“We belong together,” he insists, with the cold command of a man who’s never been denied.
“No.You have to let me go.”I’m not going to submit to him.
“I’ll let you out when you swear to me you won’t run.That you’ll let me keep you safe.”
I shake my head.I can’t bring myself to tell him what he wants to hear.I don’t want to lie to him.Even now, I want to preserve the honesty we had more than I want to be let out of this cage.
“As soon as I get free, I’m going to leave.Go back to the life I was supposed to live.”
Shadows burn in his eyes.“It doesn’t end like this.”
“It’s already over!”I grab the collar around my throat.The smooth metal is not comforting anymore.It’s constricting, and I can’t stand it.I search for a lock or a latch, anything I can manipulate to take it off.
It’s a sign of his ownership, and I can’t bear it.
“I’m not yours,” I say, spitting venom.My stomach is a pool of acid, and my skin is overheating.“I’ll never be yours.”
I give up trying to find a way to unlatch the collar and claw at it instead.“Get this off me!”I shriek.My nails scour my skin, but I don’t care.I’m losing it.
“Calm down.”He reaches for me, and I scramble away.“Shh,” he murmurs like he’s soothing a frantic pet.“It’s okay.Let me.”He pulls something from his pocket and holds it up to the collar.I don’t know how it works, but there’s a click and the metal falls away.
I back up from the bars, rubbing my bare neck.My breathing calms.
I’m surprised he took it off, but I suppose he enjoys acting like a caring dom.
He holds the collar, gripping it until his knuckles go white.It’s the only sign he’s feeling anything.He’s cold and calm and in control.“Tell me what you need, Inara.”
“I need you to let me out.”I sink into the shadows in the center of the cage, curling up in a ball.“If you’re not going to do that, I need you to go away.”
“All right.If you’re sure.”
I don’t answer.If the cage is my home now, at least it’s quiet and comfortable.As someone who’s longed for safety and shelter, I can see the appeal.
There’s a crinkle and a sound that tells me he’s set the water bottle back inside the bars.
“The second you call me, I’ll return,” he says.“There are cameras everywhere.You won’t be alone.”
I huddle in the blankets and listen to his footsteps recede, leaving me to grieve the memory of what we were.
Rex
I sit in my office,swirling bourbon in a glass and watching the screen that shows the cage in the dungeon.Inara hasn’t moved for some time, but she’s not sleeping.
I sent Alfie the robot down with a tray full of food.She hasn’t touched that either.
I hate it when she misses meals.It’s only been a few hours, but I’m tempted to be the first to crack and let her out.
I need to be stronger than this.But I hate that I might have harmed her.
A rap on the door wakes me from my thoughts.It’s Hamish, waiting in the doorway until I invite him in.
“I’ve finished testing the samples.The new letter left at the most recent murder matches the ones sent to Inara.Handwriting, paper quality, mold spores—all identical.I’m waiting on a sample from the original letters the killer sent to the Elyria police station, but from the photocopied versions, I can surmise the handwriting will be a match as well.”
“Has the NRPD made a connection between these murders and the Bondage Killer?”
“It’s one of their lines of inquiry, but they have no evidence linking the crimes.I suggest we send a package of our discoveries to the lead detective immediately.”He pauses and clears his throat.“Unless you wish to free Detective Ramos and send them with her.”
I glare at Hamish.He’s unfazed.
