Page 13 of Obey

I wanted to run to him, thrown my arms around him and tell him that I was right here, that I was fine and that I wanted to hold him forever. I wanted to wipe that look off his face, make him feel like everything was okay. I wanted to be his safe spot, the same way he was trying to save me.

But I couldn’t move. I was chained to something—the bed?—and I couldn’t get to him. I screamed for him, called his name, sobbed, but he never turned because he couldn’t actually hear me. And though it was nothing more than a dream and I knew, somewhere in my mind, that this wasn’t actually happening, another part of me knew that this was the truth. Knight was out there somewhere, searching for me. Trying to figure out whether I was safe or even still alive, and trying to figure out where I was and how he could find me again.

And I was here, in some house that belonged to Devil, screaming his name and crying out for him. But I was too far away—too hidden—for him to hear me. No matter how much I screamed or cried.

I woke up with the same thought I’d had when I went to sleep.

I had to get the hell out of here or die trying. Because I didn’t think Knight was going to be able to find me, and I simply wasn’t willing to be stuck here forever.

The moment I opened my eyes, I knew that I had much more immediate problems than figuring out how to escape, though. Because Devil himself was sitting right across from me in the one and only chair in the room, his eyes burning as he watched me. He’d been watching me sleep, I realized. He’d been watching me as I dreamed about Knight.

My heart jumped in my chest at the thought. Hell, I hadn’t been talking in my sleep, had I? I didn’t think I had—it wasn’t something I normally did, I didn’t think—but the dream had been so intense, the need to reach Knight so overwhelming, that I might have called for him. Might have said his name.

And if I had, Devil would have heard it.

And I didn’t think there was anything out there that could make him angrier than hearing Knight’s name on my tongue. No, he hadn’t treasured me the way he should have, and I didn’t think he’d ever actually loved me, but I’d still belonged to him, and he would have done just about anything to keep Knight from taking something he thought he owned.

The thought would have made me smile if Devil hadn’t been sitting there staring at me like he was trying to claw his way into my brain and make himself at home.

I sat up quickly and scooted as far from him as I could manage, my back coming up against the wall that caged the bed in.

“Devil.” I hated that my voice wobbled when I said his name and swallowed, trying to get control of myself. Sure, this was a man who’d tried to kill me multiple times. Sure, he’d beat the shit out of me and left me for dead, sent me off with men I didn’t know, hidden me from the world and told me I deserved it.

Sure, I wanted to kill him with my own two hands and had actually shot him the last time I saw him.

But he was also someone I knew extremely well. I’d been with him for long enough that we’d spent at least some good days together. Maybe if I just called on that emotion, I could get through to him.

“What’s going on here? Where am I and why am I here? If you wanted me to come back, you could have just called.”

It was a weak joke, but it was the best I could do at the moment.

He just shook his head. “Heard you had a fight with Sioux. One of the guards said you were screaming at her.”

I frowned, trying to remember having done anything of the sort, but didn’t come up with anything. Our interaction had been her shouting at me, not vice versa. Still, I didn’t see how that mattered.

“She refused to let me go to the bathroom and threw a bedpan at me,” I answered. “We haven’t exactly made friends, if that’s what you’re asking.”

He chuckled at that. “That woman sure does have a temper. She’s been here from the start, you know. With the Steed. Came over with me when I left the Banshees.”

Well, this wasn’t the conversation I’d been expecting. “So, I heard. She’s known you longer than I have.”

He tipped his head back and forth. “Known me a long time. Long enough for me to be watching out for her. Had to help her make a real difficult choice. One where she had to give up what she thought she loved so she could come with her family. But in the end, she was happy with her choice. She knew it was the right thing.”

That was definitely not what she’d told me. Then again, Devil had never really cared that much about anyone else’s opinions. Or reality.

“What’s your point?” I asked.

I got up and stalked toward me, his face intense and his hands clenched into fists at his side. I leaned back into the wall, pressing against it as I tried to stay as far from him as I possibly could, and cursed whoever had let him into this room. I hadn’t wanted to be in a room alone with him for years, and now, as his prisoner rather than his old lady, I was brutally aware of how badly this could all go for me.

Why had I gone to that bank thinking I was going to be able to save the day? Why hadn’t I realized that Devil would have been wearing armor? Never take a shot at your enemy unless you’re sure you’re going to kill them, I thought, remembering something Dutch had said to me before he died. Because if you don’t kill them, they’ll be coming after you, and you will have lost the element of surprise.

Stupid, stupid girl.

And now I was going to pay the price for it. I was sure of it.

I held my breath, trying to be strong and guess at what Devil would do first. If I was ready to catch the first twitch of movement from him, ready to dodge the first blow and then get out of there before he came at me again...

To my surprise, he stopped at the edge of the bed, put his fists down on the mattress, and leaned on them. “You’ve got to learn the same thing she did,” he said, continuing our conversation like he hadn’t gotten up and walked toward me like he wanted to skin me alive. “Like it or not, the Devil’s Steed is your family, Saraya. You’ve been with us for years. You’re my old lady, and that’s all there is to it. Sure, you went sideways for a little while, but you always were a flighty girl. Never could control yourself when something suited your fancy. Always doing stupid things at the drop of a hat.” He snorted at his characterization of me. “Tell you the truth, I guess I should have seen it coming. Guess I should have done more to keep you locked down.”