Cage was gone for two whole days.

And in those two days, my condition got worse. The veins turned from numb to burning. My neck felt like it was on fire, and I spent every moment awake with an ice pack on my shoulder resting like a parrot. A very cold parrot, that is. The blue veins hadn't grown, but were darker. It would have been kinda fascinating if I didn't feel like my skin was on fire.

Heath told Fern what happened, and the fit she had was one for the records. I was actually hoping that Cage wouldn't return so he didn't have to face the wrath of my sister, because she had a few certain colourful words to say to Cage and with his temper, I knew it wasn't going to end well.

Strangely enough, I actually began to miss Cage after the first night he was gone. I felt a bit better with him gone, but also a whole lot worse despite knowing how stupid that was. During those two days, Heath also didn't show up. He only came by once, and I was sleeping at that time so I didn't see him. Nick stayed behind, having secret conversations with Fern behind closed doors.

We were staying at the hotel. I was teetering on the edge of going to the hospital and getting help there if Cage was a no show. I didn't want to die. A strange side effect to the sedative was a low energy level. For two whole days, I sat in one of the junior suites and cried my eyes out.

It was nearing the end of my time limit when Cage did arrive, and boy, what an entrance he made.

Actually, it wasn't quite the entrance that was so memorable. It was what happened afterwards, as soon as one Cage Vickers stepped through the lobby door.

"Fuck you!"

Bewildered green eyes met Fern's furious ones. Cage paused at the doorway, looking stunned. Nick was by Fern's side, ready to hold her back. Heath finally decided to join in on the fun. He was sitting beside me on the ledge of the strange sculpture, cradling little Diana in his arms. He was grumpy because Fern wouldn't let him smoke around the baby.

With matching black pajama shorts and shirt and blue veins, was me. As soon as Cage walked in through the door, I felt a surge of anger go through me. For the first time in 48 hours, I felt my energy come back.

He looked pretty as ever, with windblown hair and flashing green eyes. Always the charismatic and cold-hearted killer that Cage Vickers was. His eyes trailed past Fern and over to me, where I sat next to Heath. His jaw clenched when he noticed how close we were sitting together, and a small bubble of amusement grew in my stomach. When was he going to drop the affectionate act and leave me alone? What more could I provide Cage and what use did I have to him anymore?

The fact that Cage went all the way to Italy to get the antidote warmed my heart. But what he did to get that destroyed me. Just the thought of Cage being with another girl crushed my dignity.

"November, come with me please." Cage said. His voice was low and hoarse, like he had a bad cold. Frowning, I stood up. Almost immediately, a wave of nausea hit me. Heath looked up, his lips pursed. It took me a moment to get rid of the stars behind my eyes. Cage was waiting for me in the guest lounge, a pretty room with lots of chrome and marble.

On the black marble coffee table was a needle injection.

"Hi."

"Hello."

"How are you, November?"

"Oh, I'm fine." I said dryly. "You know, other than the fact that I'm about to die, I feel great. How are you, Cage?"

He didn't react to my tone of voice like he usually would have. Cage's eyes travelled to my neck, which was effectively covered by my black shirt. I felt better if I didn't see the veins. "Come here."

"If I take one more step, I'm going to throw up."

Cage didn't move, but glared at me instead. "November, I need you to walk to where I am. Can you do that?"

"No."

"Try."

I didn't. Heath's words were gnawing away at the back of my mind. "So did you sleep with her?"

He stiffened, and I noticed. Cage's eyes flashed angrily. "Did Heath tell you that?"

"Did you?" I repeated. I tried to hold off on the effect it was having on me, but I think Cage saw right through me. Now, it was up to him to have the decency not to lie to me.

For the longest moment, Cage didn't speak. He closed his eyes and rested his face in his hands. He looked miserable and it broke my heart. Why did we have to be so incompatible? So...wrong for each other? How Cage felt about me and how I felt about Cage couldn't be translated into words that anyone could understand, because I didn't even understand it myself. When Cage raised his eyes back to my curious ones, I saw nothing in them that gave away to the fire that burned inside. "Come here, November."

His brash response got to me. "I asked you a question."

