Page 56

“You don’t know me.”

“No.”

The word landed between us without apology.

She was right. I didn’t know whether she worked in the house, belonged to one of Ciro’s men, or was best friends with Isabella. I didn’t know whether the water came from kindness, desperation, or some manipulative plan of her own.

Isabella had acted afraid, too. Her mouth had told me one story while her eyes warned me not to believe a fucking word of it. I’d ignored what I saw because no woman had ever used me or lied to me like that before. Now I was chained in this dungeon because of it.

The truth was, I couldn’t trust this little mouse.

A trembling hand and a bottle of water didn’t make her honest. She could be exactly what she seemed, or she could be another trap waiting for me to step into it.

For now, it didn’t matter.

I needed her to help me escape this hellhole. I needed the hidden passage she’d used, whatever she knew about the compound, and any help she could give me getting out of these restraints. If promising her a place beside me brought that help, I’d tell her exactly what she wanted to hear.

I could decide what kind of woman she truly was once I was back home.

“I don’t need to know you to get you out,” I said. “Help me reach my people, and I’ll make sure you leave with us.”

Silence stretched between us.

“You can’t get out,” she whispered.

“Not alone.”

The admission cost me nothing. Pretending otherwise would’ve insulted both of us.

Her hand returned to my shoulder.

“If you come back, we’ll figure out what comes next together,” I said. “Until then, you stay safe. That matters more than anything you could do for me.”

She moved closer.

Her fingers rose to my face again, tracing the line of my jaw before stopping near the corner of my mouth.

I didn’t move.

I didn’t chase the touch as her breath warmed my cheek.

The guard coughed somewhere beyond the heavy door.

She should’ve run.

Instead, her lips touched mine.

The kiss lasted no longer than a heartbeat. Barely there, soft enough that I might’ve mistaken it for mere breath if her lips hadn’t trembled against mine.

There was no demand in it.

I stayed perfectly still and let the choice remain hers.

She drew back.

“Why did you do that?”

“To see if you are real.”