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“I don’t scare you, little one?” he asks quietly. If I’m not mistaken, I’d say he sounds a bit trepidatious.

My brows furrow in confusion. “Why would you? You’re beautiful.”

He swallows audibly and closes his eyes before resting his forehead on mine. “Thank you,” he murmurs, voice gritty with emotion. “No one has ever said that to me before.”

“Really?”

He nods and murmurs, “Not even my wife.”

Wife?!

Before I have a chance to question him about that statement, he crushes his lips against mine and takes them between his teeth hungrily. I moan and grab at his cloak, desperately trying to feel him but the fabric separates us.

“You’re such a fucking slut,” Jamal spits from the cage on the other side of the basement. “I’m so glad I’m done with your stupid whore ass. I hope you drop dead and die. No—I hope I find a way out of here so I can kill you myself.”

I ignore him, but Gavin doesn’t. He listens to every single word, hears the pure hatred in Jamal’s tone and the conviction of his threat. What Gavin doesn’t know is that this isn’t the first time Jamal has spoken to me like that. Whether he means it or not is still to be decided, but Gavin’s mind is already made up.

“Wait—” I say, gripping his arm, but he’s so strong that he doesn’t even stop as I’m pulling against him. “Gavin.”

He doesn’t hear me, doesn’t even seem to notice I’m still there as he stalks towards the cages. Jamal’s usually angry face quickly morphs into fear the closer Gavin gets to him.

Anya, Tyler, and Cherise have awoken now and stare wide-eyed at Gavin’s massive figure lumbering towards the other cage.

Instead of trying to get Gavin to stop, I let him go and hope Jamal’s shitting his pants right now.

I stand back and watch as my protector reaches the cage and glares at Jamal through the metal bars. Megan is off to the side cowering in fear with her hands over her face and shaking violently while the others watch on in horror, waiting for the inevitable to happen.

I expect Gavin to open the cage and snap Jamal’s neck, but instead he stands there for a moment, intimidating him with his presence.

Jamal swallows, but to his credit, he stands his ground and doesn’t falter at the unmasked man before him.

Everyone seems to hold their breaths—me included—when Gavin slowly reaches into a pocket on his cloak.

Oh, shit. Is he about to pull out a knife?

I take a step back, not wanting to be close when Gavin starts slashing, but to my surprise, he pulls out a key and tosses it into the cage.

“You want to leave?” he asks quietly, backing up until he’s standing next to me. He grabs my hand and runs his thumb along my knuckles. “Leave. All of you.”

I’m so confused—why is he letting them go?

Jamal stands frozen in place. A range of emotions floods his face, the most recognizable being confusion.

“What are you waiting for?” Megan asks. At first, I think she’s talking to Gavin but then I realize she’s looking at Jamal’s back manically. “Open the fucking cage, Jamal!”

He and I make eye contact for a split second, then he grabs the keys and quickly unlocks the cage. I look at Gavin questioningly, but his gaze never leaves Jamal’s face.

After he gets the cage door unlocked, he tentatively pushes it open before going to the other cage and unlocking that door. Tyler, Anya, Ronnie, and Cherise grunt as they push themselves up and slowly trudge out of the cage.

“We can really leave?” Cherise asks, voice cracking from dryness.

Gavin nods tightly.

Without another word, the six of them make quick work of leaving the basement. Their hushed whispers follow them out, but I’m so focused on Gavin that I don’t hear what they’re saying.

“What was the whole point of all this?” I ask him. “Why bring them down here and make them think they’re about to die when you were just going to let them go?”

He snaps his head in my direction and pins me in place with wild eyes. “You sound disappointed, little one.”