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“What do you mean?” she asked and then took another sip of tea. Her hand shook as she rested the mug on her knee.
“You can’t go home and forget all about it. You’ve set the wheels in motion. You can’t get off the train now.”
She bit her lip. “I don’t understand what you’re saying. I want to go home,” she said far more forcefully.
“I’m sure you do,” he agreed, “but that ship has sailed. “You won’t make it to the airport without being killed. And if by some miracle you did, I can guarantee you’d be dead once you reached the other end. An assassination would be easy to arrange in New York.”
The little color that had remained in her cheeks, ebbed away. She swallowed and then started to lift the mug again but her hand was shaking too badly so she put it back on her knee. “You don’t know that. How can you be so sure?”
Cash strove to appear calm but tension bunched the muscles in his shoulders. He hated having to do this. “Because, Larissa, you’ve stumbled into something that is far more dangerous than you can imagine. If you go out that door, you’re on your own. I can’t protect you. You’re as good as dead.”
She stared at him. “Why can’t you protect me? You’re not answering my questions. You just keep going in circles.” She slammed the mug down on the coffee table in front of her. “I need answers.”
Cash’s stomach knotted. “I’ve been authorized to offer you two choices. Stay here and join the Lock and Key Society. Your sister was a member. If you join, I can protect you.”
“And option two?”
“Leave and die.”
She gave a sharp bark of laughter. “Funny,” she quipped. “But I’m not in the mood for jokes.”
“I’m not joking. You either join the Lock and Key Society or you die. It’s a simple choice, Riss.”
She swallowed almost convulsively. “What the hell is the Lock and Key Society? Why can you protect me if I join?”
“I work for the Lock and Key Society. I…protect the members.” Among other things.
“Fine, I’ll join the Society. There…now you can protect me and I can go home.” She sat back and crossed her arms over her chest.
He wasn’t explaining this well. His growing discomfort was affecting his ability to get her to see reason. He held up one hand. “It’s not that simple. The Society's rules cannot be broken. Once you’re a member, you can never leave.”
Riss was on her feet now. “Seriously? What kind of shit is this? What are we, six years old? You’re making up a secret club that I have to join?” She moved around the table and headed for the door. She put her hand on the knob to turn it and Cash came up behind her and flipped her around to face him, crushing her between the door and his body. Her gaze flew to his face and her mouth opened in surprise.
“I’m not six, Riss, and this isn’t a joke,” he snarled as he put an arm on either side of her head. They were so close her breath fanned his cheek. She smelled good. The type of good that would haunt him. The type of good that made him want to be horizontal on a soft, soft mattress with her. Almost good enough to make him forget his sudden movement had driven agony through his torso.
“Understand that the Society is very serious. You cannot break the rules. If you do, you will be killed. You cannot talk about the Society. If you do, you will be killed. You cannot leave the Society. If you do, you will be killed.”
Her jaw went up and down as if she was trying to form words but, in the end, she just closed her mouth and stared up at him. The fear in her eyes made his gut twist.
“You can join the Society and obey all the rules so I can protect you or you die. The choice is yours, Larissa.”
“What if I run? Hide? I could hide. They’d never find me.” Her heart hammered enough for him to feel it against his breastbone.
“There is nowhere to hide from the Society. I’d find you.”
Her brow wrinkled. “But that doesn’t mean they would. I could be safe.”
He hated the words he was about to say but there was no choice. None at all. “I would find you because I wouldn’t let you leave this house, this room in fact.”
“So… what? You’d keep me hostage?” she demanded. She tried to bring her arms up to fight him but she had no angle on hitting him. He lowered one arm to pin her shoulder, proactively protecting his side.
“No, Riss. I’d kill you.” The pain in his chest from the words exceeded the pain from the bullet wound. He tried to shut down all of his senses, but it was hard when he was this close to her. She had to know… to understand the truth.
Her eyes widened again and the fear that had been there earlier had turned into blind panic. She tried to fight him, to push against him. Fighting dirty, she even tried to hit him where he’d been shot, but he was faster. Damn good thing the area was still numb. He grabbed both wrists and pinned them against the door above her head. “There’s no way out, Larissa. Join the Society or die. You have to choose.”
“No. No! I won’t! Fucking let me go. I want to go home.” The words tumbled from her lips as she tried to free her hands. She fought hard, but she was no match for his weight and skill.
“Larissa, stop it. There’s no point in fighting.” She tried to head butt him, but he pulled back in time to avoid it. “Riss,” he hissed between clenched teeth. “Stop.”