"And I asked you to come here. You have ten seconds to walk over to me before I come get you myself, princess. And I will not be gentle. I do not care what you want or how you feel right now. What I want is for you to come here to where I am standing, and I will give you the antidote that I've worked so hard to fucking get-"

"You don't even know if it's going to work." The words tasted bitter in my mouth. He did sleep with Vivian. I could see it through his actions, how he avoided my question.

Cage picked up the injection. "I need to go monitor the cameras. I don't have time for your games. You're going to die in 24 hours if you don't get this in your bloodstream. It works, it's been tested. Last chance, princess."

"You fucked her." My mouth felt strange forming the words that I choked out.

His eyes darkened. "Yes, November. I did. I gave Vivian Barsille what she wanted so I could get the antidote that's going to save your life. I will explain myself later. We can talk about this. Right now, you need this injection to live. Enough bullshit. I went through a lot to get you this. Now come here."

He didn't even sound ashamed of what he'd done, and that's what broke me.

"Fern already said what I was going to." I don't know why I was so angry with Cage. After all, he did go through a lot to get the cure. Or perhaps I should say go into something to get the cure. The thought of Cage with another girl shouldn't have killed me, but it did. I rested my back against the wall, watching Cage carefully. I had an easy escape route. "And that was...to go fuck yourself, prince."

Cage smiled. And then he was right in front of me before I could even react. An iron arm clamped around my stomach, the other hand around my chin. Before I could kick Cage off me, his fingers twisted through my hair and pulled exposing my neck as he pulled my shirt down.

"No, I'd rather fuck you." He whispered against my cheek.

A sharp pain pierced my neck. Gasping, I fought to get Cage off me. His hand on my face and stomach kept me from going anywhere as the liquid inside drained from the needle. It was a pain like no other, my neck felt like it was on fire. Tears filled my eyes, blurring Cage's face from view.

He pulled the needle out and moved back.

Instantly, I clamped a hand around my neck. I could feel it now. I could feel my fingers against my skin that was numb only a few seconds before. My neck was as hot as it felt, an itchy burning that felt like hell on flesh. Cage, satisfied, watched me for a reaction. I wasn't going to fluff his ego even more with one, so I did the one thing I should have one a week ago. I left.

Sniffling and trying to hold back tears, I walked out of the lounge and darted past Heath, Nick, and Fern before they could ask what happened. Thankfully, Cage didn't pursue.

Unfortunately, Nick did.

"Hey, wait!" He called from the distance. I picked up my pace, trying to make it to one of the empty hotel rooms before he could catch up. We had the entire hotel to ourselves. It was unoccupied for the last ten months. Apparently, the co-owner of the hotel was looking for a lease settlement and couldn't find one. So she left the hotel in the ownership of Cage. We had the whole place to ourselves and it was pretty sweet. Especially the suites. Ha, see what I did there?

Sensing that Nick was catching up, I dashed into a room. It was a private lounge, and I knew that because of the title on the door that read 'Private Lounge.'

Before I could lock the door and cry my heart out in misery, Nick pushed the door open and slipped inside. In an instant his arms were wrapped around me, a comforting embrace that I hated because I didn't deserve it.

"Hey, hey." His soothing voice vibrated in my ears. I lost it then, bawling my eyes out. As for my neck, the burning sensation had gone and now it felt numb again. "Oh, November. It's okay. You're okay now. Please don't cry."

I don't know how, but somehow, we made it onto the leather couch. I sat down next to Nick, trying to compose myself again. I could see as far up as my shoulder. The veins seemed to be turning lighter. One of his hands touched my lower back and stayed here. He waited patiently for me to say something first.

After about five minutes of sniffling, I wiped my tears away. "I'm sorry."

Nick's eyes softened. "Don't be, please. You don't have to be sorry for anything. I don't know what happened and I won't ask. But for the love of God, don't cry over Cage. He's not worth it, November. Yes, I know what he did to get the cure. But it seems to be working." His fingers pushed my shirt back so he could see the veins. "And that's all that matters, November. You're alive. Take care of things one at a time. Let me help you."

He was so open and honest that I nearly did start crying again. "You want to help?"

