“Inara, wait.”His voice has softened, so I pause.
“I can’t let you...I don’t want to lose you.”For a moment, I hear the little boy he was, begging for his parents not to leave him.Begging the gods to let his mother and father live.“It’s not safe out there.Please, let me keep you safe.”
“I’m going to be safe.I’ll be smart.But Rex...I have to stop him.”
“You’re leaving me,” he says.
No,I want to insist, but I clench my teeth and nod instead.It’s for the best.
For a second he turns to stone, as if bracing himself for a blow that already came.Then, his torso deflates with a sigh.“The elevator’s this way.”
I want to open my mouth and tell him I’m sorry it has to be this way, but what good will that do?Any bit of hope I give him that we can be together will be cruel.
He leads me over a metal bridge suspended with cables.The elevator doors open when we approach.I’m surprised and grateful when he steps in with me and hits the button for the correct floor.It’s awkward standing with him, staring at the stainless-steel wall, but I would never find my way out of this place without him.
“There’s nothing I can say to keep you here?”he says without looking at me.
Oh, Rex.My heart is breaking for us.Maybe if we were different people.Maybe if I had more time.But the circumstances that brought us together are the same ones that will rip us apart.“No.”
The elevator doors open, and I exit, only to halt in confusion.I’m in an unfamiliar hallway.
“This way,” Rex says, leading me to the right.
“This place is a maze,” I mutter.I don’t like this hallway.It has a low ceiling and not enough lighting.Rex opens a door and holds it for me, waving me through.I go through without looking first, which turns out to be a mistake.
I’m in a small, windowless room.The walls are black panels, there’s a thick carpet on the floor, a low gray chaise lounge, and a bed made up with black satin sheets and a velvety coverlet, but no other furniture.
The door slams behind me, along with the unmistakable click of a lock.I grab the handle, but it doesn’t budge.“Rex?”I pound on the door, but it’s solid.“What the hell?”I ride the wave of anger, ignoring the tinge of panic.“Let me out!”
His voice comes muffled through the door.“Your life is in danger.I can’t let you leave.”
“Are you serious right now?”I shout, even as my organs turn to concrete.He’s lost it.He’s finally gone too far.“You can’t do this.”
I wait for an answer, and there’s only silence.
The realization that he can do whatever he likes hits me.“You won’t get away with it,” I yell.But he will.He’s rich and powerful enough to make anyone disappear.That he’s doing it out of some misguided attempt to preserve my life doesn’t reassure me.
I forgot that Rex isn’t an ordinary, rational man who plays by the rules.He’ll do anything to get what he wants, the law be damned.
“Please don’t do this to me.”I’m begging, and I don’t care.The weight of what’s happening hits me, and I slump against the door.If Rex wants to keep me here, he can.He can lock me up for a long, long time.
Who knows how many lives the Bondage Killer will destroy if I don’t stop him?
“I have to.”His voice is firm, even muffled by the door.“I just got you.I’m not letting you go.”
He thinks he owns me.I thought we had something, but he only saw me as a possession.Something he can lock away whenever it suits him.He never considered me his equal.I was nothing but a trophy to him, a toy.
And that hurts more than anything.
Rex
I watchInara lean against the door like it’s the only thing keeping her upright.The room is secure and outfitted with cameras that will allow me to keep an eye on her.
Her hand is planted on the door, and I press my own palm opposite hers, imagining I can feel her warmth through the thick surface.
I’m not sorry to lock her up.She’ll hate me for it, but it’s for the best.One day she’ll forgive me, but even if she never does, I stand by my decision.I’ll do anything to keep her safe.
When I return to the cave, Hamish lifts his head from the microscope.
