Lib Novel Page 72
If I die before I can get to Hale, I’ll have failed them.
The only two people who’d ever mattered.
The only two worth sacrificing for.
The cell blurred, even that fucking doorway ceased to exist.
Survive.
That’s all I needed to do.
Survive…any way I could.
My legs ached and my mind slowed. Time in here stood still. There was no sun or moon to gauge the time. Still, something inside me said it was late. I’d lost an entire day in this cell, Arrived in the dawn, only to stand here under these fucking lights.
My belly howled once more. I winced, pressed a fist into the ache, and glanced at the cot in the center of the room. I couldn’t risk going to sleep, not now, not here. Not when everything hinged on their whims. I made for the far end of the room and slid down the wall until I sat. This was just like Ryth and her stepbrother, Caleb.
They’d sat, just like this, waiting while hell was unleashed in the world outside.
At least she’d had company.
Boom…boom…boom…
The heavy sound of my pulse swallowed the sound. But it was the flash of darkness…followed by the click of the lock that made me flinch.
The door opened.
Riven stepped in.
I slowly pushed to stand as he fixed that terrifying glare on me…then lifted his hand.
A sandwich…
A fucking sandwich.
I lunged, scrambling across the room as my stomach unleashed a tirade of snarls and whimpers. I yanked open the wrapping, my fingers moving too slowly as I tore apart the neatly cut triangles and shoved them into my mouth.
“It was the only non-meat filling I could find.”
I stopped chewing and lifted my gaze to his. He gave me nothing, no comfort, no softness. But it didn’t matter, as long as he gave me food. I chewed and swallowed, biting down on the thick sliced bread once more.
He watched me eat, then glanced around the room. “You should’ve told me you knew my brother, Helene.”
The hard wad of bread refused to go down. I swallowed again and again and again. “You shouldn’t have taken me prisoner.”
He searched my eyes. “Your name isn’t Helene Montgomery, that I know for sure. You lied about your name, probably lied about many things. Tell me, tell me why you were out in the rain. Tell me you were going on a date with the man I killed. Go on…TELL ME!”
I flinched as his roar resounded.
Heavy breaths.
Wild eyes.
He was a man close to the edge.
A man…who reacted.
He moved fast, striding forward. Instinct took over as I stumbled back, still trying to swallow the fucking thick bread at the back of my throat. My boots hit the wall an instant before my head cracked back, impacting with a piercing lash of pain.