I gape at the blond.He looks so much like his brother, it’s disconcerting.Identical twins.Like Jaeger, he’s scarily hot. But while Jaeger inspires comfort and lust, this man, with the same face, only makes me feel terror. I’m shaking as I lean against the wall outside the bathroom.
“What do you have to say for yourself?” He’s standing too close. Jaeger’s up in my space all the time, but I’ve gotten used to it. I even long for it, whereas my body reads this guy as a pure, unadulterated threat. We’re in a dark hallway where only fellow members of Fraternitas will hear a cry for help.
“Hmm?” Jaeger’s brother prompts.
“I didn’t.” I squeak. Me, trap Jaeger? More like the other way around. But how can I explain that to him? Fear is twisting my stomach so much I want to puke.
He lifts a hand, and I cringe, only for him to stroke the gold stubble on his chin. His skull ring sits prominently on his middle finger. The shadows in the eye sockets go down forever.
“Kaiser.” Jaeger appears at the end of the hall.
I can’t stop the forceful flood of relief at the sight of him loping toward me. He lifts me into his arms, and I cling to him. Kaiser glares at me, but I’m safe in his brother’s arms. I have the feeling that the only reason he hasn’t snapped my neck and left me for dead is because Jaeger is here. It makes me grip Jaeger tighter.
“This is Elodie,” Jaeger says. “Elodie, this is my brother, Kaiser.”
Kaiser and I say nothing to each other.
“She should not be here,” Kaiser tells Jaeger while still staring at me like he hopes his gaze will incinerate me. I don’t even try to stare him down. A rabbit can’t stare down a wolf.
“She’s with me.”
Kaiser transfers his glare to his brother. There’s another intense staring match. This time, the opponents are equally matched. I can only hope the twin holding me wins.
“She belongs here,” Jaeger says, and it unsettles me. I feel like he’s talking about more than us having lunch here this one time.
“We’ll see,” Kaiser says and walks away. His shadow stretches down the corridor. At the end, he slams a door.
Well, that’s not ominous at all.
“Are you all right?”
I clutch him harder. I’ve never been the intense object of hate of someone I’ve just met.
“It’s all right. Kaiser would never hurt you.”
I can’t be so sure.
Back at the booth, our table is full of food. I sit and wring my hands as Jaeger inhales a steak the size of a dinner plate.
“You’re not eating.” He frowns and pushes a dish of mashed potatoes my way.
I shrug.
“Here.” He leans down and grabs a black briefcase, sliding it across the table. “This will make you feel better.”
I open it, half expecting to see plastic baggies filled with tempting little pills. Instead, it’s stacks and stacks of hundred-dollar bills.
“What is this?” I ask stupidly. I have the crazy feeling I should snap the case shut and hide it in case the Feds are watching our illicit trade.
“Your payment.”
I do some mental math, but my mind blanks. This is way more than ten thousand dollars.
“One hundred thousand,” Jaeger says helpfully. “You can count it. St. James won’t be offended.”
St. James. Right, that shark is involved in all this. The less time he spends thinking of me, the better.
I close the briefcase and push it away. “I didn’t make it until dawn.”
