He shifted a little closer to her and when she didn’t move back, he wanted to howl in satisfaction because if he were right...
This was the first time a woman, a real female, willingly chose to get closer to him. That not only was he in the presence of real one—brought by a bad twist of fate—but one who wanted to be inhispresence.
“This is my territory. This right here. You won’t touch me, won’t reach through my bars, won’t try to hurt me in any way while I’m right here. If you want to try and claim your space then I want to claim mine. And this spot is my safe spot.”
“Fine,” he said. “Deal.”
“I’m not done. Just because you say deal doesn’t mean I’ll ever trust you. The moment you break the terms is the moment this conversation ends.”
Gunner suppressed a grin.
***
SHE WAS BEING BOLDERthan she ever had been before and it felt good. Elodie knew not all the men imprisoned with her were bad. The verdict was still out with Gunner, but she could pretend to let her guard down—at least until he let down his own. Get what she wanted from him and then let him rot if the time ever came.
She leaned her shoulder into the bars erected between them and rested her forehead against them like she had so many times in the past with her dad. It felt good to do so. When he made no move to touch her, hurt her, do anything to her, an itch of unease bloomed in her stomach.
“I want to know what you saw when they took you outside the brig,” she whispered. “Who you saw.”
He rolled his head in her direction. “You planning on trying to escape?”
It crossed her mind constantly but telling him may not be such a good idea. Elodie mulled over what to say when the lights brightened above her signaling the end to yet another rest cycle.
She blinked back the light from her eyes until she could see clearly again. Some of the men around her groaned and sat up. Tension filled the brig as it did with each new morning-cycle as everyone’s thoughts briefly aligned—would they receive a morning ration?
She lifted her head from the bars and moved slightly away, not wanting anyone in the cells around her to know she’d gotten closer to Gunner.
Close enough to lean on the bars at least.
Her stomach tightened as she joined the masses watching the door. In the fake day-cycle light, her situational weariness returned, and with it, her choice to bridge the gap between her and her new cell neighbor.
“Are. You. Trying. To escape?” The harsh words rasped in her ear.
“I don’t know,” she whispered.
“Then why do you want to know what’s happening outside those doors?”
Elodie stuck out her chin.
“Well?”
She willed the door to open and reveal her dad—her dad and the morning meal—but the stranger next to her kept interrupting her fantasies.
“If you’re trying to escape, you’re going to fail. Trust me, you’d fail.”
No, I won’t. No, I wouldn’t.Her heart beat a little faster at the prospect. The door remained shut and her stomach caved in a little more.Of course, I would, she sighed.Wait for the opportunity...
“I already know how to escape,” she said, suddenly filled with anger and sadness, but most of all hunger. She noticed him lean closer from the corner of her eye.
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“What’s stopping you?”
“Someone,” she gritted out.
“Who?”
