The memory hurts more than I would like, and I blink back tears before he can see them.
I won’t give him the satisfaction of making me cry.
“I still can’t cook to save my life, but I’ll bring you something more substantial once your system has processed the sedative.”
Why is he being so nice to me?
Is this some kind of tactic they’re going to try? Good cop, bad cop, or, in this case, good Lombardi, bad Lombardi.
The information I have on King is so minimal it’s not going to satisfy them, and contrary to what they seem to believe, I can’t magically know his whereabouts.
“The clothes are just something warm in case the temperature drops overnight. I’ll get some better stuff tomorrow.”
“Don’t bother.” The hoarse whisper falls from my lips before I can catch it.
This is a trick, it has to be, and I won’t give him the satisfaction of duping me. This is going to hurt enough without having my heart broken all over again.
“Sparrow—”
“Don’t call me that,” I snap.
He’s taken aback by my outburst, but I don’t care. I can’t handle hearing him call me that. Not when I’m barely hanging on as it is.
His eyes fall closed for a beat, regaining his composure before he crouches down in front of me. He’s far enough away that I don’t feel the need to back away but close enough his scent touches my nose.
“You don’t need to be afraid of me.”
The laugh that escapes my throat is devoid of humor, but I can’t swallow it. “I don’t need to be afraid of you? Your brother ran us off the road and held a gun to my head. I was abducted and drugged. And I’ve woken up in the cellar Iknowno one leaves alive. Please enlighten me on what emotion I should be feeling that isn’t fear.”
He nods slowly but doesn’t respond immediately. He used to love when I challenged him. He used to say it was one of his favorite parts of our relationship because I made him consider things in different lights. But something tells me this new, more heartless version of Ronan won’t find it quite as endearing.
“I asked Dad to consider taking torture off the table.”
I blink up at him. “Do you want me to thank you for that?”
“No. But you should know that at least for a little while, you won’t be hurt.”
“I don’t know anything about Kingston. I haven’t seen him in years. I haven’t heard from him for years. Even if you’ve got him to agree not to torture me for now, his patience is finite, and I’ll never be able to give him any more information than what I’ve already given.”
He considers me for a moment, his head nodding slowly. “Do you think if he knew we had you that he would come for you?”
I shake my head. “Which part of ‘I haven’t heard from him in years’ did you miss?”
“I’m just trying to get you out of here alive,” he snaps.
“No one leaves this place alive, Ronan. The fact I escaped once was a miracle. There’s no way it happens again. If you had any mercy for me at all, you’d just kill me now.” Tears gather in the corners of my eyes. I never imagined I would wish for death, but I also never thought I would find myself in this cellar again.
He sighs, rubbing his hand over his face in frustration. “You know I can’t do that.”
“Please Ronan.” A broken sob tears through my chest. “I don’t want to die in agony. You could make it quick and painless.”
“Don’t ask me to do this,” he pleads.
“Why not?”
He shoves himself to his feet without answering, crossing to the door and dragging it open.
He doesn’t owe me the answer. He doesn’t owe meanything.
