Someone had to know we were missing, right? What if they didn’t and no one was coming? I had no idea how to get us out of here, and Saros’s head was bleeding everywhere. What if this was where it all ended and I never saw Aspen or Hazel again. Not to mention Lynx and Atlas.
“You aren’t really in a position to make demands right now, Miss Brooks,” Aleander said, shaking his head. “But I’m sure I can figure out something.”
He snapped his fingers, and in a flash Saros and I were seated on the hard floor, cuffs interlocked. The chair gone.
How the hell did he do that?
“I’ll be back in fifteen.” Aleander gave us one final look that felt both predatory and arrogant—and not in the charming way Atlas could pull off. “Festus will be outside the door to make sure you don’t do anything foolish, like try to escape.”
“Let her go,” Saros slurred, blood dripping from his lips as he heaved out the words. “You don’t need to involve her.”
Aleander pressed the wall, and seconds later the door slid open. As it started to shut, that tilted grin returned. “Follow through, Agent Holt, and I’ll release her. Unharmed.”
I didn’t have to be able to read Saros’s emotions to know that neither of us believed him one bit.
Chapter22
Oakley
“Everything’s going to be okay,” Saros breathed out, still not looking at me.
“How can you say that? You’re bleeding everywhere, no one knows where we are or has probably even realized we are missing, and I need to get to Aspen—” Warmth spread over my breasts, the milk that’d been swelling within finally letting down into the nursing pads within my corset.
Great.
“I’m sure Hazel’s got it covered. You have milk stored for him, right?”
I nodded, slightly reassured at that despite the tightness in my chest.
He’s with Hazel. She’ll keep him safe.
Saros’s evergreen irises were dull when they finally met my gaze. “You’re going to get out of here. I’ll do what he wants.”
“What information is he looking for?”
“Something in Acacia’s research made it seem like either Aurora or Fitz knew about the disappearances, but instead of giving that information to headquarters, they’ve kept it secret.” He looked down at our entwined cuffs, then scooted closer to give himself more slack to use his sleeve to wipe away some of the blood on his face. “That secret was why they’d killed Acacia.”
“I think Aurora was in love with my sister.” As soon as the words left my mouth, something shifted in his expression, like he was surprised but maybe that he shouldn’t have been. “Could she have known Acacia took her and did it for revenge?” I asked.
“Maybe. But I’d be more inclined to think they’d do something to save their own skin.” He stopped wiping the blood off his face, revealing rough gashes. “Besides, if that were the case, why didn’t she free Hazel when she killed Acacia?”
This was true. Aurora didn’t seem like a selfless person, but my sister obviously saw something in her. I didn’t get the impression they’d had a one-off fling from the memory I’d been privy to or how defensive Hazel had been when they’d arrested the Wellses. “So Aurora’s memories would tell us what happened that night and why?”
“I’d have to dig around for the why. Filtering through maybe hundreds of memories to find the right one without their cooperation…” He inhaled deeply and sighed. “It’s one thing when they agree to show something to me—those memories stay at the surface. When there’s something someone wants hidden…that takes digging. And doing that to someone’s brain, someone’s memories, can mess with their minds permanently.”
His gaze dropped, and all I wanted was to reach out and stroke his cheek. He was so close, our bodies inches away from each other’s, but I held myself back, unsure where we stood after everything.
“What happens when you touch someone?” I asked, hesitating a bit to clarify what I really wanted to know. “When you touch me?”
“I see whatever traumatic or horrible memories are lying just beneath the surface, influencing or impacting them in that moment.” He held his palms up, hoisting up my attached wrist cuffs with his. Waiting. It was a silent offering, and my breath caught as I slid my palms to meet his, even though I knew he couldn’t see anything with whatever spelled the thick cuffs. “That’s not how it is with you.”
My eyes drifted up. “It isn’t?”
“No.” The corner of his mouth twisted into probably the best smile he could muster, blood and gashes marring its edges. “When I touch you, the most beautiful moments of your life flash before my eyes. And it’s like I can’t breathe.”
I understood those final words all too well, feeling as if the air had been sucked out of this tiny white room. For a moment, I could almost pretend we weren’t in this awful predicament.
“There’s only three other people that’s ever happened with.”
