His gaze narrows as I thrust my hand toward his head, aiming for the soft spot of his temple. He grabs my wrist easily and pins it against the wall. His touch is cold, befitting of the whole broken soldier vibe he has going on. I inhale a sharp breath and stare into those daunting eyes, willing him to try and end my senseless life.
I’ve already been thrown away by my father. My mother technically threw me away too. Her kindness to me never meant protection from him. It was more of an apologetic Band-Aid for being a pushover. She technically threw me away too.
I let my arms slacken in his hold, and his mouth quirks into a suspicious grin.
Cameron pulls me into his chest. “You think you’re special, don’t you? That I won’t tear out your heart,” he whispers against the shell of my ear, like a lover would. My spirit falters as a thread of excitement pulses through my veins. I don’t know why I love danger. Maybe it’s the natural high I crave so much, but I haven’t felt this exhilarated since my last victim.
If he wants to play games, then let’s play.
“You won’t even give me a chance to tear out yours?” I murmur back sweetly, stroking my palm down his crotch. It distracts him the way I knew it would, those eyes widening as he takes a sharp breath. I take the opportunity, stomping on the arch of his foot between his pinky and ring toe. Surprise flashes over his features, and he grunts as his body fails him, collapsing to the ground.
Pressure points come in handy in close quarters, especially against bigger foes. The larger they are, the easier it is to hit the mark.
Cameron glares, but instead of taking a moment to process his body crippling on him like I thought he would, he grabs my ankle as I try to move to the other side of the room and yanks me to the ground. My ass hits the concrete, and before I can kick his hands off my leg, he pulls me beneath him and pins my arms to my sides with his knees.
A cry bubbles up my throat but I refuse to let it out. I bare my teeth at him, struggling to get out of his hold. “Get off me, asshole!”
He leans back on his haunches lazily and laughs. My pulse thunders through my ears, but I try to keep myself calm since he hasn’t actually hurt me yet.
“You think this is funny?” I grind the words through my teeth and buck my hips as hard as I can.
Either he underestimated my strength or he just assumed that I’m an idiot when it comes to combat, because his relaxed body gets sent straight over my head. He smashes his face on the cement wall. I’m on my feet in the blink of an eye, backing up until my spine is pressed against the cold steel door across the room.
Cameron remains there for a few minutes, unmoving and blood pooling around his head. I start tapping my foot, anxious that I might’ve killed him. It can’t be that easy, not after Nolan talked him up so much.
Don’t, he’s baiting you.But after a few more minutes pass and he doesn’t move, my worries get the best of me. Nolan might be furious if I kill this guy. Clearly, he’s important if they’re keeping him around even though he’s insane. It’s not like I want him to die.
Shit.I’m going to regret this.I can hear Reed scolding me because this is exactly something he’s told me to never do under any circumstances.“Never show your opponent sympathy.”
Usually I don’t. I kill them like I’m meant to. Mark them up how I like so as to fulfill that aching part in my soul that was stolen from me. But I’m not heartless like Reed is or Cameron seems to be.
I’m just trying to fucking survive.
Slowly, I start inching closer to him. Both of his eyes are closed. His lashes are long and dark against his pale skin, his hair mussed from the scuffle.
“Hey, you’re not dead, are you?” I whisper, nudging his shoulder with my foot. When he doesn’t move, I inch closer, only to notice that the blood is coming from his mouth and not his skull.
Oh, crap.
Cameron’s eyes flash open. He grins, blood covering his teeth. I jerk back and land on the mattress that’s splayed out over the floor. He sits up slowly and leans against the wall with one leg bent up and the other splayed out carelessly. Blood drips down his lower lip and smears across his chin as he wipes it away with the sleeve of his hoodie.
He looks at me with weary eyes and a loose smile. “You’re spunky. I like it.” He chuckles and lets his head dip like he’s drunk.Wait.I was right, those were drugs that he took from Nolan. Is he intoxicated from them or something?
In the long moments that I watch him in silence, I realize that I feel more pity for him than I do fear. I hold my gaze on him for as long as I can, but being awake for over twenty-four hours on the train and boat ride to get here has taken its toll on me.
I narrow my eyes as I stare at him, letting my head rest against my knee as I wait for him to stir and try to attack me again. My thoughts slowly begin to hush before I’m pulled into a fitful sleep.
Someone’s tapping my forehead.
My eyes fly open.
I try sitting up but am weighed down by a strong arm. I glance to my right and find Cameron staring down into my eyes. Even with his face half smeared in dried blood, he still looks like a god. He’s lying on his side in a relaxed state, propped up with one elbow, hand dangling over my head.
He taps my forehead again, making me flinch and remember myself.
A grin pulls at his lips, revealing canines that are sharper than they should be. Did he file them that way?Jesus. Every inch of him might as well be a weapon.
Wait, noteveryinch. A blush flashes across my cheeks before I can rein my thoughts back in.
