of fraternizing
with Good folk outside of work.  Not when there was a chance his dick could
have an “assignation” right that moment.  His eyes drifted over to the table
with a speculative expression on his face.

…Which
was just what Marrok had been waiting for.

His
hand tightened on the back of the chair, his body already in motion.  Hefting
it up, he slammed it right into the side of Dower’s head.  The solid wood legs
cracked against the other man’s skull, knocking Dow to the ground.  Marrok
briefly saw the guy’s enraged expression and then he brought the chair down two
more times making sure Dow was unconscious.

Marrok
glanced over at Scarlett who was gaping down at Dower.  “No killing people,
just beating them with chairs.”  He reminded her.  “See?  I paid attention to
your rules.”

She
slowly raised her eyes to his.  “You are an annoying jackass.”  She said
sincerely.  “But, right now, I think you’re awesome.”

Marrok’s
mouth curved, happy to have impressed her.  “Wanna try out the table for real?”

“No.” 
Scarlett crouched down next to Dower.  “We need to tie him up.”  She looked
back over at the skein of green yard.  “Do you think that would hold him?”

Marrok
made a skeptical face.  “No.”  It wasn’t like they had any better options lying
around in the library, though, and Dow was down for the count.  “More
importantly, we need to stash him somewhere so nobody stumbles across him.”

“Like
where?”

“Closet? 
Bathroom?”  He jerked a thumb towards the bookshelves.  “Or we could dump him
back in the stacks.  I doubt anyone’s going to look for him in here.”

Letty
debated that.  “How long do you think he’ll be out cold?”

Considering
the beating Marrok had just given him?  “Hours.”

“Alright.” 
She nodded.  “We’ll be out of here tonight.  So if we can just keep him out of
sight until then, everything will be fine.”  She frowned at Dow’s unconscious
form.  “We have bigger issues to deal with, right now.”

“I
agree.  We should get back to making out.”

That
got her attention.  “I told you, that was a mistake!”

“No,
it wasn’t.  I knew exactly what I was doing.”

“Oh,
I’m sure you
did
.”  She stood up and crossed her arms over her chest.  “But
whatever it is you’re up to, I’m not falling for it.  You’re not tricking me,
not distracting me, not
pretending
to pretend to seduce me…”

“Did
it feel like I was pretending to pretend?”

“…It’s
not happening, Marrok!”  She continued like she didn’t even hear him.  “I have
no idea what you’d hoped to accomplish…”

“Really? 
You couldn’t figure it out?  Because, I wasn’t being real subtle about my
master plan when I had my tongue in your mouth.”

Letty
kept going.  “…but, I am soooo onto you.  I understand that because you’re so,”
she hesitated, “
incredibly
handsome…”

Marrok
grinned.  He didn’t want her
just
wanting him for his looks, but --honestly--
what else did he have to offer a woman?  Letty finding him attractive was a
huge step in the right direction.

Her
eyes narrowed.  “…that you’re used to women being drawn to you and being
blinded by your charm.  But, I am not an idiot.  Men who look like you do not
come on to ugly stepsisters.  Not without an agenda.”

“You’re
not ugly.”

“What
do you
want?
”  She demanded.  “Just tell me why you kissed me.”

“Basically,
it seemed like a good first step to getting you naked.”

Letty
stared up at him in frustration.  “And why do you want
that?
”

“Why
do I want you
naked?
”  He repeated incredulously.  Was she kidding?

“Yes. 
The truth.”

What
could he say that wouldn’t make her mad?  Now did not seem the ideal time to
mention the fact that she was his True Love.  Or that he spent every share
circle fantasizing about her body tied to his bed.  What would Letty want to
hear?  “Because, I think it would be fun?”  He tried.

“
Fun?!
 
We have to hide Dower, disable the alarms, hope that Ramona stays locked up in
the basement, outsmart all the guards, pray that Benji comes back, and do about
a thousand other things or we’re never getting out of here… And you want to
have
fun?
”

“I’m
always having fun when you’re around, Red.”  The girl was a constant source of
new and surprising ideas.  “We’d just be having
more
fun if we were
having sex.”

“You’re
unbelievable.  You could have any woman in here and you turn them all down, but
you’re flirting with
me?
”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“You’re
the one I want.”

“
Why?
”

God,
that was just her favorite word.  He hadn’t faced an interrogation like this
since his last arrest.  Marrok tried to come up with an explanation that she’d
believe, but that wouldn’t scare her away.  No Good girl would be thrilled to
be bound to a wolf.  What could he tell her?  The very first thing that came to
mind made him sound like a pansy, but it was completely true.

“Because,
you reached out and held my hand.”

She
looked mystified by that response.  “No one’s ever held your hand before?”

“No. 
That’s not what they want from me.”

“I
don’t want anything from you, besides your help.”  She said it like she had a
pretty good idea what was usually demanded of him.  “I promise I’ll get you out
of here, no matter what.  You don’t have to sleep with me.”

