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“No!” My heart stutters. “They’re there! My…my family!” I say the words, though part of me is afraid to share this with him.
You can trust him.
I know I can, though I’m not sure why.
“Your family? They’re being held there?” He tilts his head as he turns to look at me.
“Yes,” I say huskily. “Locked up. All of us.”
“That’s why you’ve been staying around here. Because of them.” He doesn’t phrase it as a question.
I nod anyway. “I got away. I…I killed one of those…men.” My mouth tastes bitter as I say it. “Broke free. Got out. Been trying to find a way to get them out, too.” I push out the words that feel foreign in my mouth. Guilt washes over me as I think about my mom and the others. I’ve been so useless, unable to do anything to help them.
“Don’t blame yourself,” he says, as if reading my mind. “I’ve been down there, taken a look around. You’d never get in without being caught.”
I know this. Still, it hurts. And what hurts more is the knowledge that they’re in even more danger now.
“We have to help them!” There’s urgency in my voice. I start to rise, but he puts a hand on my arm.
“You can’t go out there, Cedara. Certainly not alone. And if we go together, we’re going to draw the wrong kind of attention.” He’s talking about our appearance, I’m certain of it. I tug at the hem of the jacket self-consciously.
“But we can’t leave them,” I whisper.
“I’ll go back.” He’s on his feet again. “I can move quietly, and I’ve already managed to sweet talk my way out of a situation with one of them. I can do it again.”
In the dim light, I see him frown down at his chest. Then before I know what he’s about to do, he unbuttons his shirt and peels it off. I suck in a breath as a sea of bare skin is exposed. Those broad shoulders I’d been aware of…and more. So much more. Muscles move smoothly across his back as his shoulders roll. I keep watching as he strides out of the entrance, then returns moments later, wringing his shirt out. His skin is gleaming as if coated in water. He’s washed himself, too.
“It’ll look better without, you know…the blood.” He grins, then stops as he takes in my expression. I’m staring, my mouth hanging open. I snap it shut. But who could blame me? The view of his front is even better than his back. I swallow hard, tearing my eyes away from the wide expanse of his muscular chest. There’s just a smattering of hair there. It leads down in a tiny trail between the defined grooves of his abs.
Pull it together, dammit!
What I should actually be looking at is the torn flesh at the base of his neck. There are faint streaks across his chest that may have been claw marks, but there’s a bite mark on his throat that hasn’t healed.
Oh God. I did that.
“Uh… Yeah. Good idea,” I manage. There has to be something wrong with me. My family is in trouble, and I’m here, gawping at a man like I’ve never seen a bare chest before.
He’s holding the shirt up to the dim light, his lips twisting. “Okay, it’s not going to pass any sort of close inspection, but if I pull the edges together and tuck it in firmly…” He looks at me.
Dammit, my mouth’s hanging open again.
“Yep. That’ll work.” I clear my throat. “But… Are you sure? What if…?” I trail off, not quite sure what my question is going to be.
What if they’re in trouble?
What if they’re gone?
What if you get caught, too?
What if all of that happens?
Each scenario leaves me more worried than the last. Moving closer, he leans down and takes my chin between his thumb and forefinger. The gesture is oddly intimate, surprising me.
“This is what I do, Cedara. If they’re there, I’ll find a way. Trust me.” He straightens. “Now, sit tight. Do not leave this cave for any reason; do you understand me?” He pauses as if waiting for a response. I nod. “Good. I’ll be back.” He smiles, though his jaw is set, tension radiating from him.
I nod again, gnawing on my lip to stop myself from telling him not to go. Because if he doesn’t come back, I’m going to be alone here. Trapped. And then I have no idea what I’m going to do.
I watch him leave.
