I was almost positive we were in the bowels of a ship, which meant we were close to the engines and warm, but a coldness seeped around everything in this area.
“We wait because I haven’t figured out where we are, where we’re headed, or what we would find if we tried to escape. My brother will figure out I’m missing and then he’ll come.”
Corbin would search heaven and hell before he gave up looking for me. I only had to keep the Grandmaster’s rogue employee, Bernard, from figuring out I wasn’t Corbin long enough for him to mount a rescue. If he found out I wasn’t my hacker twin, he’d probably kill me on the spot.
Bernard turned against the Grandmaster, and rogue henchmen never responded the way you expected. They made wild and crazy unpredictable moves.
“What about me?” Imogen asked, her eyes full of sadness.
She didn’t need to worry. I shrugged, trying to show her confidence so she didn’t. “You’re with me now.”
And the moment the words passed my lips, I realized how much I meant them. She was so tiny when I held her it felt like nothing was in my arms at all, but the way she rolled out of my grasp, she had a fierceness to her. She wanted to fight, even when it was obvious she didn’t have full control over her movements.
The woman woke up in a stranger’s arms but didn’t cry or scream.
Imogen fought.
She looked at me terrified and her body shook from the cold, the shock, and whatever else, but she held her form. Tough didn’t do enough to describe her. Most woman would have huddled into a ball in the corner to cry, but she looked ready to make a break for it.
I wanted to do everything possible to protect her, but I didn’t know how. Corbin had always been the smart twin. He had confidence in everything he did while I just looked the part and talked a big game.
I stared at her big round eyes as fear washed over them. There wasn’t a blanket or pillow in our cell and her dark blue scrubs cut high on her arms, exposing skin. The material covered her legs, but it had to be thin.
She shivered, and I balled my fists.
Dammit.
I didn’t want Corbin to be the one to find us. Today wasn’t the day for my twin to conduct a rescue. This time, I’d be the savior. To have Imogen look at me as her hero. For her eyes to fall on me and me only.
I’d never had anyone but my brother to take care of until right then. In that moment, I needed Imogen to cherish. To protect. For her to be just mine. Something for no one else but me.
Her body shook hard, a tremor controlling her muscles as the drug worked through her system.
“If you come back over here, I can help keep you warm.” Corbin and I had taken survival classes and a gun safety class. Sharing of warmth was Body Heat 101.
She tried to stand, but her legs wobbled and she didn’t get higher than her knees. I stood ready to help, but then she crawled over and I sat back, resuming my cross-legged position. As I expected, she was tough and determined to do things on her own. Admitting she needed help now meant her chill had seeped in more than I realized. I cursed myself for letting her get so cold.
I was already a shit savior.
The shock was probably making her system spasm. I hoped she’d crawl into my lap, but she stopped at the edge of my legs, not nearly close enough.
Imogen gazed up at me with a hard-set expression. “This means nothing.”
I lifted an eyebrow, trying to read between the lines of her comment.
She crossed her arms over her chest. “This is not an invitation to touch my body.”
Oh, that. Like I said, tough.
I grinned. “Beautiful, I’ve never touched a woman who didn’t beg for it, and I don’t plan to start now.”
Satisfied with my answer, she slowly crawled into my arms, getting comfortable in my lap. She snuggled in, allowing me to wrap my arms around her torso and hold her close.
Minutes passed as she shook, but slowly it came to a stop, the tremors hitting later and later. She rested her head on my shoulder and I rocked her back and forth, rubbing my hands up and down her arm, trying to help warm her up as quickly as possible.
A full three minutes passed with no shaking, and I worried she fell asleep and left me in silence again. I didn’t want to be alone.
“You have family in North Carolina? Kids? Boyfriend?” I tried to pass them off as simple questions to keep the conversation going, but I think we both guessed it was more.