“I
want
to sleep with you.”  He’d never had to actually seduce a woman
before, but it was coming naturally.  “There’s something real between us, baby. 
A connection.  It’s been there from the beginning.  Can you feel it, too?”

Blue
eye met his and she gave a hesitant nod.

Marrok’s
mouth curved.

She
quickly rallied.  “But, that doesn’t mean I’m going to fall into bed with you. 
I
know
that something else is going on here, so you might as well just
tell me what it is and…”  Before Letty could continue her newest argument as to
why everything he said was a lie, the room went dark.  One of the light bulbs
overhead blew out, plunging the library into deeper gloom.

Marrok
and Scarlett both looked up.

“Great.” 
He muttered, although, on the plus side, it did abruptly stop Letty’s
questions.  She fell totally silent.  He glanced over at his contrary little
True Love, surprised that she’d given up her inquisition before beating him
with a phonebook.  “You okay?”

Letty
was staring at up at the ceiling with the same faraway expression that she
always got when she’d been struck by a new and surprising idea.  “I know how to
disable the alarms.”  She whispered.

Rumpelstiltskin
is tedious to listen to, be around, and write about.

But, for a
few extra food rations, he’ll make
amazing
jewelry out of straw.

I’ve
already finished my holiday shopping!

Psychiatric
case notes of Dr. Ramona Fae

“So
we have two choices.”  Scarlett leaned across the table, her eyes intent.  She’d
corralled Avenant, Ez,, Marrok, and Rumpelstiltskin in the dining hall and was
doing her best to appear inconspicuous.  All around them, motley groups of
inmates ate the same small portions of porridge they were given for every
meal.  “Listen to both options before you start yelling, alright?”

“I
don’t make any promises.”  Avenant informed her seriously.  From the careful
way he was speaking, it was clear that he’d been given his nightly dosage of
meds and trying to fight through them.

Esmeralda
rolled her eyes at him and finished off her runny gruel.  “I think I’m even hungrier
in this body.”  She patted her stomach, which was still disguised as
Benji’s
stomach.  Given the paltry food rations in the WUB Club, everyone was usually
starving.  It was another way to keep the patients weak and demoralized.

“We’ll
eat when we get out of here.”  Scarlett assured her.  “Anyway, I used Ramona’s
keys to steal her tablet and did a little bit of internet research on how this
place was constructed.”

“I
helped.”  Marrok put in.

“You
played solitaire.”  Scarlett corrected.

“They
have the plans for this place online?”  Avenant rolled his eyes.  “Typical. 
Crimes only happen because the Good folk make it so damn easy.”

“Yeah,
the WUB Club homepage helpfully explained how secure everything is and the
details were a good starting point for my research.”  Even then, it had taken
Scarlett the better part of the afternoon to find out what she needed to know.

Things
would’ve no doubt gone faster if not for Marrok being there.  It was hard to
concentrate on anything when he was lounging a few feet away, looking beautiful
and wild and perfect.  He was deliberately trying to be appealing and it
worked, damn him.  As if he wasn’t distracting enough
before
, now he had
to go and prove that he was the best kisser in the world.  It just wasn’t fair.

That
jackass was up to something.  Kissing her like that made no sense.  Why would
he want her when he could have anyone?  He
had
to have some ulterior
motive, but Scarlett couldn’t figure out what it was.  Marrok seemed committed
to the escape, so she doubted that he was trying to undermine her plans.  And,
since he was obviously planning to leave the WUB Club with the rest of the
group, it also didn’t seem likely that he was playing along with Dr. White’s
plan to seduce Scarlett out of the glass slipper.

So
what was his game?

Aside
from making her insane with desire and general irritation.

He
caught her frowning at him and shined a typically stellar grin.

Scarlett
made a face at him and refocused on the group.  They were all there except for Benji,
who’d already escaped, and Dru.  Cindy made sure Letty and Dru were kept on
separate schedules as much as possible, so Drusilla ate at the second dining
time.  Given how drugged her sister was, poor Dru wouldn’t have much to
contribute to the discussion, anyway.

“So,
I’ve come up with a plan.”  Letty lowered her voice.  “We have to cut the
power.”

Rumpelstiltskin
swallowed.  “To… the building?”

“Yep.” 
She didn’t see a way around it.  “And, like I said, there are two ways to do
that.  Option one:  Someone’s got to stay behind.”

Instantly,
there was an outcry around the cafeteria table.

“Fuck
that.”  Rumpelstiltskin and Avenant chorused.

“I’m
not staying here!”  Esmeralda yelped.

“I
vote we leave Avenant.”  Marrok said at the same time.

Scarlett
made an irritated “Shh!” sound at all of them.  “I said no yelling until you
hear me out.”  She reiterated.  God, they just could
not
follow
directions.  “We’re not getting out of here if the power is on, so we have to
disable it.  Period.  Now, we can sabotage the system in the utility room,
without too much trouble.”  Scarlett had total confidence her crew’s abilities
to destroy.  “The problem is there’s a backup system.  Fifteen seconds after we
lose the primary power, the backup will kick-in and lock everything down.  All
the doors will seal tight.”