Page 93 of Villainous Intent

But I couldn’t just hand it to him. Havoc had been right when he said Cipher was a predator. And predators didn’t want their prey to walk willingly into the cage. He wanted to hunt. He wanted to break me down. I knew he wouldn’t like it if I made it easy for him. Our arguments fueled the arrangement just as much as the sex did.

I shifted my weight, letting my gaze slide past his shoulder. The bedroom door stood open and the hallway stretched out behind him, clear and empty. The front door was less than twenty feet away.

I tilted my chin up, meeting those hypnotic eyes.

“What happens if I just decide to run?”

Cipher shook his head slowly. Amusement sparked in his eyes, darkening the silver.

“You think you can outrun me?” he asked, his voice a low, mocking drawl. “That is adorable, Annie. Truly.”

“I’m fast.”

“I’m faster.” His smile vanished. “Don’t run. You’ll only tire yourself out, and I prefer you with some energy left. Now get dressed, I have business to get to.”

He released me and stepped back, giving me exactly enough space to comply.

I huffed out a frustrated breath and marched toward the closet.

I bypassed all of my nice dresses and shirts. If he wanted to drag me along with him, I wasn’t going to chance him destroying any of my other nice clothes. I grabbed a pair of comfy black leggings and an oversized, faded gray sweatshirt.

“Sexy,” Cipher drawled, his voice dripping with dry amusement.

I tugged the hem of the sweatshirt down and turned to glare at him. “I aim to please.” I gestured to my decidedly un-seductive outfit. “You literally tore my nicest dress to shreds last night. I’m not risking another high-end item just so you can rip it in half.”

A small frown crossed his face, a brief, sharp tightening of his perfect features, before it vanished just as fast.

He shifted his weight, crossing his arms over his chest. He was relaxed. Arrogant. He actually thought I had capitulated, that I was just going to nod and follow him like a good little hostage.

But the path to the bedroom door was still open.

I’m a Keeper, I thought, my pulse picking up. I don’t get kidnapped.

Well, I absolutely did get kidnapped sometimes because I’m Havoc’s Keeper and that was an actual occupational hazard, but I didn’t just roll over and let League members drag me out of my own home without a fight. The rules dictated resistance. My own stubborn pride demanded it.

I tempted fate and bolted.

I launched myself toward the hallway, pumping my arms and pushing off the balls of my feet for maximum speed. Adrenaline flooded through me, an electric rush that tasted like copper in the back of my throat.

I didn’t even make it past the dresser.

A blur of black armor intercepted me. The impact knocked the wind out of me as Cipher took me down to the floor. My back hit the carpet with a thud, his body pinning me.

“I told you not to run,” he murmured, his breath hot against my cheek.

Before I could formulate a string of curses, he shifted his weight and scooped me up off the floor.

“Wait,” I gasped. “What are you doing?”

“Leaving.”

He turned on his heel and started for the open balcony door.

“I don’t have shoes on!” I kicked my legs, a futile protest against his iron-clad hold.

“You shouldn’t have tried to run.” Cipher stepped out onto the balcony. The wind whipped my hair across my face, as he stepped up onto the ledge without a single second of hesitation.

“Cipher, I can’t just leave⁠—“