I forced my eyes to stay open despite the bite of pain in my shoulders. In doing so, I stared straight into a set of familiar green and hazel eyes.
Henley moved his gun-holding hand from where he’d protected my head from the impact, then peeled off his mask and let it fall to the floor. Gripping his gun, he held his pointer finger to his lips in a shushing motion.
My nostrils flared as I breathed heavily, the erratic beat of my heart making it difficult to calm down. His warm palm kept me from sucking in as much air as I would've liked, and it only resulted in pissing me off.
If this was some prank to teach me a lesson, I’d neuter him without hesitation.
His eyes flicked to my nose, like he was warning me thathe’d cover it if I didn’t get myself under control. I hadn’t realized how loud my breathing was until now.
I forced my breathing to slow, focusing on the gun blocking part of his face. The sight of his weapon reminded me that I’d left my knife in a locker in the other room after we’d changed into robes.
Now my heart stopped altogether.
His hand still pressed to my mouth prevented me from looking down to see if my robe had fallen open when he grabbed me. If it had, he wasn’t looking.
His eyes seemed to zone out as he focused on listening for something. Was something happening? What was he so scared of? And why the fuck was he here? As far as I was aware, Brynne and McKenna hadn’t told their boyfriends where they’d be today.
Then that reminded me…
I widened my eyes, trying to get his attention. He seemed lost to his senses, so I did the only logical thing.
I bit his hand.
His attention snapped to me, jaw tight.
I grabbed his wrist and yanked, exposing my lips so I could mouth their names. If something really was wrong, I wouldn’t leave my friends in danger.
He shook his head, but I wasn’t sure if that meant he didn’t know where they were, or he didn’t want me to worry about them.
I mouthed, “Help them.”
A muscle in his cheek ticked. I swear to God, if he put me before them…
He must’ve sensed my growing concern, because hefinally put space between us and reached over to close the door—not so it would click, but enough for us to be able to whisper.
“Where were they?” he asked, voice so quiet I could barely hear him despite his chest pressing against mine once again.
“The sauna,” I whispered. “The door might lock, I don’t know.” Panic for my friends started to set in, my gaze darting to the door. “What’s happening?”
“A man is in here.”
My head swivelled, eyes locking onto his. “Whatman?”
He studied me, but I couldn’t figure out what he was looking for. “You tell me.”
My jaw fell. “You think I have something to do with this?”
He shook his head, irritated. “No. But whoever it is looks like they aren’t here for a fucking facial.”
I dropped my gaze to his chest, thinking through the possibilities before forcing my mind to stop. “We need to get to them.”
I looked up to find a pained expression on his face. Was he conflicted about who to save right now? Because last I heard, he wanted me dead at the end of this. Whoever was in here could speed things up for him.
He seemed to be fighting some sort of inner battle. His jaw was clenched so hard, I was surprised he hadn’t cracked a tooth.
“Lure him away from them,” he finally said.
It was a struggle to keep my expression neutral. I’d do anything for the two of them, including risk my own life.But for some reason, I hadn’t expected him to be so casual about sending me out to a certain death.
