its head and uncoiled deep inside him. He’d seen thousands of wounds, caused most of them himself. But the
18
SINS OF THE HEART
sight of her beautiful brown skin, abraded and bloody,
was…unsettling. He felt a second’s disorientation. He
had no reason to care about her pain.
“A knife?” she prompted. And he heardassholeimplied in her tone. Or maybedickhead.
“No knife.” He didn’t need one. In three strides he
closed the space between them. He took the rolled paper
lollipop stick from between his lips, tucked it away in his
pocket then hunkered down and caught the rope in his fist.
Her pupils dilated and she gasped. Every muscle in
her sleek frame tensed. But she didn’t jerk away. Only
watched him with those incredible eyes.
A sound carried from the hallway. Footsteps.
“Cut me loose!” she hissed.
“After.” He was already rising and backing away.
“After what?” Her breath came in short, sharp pants,
her gaze flicking to the closed door, her fear clearly escalating. Bemused, he wondered why she was all swagger and sass talking to him, but she was terrified of the
human in the hallway. She had her priorities assbackwards.
Lifting a finger to his lips once more, Dagan cautioned her to silence as he eased back into the narrow
space between the door frame and the wall. If she were
smart, she’d be quiet. If she gave him away, it would
only make his job…messier.
Jaw clenched, fingers curled into her palms, she followed his movements and offered a short nod as, with
a creak, the door opened halfway. A blonde in tight
jeans and stilettos sashayed into the room, shouldering
the door fully open. Close behind her was a tall man,
dressed all in black, greasy brown hair hanging lank to
his shoulders. He had one hand clasped tight around
