“I’m going to need you not to scream.”
She didn’t heed the warning. When her lips parted, a hand collapsed over her face to muffle the sound.
“I saidnotto scream.”
Helaina willed her chest to still as she swallowed nervously. She assessed her situation and her intruder; this wasnotthe man she had expected to come for her.
She couldn’t make out any distinguishing features in the dark, only the faint outline of his imposing build. How did a man this big getthisclose without her noticing?
The blade of his dagger held firm, pressed to her throat. His other hand began gliding gently to the center of her chest. At first, she thought he was reaching for her nightgown, and she prepared for the worst. Instead, he reached for her knife.
“Let it go.” He tugged at the hilt.
Not a chance.
She lifted her head in the slightest motion toward his dagger. He didn’t retreat, keeping the sharpness taut to her skin as she continued to apply her own pressure with her neck. She sucked in through her teeth as the sting of pain came.
“You’re threatening me with death?” She didn’t even recognize the cold in her own voice. “Do it then,” she gritted out as the warm trickle of blood seeped down her chest. “Save me the trouble.”
Those broad shoulders tensed. It was most definitely a warrior’s body above her. He couldn’t be a common thief. A mercenary maybe?
“Well?” she taunted. “Get on with it.”
“I’m going to remove my blade, and you’re going to drop yours on the count of three. One...”
She veered back and spat in his face.
Or at least she thought she did. It was so dark and the moonlight only offered shadows, no detail. She knew she had struck her mark when his free hand lifted to wipe his cheek. She saw a glint of feral teeth followed by the sound of a sinister laugh.
“You little...” The man lifted his hand, ready to strike her across the face in retaliation. She winced, anticipating the pain, but it didn’t come. She opened her eyes to find two more strangers standing near. Had they been here all along? Were there others?
The largest of the three gripped the first intruder’s wrist with a trembling hand, as if he was holding himself back from delivering his own strike. “What happened tounharmed, Callum?”
Damn it, she could barely see their faces in the faint speck of moonlight. Long hair touched their broad shoulders. They all wore the same leather material. The biggest one was clearly proud of his muscular physique because his attire was sleeveless. His biceps were as big as her thighs.
Her first intruder—Callum—yanked his arm back and stood. “You didn’t tell me you were sending me in after a hellcat,Captain.” He wiped his cheek again.
Callum turned to face her, and even in the dark the hateful look he delivered made her go rigid. “Do that again...” he warned, “and I’ll cut your tongue from that vile mouth of yours.”
The whimper that left her was childlike and embarrassing.
The “captain” snarled at his companion, actually snarled like an animal. “It appears you’ve done enough cutting already. Are you incapable of self-control?”
Helaina’s hand reached up to the warm wetness dribbling down her neck and onto the mattress. The cut was worse than she thought.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Theo, she did it to herself. She practically begged me to slit her throat.”
While the tension between the two kept them focused on each other, Helaina risked a glimpse at the third intruder, who remained quiet in the background. He was tall, lean, and focused, not taking his eyes from the outside. Something out there required every ounce of his concentration.
The captain crouched down, reaching for her knife.
“You let her keep the blade?” he chastised over his shoulder. Callum mumbled something inaudible under his breath.
He was so close she could feel the unnatural heat radiating off his body. His proximity made her nerves alight with fire. He dipped his head down to her ear.
“Drop it,” he commanded in a whisper. His breath fanned past her neck as the faint smell of fresh rain surrounded her.
“No.” She couldn’t believe she was defying such a man. Putting his alarming size aside, his fierce and commanding presence should have been enough to make her into a cowering mess. She should have been following his every order, begging at his feet in surrender. Yet something told her begging would do her no good; none of them looked merciful.
