He doesn’t hesitate a second. “Not going to happen.”
“But you can—” I don’t get a chance to finish what I was going to say.
“The hardest thing I’ve ever had to do was leave you behind when I left. I made that mistake once, and it nearly killed me. I’m not doing it again. When I leave this place, it will be with you at my side.”
His words confuse me, and I can’t blame it on the lack of blood this time. “Why?”
“This is the worst setting for this.”
“For what?”
“For me to tell you how I feel about you. When I envisioned it in my head, it wasn’t with you on my lap...Well, that part is about right. But the part where I pretend like you’re draining me to kill me? Yeah, that wasn’t part of my fantasy.”
His words reverberate through me. “Your fantasy?” I repeat dumbly.
“Yeah. And as much as I’d love to tell you about my fantasies, or better yet, show you, we should probably figure out how we’re going to escape.”
I finally manage to form words. “Did you hit your head?”
He chuckles darkly, and it reverberates through me. “Love, you and I are going to have a long, long talk after we get through this, but we need to come up with a plan. They're not going to wait forever to come back in. Do you have any weapons on you?”
I can’t respond because my mind sort of exploded at his term of endearment. “Love?”
“Yes. Love. Now weapon?”
Frustration builds, and I wish more than anything we had more time for this conversation. I try to move on; I really do. But I just can’t. “Don’t you have a mate?”
“Yes. She’s currently sitting on my lap.”
I scoff as much as I can without sitting up. “I’m a vampire.”
“Yes.”
“And you’re a wolf,” I point out.
“Yes.”
“That isn’t possible.” I pause, hardly daring to breathe.
“My wolf and I chose you, Sherese.”
“I don’t think it works that way, Hunter.”
“It doesn’t matter. I choose you.”
I squeeze my eyes tight, and I’m shocked when I feel something on my cheek. I reach up with my right hand and wipe at it, feeling the wetness. I haven’t cried in a really, really long time. But as Hunter says, this is the worst time for all of this. I force my thoughts to our escape. My mind runs through our chances of escape again. It’s not good. I don’t see any way in which we make it alive. My biggest fear is Rizo. He's just too strong; he has too much power. I can’t do anything against him. It would be all on Hunter, and Rizo won’t fight fair. He’ll have all his vampires at his disposal. All I can picture is Hunter dying, and I’m not going to let that happen. First things first. “Are your feet restrained as well as your arms?”
“Just my hands.”
Being careful to keep my arm right next to my body, I reach into my boot and pull out my knife. “Lift your wrists towards me.” I touch the silver restraints a moment, hissing when the silver burns my fingers. I hate that they’re using these on him. They have to be burning his wrists. I find the little hole and stick the tip of my knife in and push. The restraints slip off, and I catch them before they fall to the ground and tuck them in my boot. My pants protect me from the burn.
The door to the room opens, and suddenly we’re out of time. Hunter slumps forward, and I climb off him. “He doesn’t look dead to me,” Ajax says.
I keep my breathing even. It’s going to come down to how well I can sell this. I take a step away from Hunter, even though it kills me. I’m watching Hunter, and I don’t see Ajax until it’s too late. There’s suddenly a knife at my chest, and I curse myselffor not paying better attention. “Easy,” Rizo says, but I’m not worried. Ajax would be beyond stupid to kill me.
“I’m just giving her my knife,” Ajax says, watching me carefully.
I don’t take it; this has to be a set-up. “Why?”
