“Thank you,” I said.
He hesitated, then opened his arms. “Want a hug?”
I nodded, and he drew me against his chest. His heartbeat thudded steadily beneath my ear, and his arms created a fortress around me that wasn’t pressing or confining.
We stood like that until my breathing evened out completely and the worst of the panic receded. When I finally stepped back, the cell felt less like a trap and more like a simple space. A small, inconvenient space, but one I could handle.
“Better?” he asked.
“Yes.”
Darkness had fallen outside and despite staring out the window for minutes, no one passed.
“We’re going to be stuck here tonight, aren’t we?” I mumbled.
“Hopefully not.”
Dungar moved back to give me room, which I appreciated. His gaze swept the cell, taking in the fading light outside and the dropping temperature with the assessment of someone trained to evaluate tense situations.
“I think we need to accept that we might not be found until morning,” he said, his tone carefully controlled. “This is…problematic.”
The understatement made me laugh despite everything. “Problematic. That’s one word for it.”
My gaze fell on the single narrow bunk, barely large enough for one person of average size, let alone a seven-foot orc and a human who’d need to share. I looked from the bunk up to Dungar’s massive frame, and heat crept into my cheeks that had nothing to do with panic.
“I’ll sit on the floor,” he said, reading my thoughts. “You take the bunk.”
“Don’t be silly. It’s going to get cold tonight. The floor will be freezing.”
“Orcs run hotter than humans. I’ll be fine.”
I shook my head. “We’ll figure something out. Maybe we can take turns.”
He didn’t argue, but I could see he had no intention of letting me sleep on the floor. Something protective and gallant lived in Dungar Bronish, something thatmade him put others’ comfort before his own without question.
As the cell grew darker, I found myself studying him. His size, his strength, those tusks that could probably rip through flesh if he wanted them to. He was the most physically dangerous being I’d ever been alone with.
But…
I’d spent months running from dangerous men, ones wearing expensive suits and charming smiles who’d order my death without blinking. Men who used power and money as weapons. Men who saw others as stepping stones or obstacles to be kicked out of the way.
So why did being trapped with the most dangerous-looking one of all feel like the safest I’d been in years?
As if sensing my scrutiny, Dungar’s eyes met mine across the small space. Something passed between us, but I couldn’t name what it was. I only knew it made my heart beat faster in a way that had nothing to do with fear.
“We’ll be alright,” he said. “I promise.”
Strangely enough, I believed him.
The temperature continued to drop as night settled over Lonesome Creek. No one walked past, and despite us calling out periodically, no one came to the jail to let us out.
Sitting on the edge of the bunk, I rubbed my arms, trying to generate some warmth as my breath began to fog in the air.
“Here, take this.” Dungar shook out the wool blanketlying at the foot of the bed. “It’s for looks, but I bet it’ll be warm.”
It was scratchy but it beat back the chill, especially with the wind sweeping through the room from the open window.
“I shut the thermostat off this morning,” Dungar said, waving to the dial mounted on the wall beside his desk. “It was so nice outside.”
