“And did you…get them right?” The slight pause came when I reached for the brandy bottle on my table and popped it open.
“I was kidnapped by a monster and trapped in a room for forty-eight hours,” she replied. “So, yeah. I think I got them right.”
The fire in her soul and the defiance in her eyes ignited a strange flame within me. It pulled me in like steel to a magnet. I was wrong to see her as a helpless little girl because she’d just proven to be the exact opposite.
I liked it.
Most people in her situation—male or female—found it difficult to hold a decent conversation with me. They often trembled in my presence, and some even forgot how to breathe.
Not this one. She didn’t just speak; she also held my gaze in a way no one had in a really long time. Although she’d deceived me at first, she was now starting to reveal her true nature. Fearless.
I poured myself a glass of brandy, took a sip, and reclined in my chair.
“I’ve got questions of my own,” she said, stepping closer, her expression flat and unreadable.
My brows rose at her audacity.
She didn’t even let me grant her permission to speak before asking, “It was you, wasn’t it? You stole the book from my dorm.”
I lifted the glass to my lips. “I did.”
She let out a scoff of disbelief. “That’s breaking and entering.”
“Technically, I didn’t break anything.”
She shook her head. “What do you want with me?” Her arms were folded across her chest. “You’ve had the chance to kill me—twice. Yet you haven’t. Why?”
“Are you so eager to meet your maker?” I asked. “I can arrange for that quicker than you can blink.” I withdrew a pistol from my drawer and gently set it on my table.
Her eyes flicked to the firearm, and for a second there, I saw it in her gaze: fear.
“Why am I here?” she demanded, her voice low but laced with venom. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not stupid enough to go to the cops.”
“Oh, Ihavenoticed,” came my response. “And that’s why you’re here.”
Her eyes squinted. “I don’t understand.”
“Allow me to spell it out for you,” I said bluntly. “I enjoy your fiery spirit. It’s entertaining.”
“Entertaining?” Her brows furrowed, accentuating the scowl on her face. “Do I look like a circus clown to you?”
Her fury was so amusing that it broadened my smirk.
“I shouldn’t have gone to the warehouse. I agree; I messed up,” she continued, demonstrating with her hands. “But that’s not even enough to lock me up in your mansion. I’m a human being, for Christ’s sake. You can’t keep me locked up in a gilded cage.”
Quietly, I rose to my feet, adjusted the black tie around my neck, and walked around my desk. Her breath hitched as she watched me approach her with deliberate slowness.
“Instead of running your mouth, you should be thanking me,” I said, my voice calm and composed. “How long do you think you’ll last in the outside world if I let you go?”
She locked her jaw. “I don’t understand.”
“You intercepted a message that wasn’t meant for you. You know things you shouldn’t. And now, that knowledge has put a giant bullseye on your back,” I explained, my height towering over her. “This ‘gilded cage’ is the only reason you’re still alive. Step out of my protection, and you’ll be dead in less than a minute.”
Again, I saw fear flash across her features as she glared at me. From what I gathered, a part of her believed this was true; the other part didn’t.
“You’re bluffing,” she said.
“Am I?”
