His eyes narrowed at the rounded bottom on display.
Not a boy at all.
Had he summoned her with his thoughts?
“Red.”
She jerked around, losing her grip on the ladder, and said bottom landed on the floor with a thump. He stood perfectly still as she jumped to her feet. After a hesitant step his way, she came to a stop and adjusted her cap.
“How’d you know?”
Something hot blazed through his veins and his fists began to tremble where he gripped the bars.
“Why are you here?” The words came out soft. Deadly soft.
With a shaky smile, she approached. “To get you out of here.”
She said it so matter-of-factly. Like it was a perfectly normal thing for her to be here. He frowned when she unclipped the keys from her belt. How the hell had she gotten them?
She inserted the key into the lock and turned it.
Click.
Before she could move, he flung the door open, knocking her back. Jumping out, he grabbed her arm and tugged her his way. The rough movement made her stumble and her bottom brushed against his thighs. He sucked in a breath at the contact and shoved her into the cell.
Ripping the keys from her hand, he slammed the door shut. His pulse pounded in his ears as she turned and stared at him with wide eyes.
Wide eyes filled with betrayal.
“Christian, what—”
“Don’t call me that.” He forced his gaze from her face.
“Lieutenant, have you lost your mind?”
Perhaps he had. His mind raced. This turn of events may work in his favor. “I could trade you to Thorne for the release of my crew.”
Her hand settled over his and he yanked away from the contact.
“Your crew are no longer on board.”
He met her earnest gaze. She wasn’t lying. Damn it.
“Lieutenant, I know you’re upset . . .”
He snorted. Upset didn’t even begin to cover it.
“But we need to move quickly.” She pushed on the cell door, but he didn’t budge.
She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth.
Son of a... he raked his free hand through his hair. He couldn’t leave her.
“You can shout at me later, do whatever you want to me later. But we need to get off this ship.”
A whole other type of heat slid through him. Whatever he wanted. Even disguised as a boy, he wanted to throw her down and—good God. He needed to get far away from her. That was what he needed.
He released his hold on the door and she pushed past him. “Follow me.”