"Yes."

At first, I was hesitant. The more I thought about it, the worse I felt. Nick watched me with curious eyes, waiting to see what I was going to do. And I was going to do something. It just wasn't a very good something to do. But I couldn't help myself.

I reached over. Nick stiffened slightly as my fingers traced over the indent of his collarbones, touching and dancing over his skin in a way that I knew would make Nick feel both aroused and uncomfortable. I touched Nick the way Cage touched me...brief, gentle contact that rose off the edge of flirtation and into dark, carnal desires.

Because that's what I wanted. I wanted the darkness. I had lost myself and I needed that part of my dignity back. What I was doing to Nick was completely, totally, and utterly wrong. It was manipulation, tricks I'd learn from Cage. I hated myself for using Nick to get back at Cage, but some part of me craved his attention. I wanted to make Cage jealous. Perhaps that wasn't the best idea. But it would heal some of the hurt left behind, and for a moment, I forget about my innocence and used the painful, raw, biting anger to continue on.

Trailing down Nick's chest, I stopped at the top of his belt.

His hand caught my own. "What are you doing?"

My eyes flickered to his nervous ones and I smiled. Nick was so cute when he didn't know what to do. Big, bad boys crashed and burned in the most fascinating way. It was just a matter of bringing that out. Nick had a look on his face that whispered both excitement and terror. He wanted to play but I was not his to play with. But I wasn't Cage's plaything, either. I was nobodys toy. And I didn't want to be.

Without answering, I continued on with my dangerous tease. I placed my fingertips at the end of his belt. And I hoped Cage was watching this. It was completely horrible what I was doing. Using Nick to get back at Cage didn't sound like something I'd do at all. But getting my heart broken by a criminal wasn't something I expected to happen, so I guess in some twisted sort of way, my acts were justified.

"Nick-" I used a voice unlike my own. This one was just a breathy whisper, exactly what Nick needed to hear to push him over the edge. We both knew how wrong this was. But boy, was it fun. I fixed a flush in myself that I knew would make him crack. I toyed with the edge of his belt. ''-I need you."

His hand wrapped around my wrist. It didn't feel the same as when Cage did that. Nothing could compare to the electrifying sparks that curled in my stomach when he touched me. Nick didn't even come close to giving me half the pleasure a certain someone could provide. But that didn't matter now. What mattered now was if there were another pair of eyes watching.

"Y-You don't need me- oh, please stop." Nick said softly, his voice cracking as I tugged his belt through one of the loops. Without giving myself time to reflect on how bad of a person I was for doing this, I leaned over and kissed Nick's jaw.

I kept my lips close to his ear so I could whisper, adding to the already there sexual frustration. I'd do what Cage did to me. How he made me feel, I wanted Cage to feel exactly that. The crushing realization that perhaps I didn't want him as much as he wanted me to want him. I did, but again, that was a useless matter. "You want me to stop?"

"November-" Nick jumped as he felt my hand slide down over his stomach and back to playing with his belt. I used my other hand to run them through his short cropped hair, keeping him close. Oh God, what was I doing? "-W-we can't do this. Cage is going to kill me if I touch you. You're his, I-I-"

"You don't want me?" I moved back, knowing it was not true. Unlike Cage, Nick was an open book. Everything he felt showed on his face. And I could tell, from his flushed cheeks to his heated eyes, how much this excited him. Perhaps I did have more power than I realized. ''You don't want me to do this?"

I stood up and sat back down, this time on Nick's lap. The straddling position was enough to make us both squirm. I tried not to show how out of my element I was and to keep up the sensual teasing facade, but it was hard. Maybe Cage wasn't watching this at all. Or maybe...he was watching this and he just didn't care enough to come and stop us. The thought crushed me. It also further encouraged me to manipulate Nick even more with my body.

I grabbed Nick's chin and pulled him up to my face until our mouths were just a few inches apart. His breathing was unsteady. Mine was controlled. His eyes flashed with excitement. I feigned flushed carnality. Playing the innocent, wanting, needy, craving girl wasn't so hard. Nick fell for it.

