She did have this.
She wasn’t the same wounded, wide-eyed woman who’d first walked through BKI’s front gates. She’d found her footing here. Found her voice and her courage here. Found herself here.
Found Hew.
Her shoulders were square and her chin was high as she marched across the shop, nodding to the men working at the bike lifts. But the moment she stepped into the Bat Cave, her bravado seeped out of her, leaving her skin prickling and her hair standing on end.
She didn’t realize she’d reached for Hew’s hand again until his warm, wide palm kissed her own and his long, strong fingers wrapped around hers.
That’s all it took.
Just his presence, just his touch, and she could take on the world.
Careful, the little voice cautioned. Because what happens when he’s gone?
If he ever goes, she mentally argued. There’s no guarantee he will.
They’d only gone a few feet inside when the heavy metal door rumbled behind them. When it closed with a solid-sounding thunk, it sealed them in the darkness and sealed out the sounds and the safety of the shop.
She blinked. Blinked again as she willed her eyes to adjust. When they finally did, she realized the tunnel wasn’t pitch dark. It was more like a shaft of shadows.
In those shadows…him. Standing beside a chair. Silent. Looming. Broad shoulders lit by the narrow beam of a flashlight.
Boss.
Tied to that chair…her. Chin up. Eyes glinting in the gloom. Sharp jaw and cruel mouth spotlighted by the beam.
Black Widow.
Sabrina flinched like a bolt of electrical current had hit her. Even bound, even beaten, the blonde still exuded menace.
Boss turned to them when they approached. She couldn’t see his eyes but could feel his attention on her face.
“We’ve gotten all we’ll get out of her.” His voice echoed before being swallowed by the curve of the tunnel. “It’s up to you what happens next.”
“Me?” Her brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“You’re the one who suffered at her hands,” Hew said softly. “So ya get to decide her fate.”
Her mouth opened. No sound emerged. Then, when it did, it was jerky. “I…I don’t understand. I…I’m not—” She stopped and shook her head as she stared at Hew. “You knew this was what Graham wanted?”
He looked only mildly chagrined. “It was discussed.” She remembered Boss asking him to step into his office. “I said I couldn’t speak for ya. You’d have to speak for yourself.”
“Right.” She dipped her chin, although she wasn’t sure what she was agreeing to.
“What are her options?” Hew’s grip on her hand was firm, supportive as he asked the question.
“We hold Black Widow here,” Graham said, his voice flat. “Indefinitely. Or at least until we’re confident she’s no longer a threat to us.”
“I said I’m not—” Black Widow began.
“Shut up,” Boss’s voice snapped out, cold and dangerous. It reminded Sabrina of walking across a frozen lake and suddenly hearing the ice cracking beneath her feet.
Black Widow’s mouth twisted into a spiteful sneer. But she didn’t utter another word.
“She’d live here? With us?” The notion sickened Sabrina.
“She’d be kept here,” Graham corrected, and Sabrina understood what he wasn’t saying. They would feed and house and clothe the woman, but it wouldn’t be any kind of life.
