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"No."
"Then why are you asking?" he asked, smirking at me.
"I will figure it out," I told him. "I don't have a lot of time today. But as soon as I do, I am going to get you out of here."
"Nova—"
"Will you be okay until then? Do you need me to get you anything?"
"I need you to keep yourself safe. If you have the opportunity to run, fucking run. Don't worry about me."
"I'm not—"
"Give me your word."
"Absolutely not," I said, making a chuckle move through him.
"You'll do fine on your own," he assured me. "If that is what you're worried about." It was, partially. But it was more than that. I just didn't know how to tell him that. "If you need someone to help you, go back to Sanctuary, and ask the owner Thysa how to get in touch with Arick. She will know who that is and where to find him. Tell him that I sent you. He will help you."
"Stop talking like you're not coming with me," I demanded. My stomach twisted at the idea of going alone.
"You might not get another chance to get down here. And if that is the case, just go. Run. My club will come for me eventually. Even if they're pissed at me. It's an honor thing."
"I can't just—"
"You can. If you have to, you will. Selflessness is bullshit. Don't make yourself a martyr because of me. I'd fucking hate that. Be selfish if you can. Run. Get free. I'd want that for you."
"Would you do that to me?" I asked, already knowing the answer.
"That's different."
"I can't see how."
"Then you're looking through a broken lens, Nova. We're not equal here, and you know it. You don't stand a chance against them."
"What, and you do?"
"I won't die."
"You'll hurt."
"Eh, it will remind me a bit of home," he told me, giving me a devilish look. "Look at me," he demanded, yanking against his chains when he'd instinctively tried to reach for me. "If you have to run, run. Don't take chances. Don't feel guilty. If you want to help me after you get yourself to Arick, you can have him contact my club. They will take it from there. Understand? Nova?"
"Y...yes," I agreed, feeling a strange splitting sensation in my chest at the word.
"Good. Now go. You said you don't have enough time. You've wasted too much already."
He was right.
I had to go.
But not before I got to do one more thing.
Inching forward, I braced a hand on Drex's chest as I went up on my tiptoes, then pressed my lips to his.
We'd been intimate in various ways, but somehow had never kissed. Maybe that wasn't something he did. A lot of people considered it more intimate than sex. I guess I never understood that before. Not until Drex's lips came alive under mine, that is.
It was like the world fell away. Like we were no longer standing in a cold, dark basement. Like there wasn't danger all around.
It was just the two of us, lost in each other.
I swayed into him, into his warmth, into the promise on his lips. And I let myself fantasize about feeling this very feeling again sometime in the future. Without shackles. Without fear. Just the two of us, lost together.
But this was not the time.
I pulled back with a small whimper, watching Drex's eyes flutter open.
"Go, babe," he demanded, voice soft, a caress of a sound that washed over me.
The moment I took a step back, a shiver racked my system at the absence of his warmth. And I made a solemn vow to myself that I was going to stick with my original plan. I was going to get him out. No matter what.
But I had to go back up.
The staff would be showing up any moment.
"Drex?"
"Yeah."
"Thank you," I told him, then turned and ran before I attacked the stubborn shackles like a madwoman, trying to break him free, and getting us both into more trouble with my efforts.
I sprinted back up the stairs, quietly closing the door, then refastening all the locks.
My heartbeat and breath were still too fast as I made my way through the kitchen, back out toward the front of the house where the staircase would lead me back up to my room.
I'd been lost in my thoughts, in my plans for escape.
I missed it until it was too late.
The shades I'd pulled open were all drawn.
"Well well well..." a voice said, making a different kind of shiver course through me. "What did I tell you, Renwick?" Davor asked, moving down the hallway toward me with Renwick a few feet behind.
Oh, God.
I was caught.
Chapter Twelve
Nova
"From where I am standing, Davor, the girl is guilty of walking around the house in the daytime," Renwick said, not convinced.
"All the curtains were opened," Davor insisted, turning back toward Renwick.