I'm not sure why exactly I was doing this myself. The only reason Cage did what he did was to save my life. In all honesty, I had absolutely no reason to be angry with him. I suppose being around Cage Vickers was enough to make me snap. I wasn't just seducing Nick to get back at Cage. I was doing it because I wanted to. I loved that reckless high, that edge of danger, that filled my chest when I flirted with the dark side. It was a new experience. A change from living that boring, perfect, innocent life. It was fun.

In all the chaos, I lost myself. The girl I was before I met them, before I was swept up into the dangerous dark world of the Crows, was gone. Who replaced me was a person I had yet to figure out. I was only seventeen, for goodness sakes. I had no idea what I wanted, who I wanted to be, or who I wanted to be with. Absolutely no damn clue. And the only way to find out was to explore my choices...even if they destroyed me in the end, I could walk away knowing it was my decision and that it was worth it. Nobody was worth destroying myself over.

Not even Cage Vickers.

Nick finally responded, and it was not the way I expected. And definitely not the way I wanted. His fingers curled around my neck, twisting strands of my hair between his fingers. Since I was at a greater height straddling his lap, Nick had to crane his neck to keep his mouth close to mine. That allowed me to run my fingers along his skin, feel the strong outline of his jaw, the rough skin prickled with hair. None of that could compare with Cage.

"You-" His words fell on my skin, a breathy, shaky whisper. Nick knew as well as I did how dangerous this was. Cage was volatile. There was no telling how he'd react. If he even reacted. "-are crazy. You are absolutely and utterly insane, November Jones."

A willing body beneath me and I wanted nothing more than to curl up and cry. I didn't want anything from Nick. But what he wanted from me, I could never provide. Not because I was doing it for Cage, but because I needed to keep that part of me intact to save myself from the crushing, raw bitterness inside. I didn't have their mentality. I didn't have their brutal psychology. And I most certainly did not have Cage. All that mattered to me in that moment was the blinking red light of the security camera watching. And who watched the monitors to those cameras, I didn't know. Maybe there was no one. Or maybe there was everyone, laughing at the silly teenage girl trying to seduce a Crow.

I didn't know who I was anymore.

His tongue darted out and licked the indent of my collarbones. A teasing touch that I had to fight to respond to. Cage wasn't coming. He wasn't watching this. He didn't care. That assumption hurt me more than anything ever could. Why did I get to attached? Why did I let myself fall for Cage when it would have been better to fall off a cliff? At least falling off a cliff would have hurt less.

Time to up the ante.

I tilted his chin up so I could look into Nick's eyes and see the desire in them. He wanted me. Maybe that was enough. One good time fuck and then I was leaving. If Cage wasn't going to stay out of my life, then I'd stay out of his. If that meant running far far away, then so be it. But I wanted Cage gone. We put each other through enough, exhausted the affection to where it could destroy us both. "I need you to do something."

At this point, Nick would have swallowed a bullet if I asked him to. It was rather amusing. I understood why Cage was always the dominant one. It was fun to take control. To have people do anything you asked. His hands pulled me closer, eyes earnest and bright. "Yes?"

I leaned in closer. "I need you to kiss me."

"Where?"

"Everywhere."

His fingers touched my neck gently. "Here?"

My eyes filling with tears, I nodded. "Yes."

He conformed, pressing his lips against my neck. Nick raised his head and touched my cheek gently. My heart raced, but it was not from him. Footsteps pounded from overhead. "And here?" He whispered.

I closed my eyes, feeling them burn. "Yes."

Nick kissed my cheek gently. And then I felt his fingers hesitantly make their way up to my mouth and brush across them gently. The footsteps were now right down the hallway, thundering closer to the door. "And here?"

I brought his mouth back to mine. "Yes, please."

Before Nick could kiss me, a loud and very angry pounding began on the door. There was only one person who could knock that loud. Startled, we both moved back.

I smirked and slid off his lap. "Don't answer it."

"I have to." Nick sighed. He stood up and buckled his belt. I could see the letters of Calvin Klein underneath his jeans.

The door was about to be knocked down off its hinges. Thoroughly disgruntled, Nick walked slowly to the door. Before he could reach it, however, the door opened from the outside, and there stood Cage Vickers.