That’s the last bit of comfort I’m afforded before I realize that I’m locked in a room that looks like something you’d find on an alien spaceship. The walls and floor are horrifically bland and sterile, muting all colors around me.
I look around the room in panic for Skye and Rebecca, but see neither. Instead, I see that guy Teagan brought to dinner, sitting on the ground a few yards from me. He’s looking at his hands, tapping them against the floor.
The kitten hops off my lap and struts over toward him. She stops about midway and paws at an invisible barrier, then lets out a sad meow before coming back to me. That’s when I notice the glass wall separating the two of us.
Teagan’s friend waves at me. “I’m Quinn, that’s Paw Prints. Paws for short.” He points to the kitten at my feet. I can’t quite read his mood, but he reminds me of a child who just lost his favorite toy.
I pet the cat’s little head, earning some happy purrs in return. What an odd name for a kitten.
“Teagan named him,” he adds with a gruff laugh, almost as if he read my thoughts.
Grabbing the kitten, I walk over to the glass so I can get a better look at Quinn. He looks like he’s been through hell. His right eye is bruised, and the side of his head is covered with dried blood, matting his dark hair to his face.
Did any of us get out of those woods unscathed?
I wonder if he went through something like I did. Then I wonder if the blood on his hands is his or if it belongs to someone else.
“What did you do to get on Pierce’s bad side?” I ask, hoping to break the tension between us. I don’t know him, and he doesn’t know me, but maybe together we can figure out a way to escape.
Quinn lets out a humorless laugh. “My biggest sin was being born.” His blue eyes flick up to mine, and something about them reminds me of someone.
Who? Who has blue eyes like his?
“Is Skye okay?” Quinn asks, stopping my thoughts dead in their tracks.
His eyes look just like Skye’s.
I gasp, backing away from him until my back hits the wall on the furthest side of the room. Far away from him.
It’s him. He’s the man who attacked me. He’s Skye’s…father.
Quinn stands, his confused eyes following my every move. I put Paws down and cover my face with my hands, dropping to the floor as I try to catch my breath.
His voice is laced with panic now. “Is Skye okay? Please tell me he didn’t hurt her,” he pleads for answers through the glass like he gives adamn about her. If he cared about her, he would have left her alone. He wouldn’t have hurt me, which would inevitably hurt her.
Fury snakes through my veins as I get to my feet again. Crossing the space, I slam my hand onto the glass where his face is. “You have no right to ask about her! You have no right to know my daughter!” I scream, pounding on the glass repeatedly. “You attacked me! You should be DEAD!” I spit the last word out with all the venom in my body. If I could reach through this glass and kill him with my bare hands, I would.
Something flickers over his features before he blows out a long breath, wiping his hand over his face.
“Capri,” he says gently. “I’m not who you think I am. I swear it to you. I wasn’t the one who attacked you.”
All I can do is stare at him as he scrambles to explain.
Quinn sighs, rubbing a hand through his dark locks. “Skye is my niece. My brother is the one who raped you. Not me, I swear it.”
I shake my head at him in disbelief. “Wait, what?” I look down at him again, and that’s when it all clicks together. “You’re Rebecca’s son, aren’t you?”
His gaze pierces mine as he nods his head. “How do you know her?”
I slide to the floor with my back against the wall as Paws weaves through my legs. “Rebecca saved me. She left me this,” I tell him, reaching into my pocket and pulling out the small compact. “This is you, isn’t it?” I show him the photo of the young boy and he smiles.
“Yeah, that’s me. Mum told me nobody had a dorky grin like that except me,” he reminisces. “Is she okay? My mum?”
I wipe unshed tears from my eyes before I look at the photo again. “She was the last time I saw her—sheandSkye. We were betrayed by someone I foolishly trusted. Now I’m stuck here with you and Paws. Totally useless.” I gesture to the kitten,then add, “No offense.”
The door opens on Quinn’s side of the room. Lochlan strolls in with the rifle in his hands. “Well then, I guess it’s your lucky day, lass,” Lochlan says with a mocking grin. “It’s almost time for your next task. But first, I have to teach my friend here a lesson infamilysecrets.”
Quinn gets to his feet and stares at Lochlan like he wants to murder him, and honestly, I don’t think I’d stop him if he tried. I might be tempted to murder him myself if he were on my side of this stupid wall.
