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A viewing square and side monitor allowed him to see inside. He spared one last glance for the woman slumped on the floor, stilled his anger at seeing her like this and turned away.
***
Drawing in a sharpbreath, Seraphina woke tied to a chair in front of a long table. Frantic, she jerked her arms but the plasti-cuffs about her wrists kept her pinned to the chair. She rocked back and forth only to realize her ankles had been restrained as well.
Who? What?
Blinking, she gazed around at the sterile black walls.Slow, Seraphina.Think back slowly.
Her mind worked to sort her muddled thoughts. She’d gone to the Ice Ball. Planned to sleep with Ahati. Her brow creased and shooting pain darted over her temples.
No. Not Ahati.
There’d been another man. She strained to remember and the answer came to her.
Roarke!Roarke Callim. She released a little growl and renewed her struggles in the chair once more. The chair rocked and squeaked beneath her. That bastard! She’d gone to his room. They’d sex shared.
Then what?She fought to remember the rest.
Then he’d drugged her? Wait. That wasn’t possible. She didn’t eat or drink anything she didn’t watch being prepared in front of her. It was a precaution she’d developed as a child from the group home when someone had given her and Coco rotten food for breakfast.
Nausea rolled in her stomach. Whatever he’d used was still in her system. She moaned and slumped back in the seat. She just needed to steady herself. Once the room stopped spinning around her, she’d plan her escape.
The door opened and two men entered. She sat up slowly and watched. One was tall, dark-haired with green eyes and a dramatic scar slashing across the side of his face. The other man...
Pain lashed at her heart and the sense of betrayal tore at her. She glared and fought the restraints. Unable to contain her thoughts, she yelled, “You lying bastard!”
“Please settle down,” the man with the scar said. “If you continue to struggle, the plasti-cuffs will tighten and cause you more pain.”
“Fuck you!” she spat but stilled. If she was incapacitated she couldn’t escape and she had every intention of escaping.
A smile twisted the man’s lips. “No, thank you.”
The politely worded response was at odds with the energy swirling around him. Her skin vibrated in reaction to his essence, a darkness that brought to mind nightmares. She studied him closer to place what it was about him that disturbed her.
“Why am I here? Abduction is illegal.” She slumped back in her bonds to make them think she cared about their response.
Nothing they said would appease her.
“You’re here because you’re playing at a very dangerous game, Tempest,” the man continued, taking the seat directly across from her.
She didn’t let his knowledge of her identity rattle her. Everyone knew Tempest, who showed at the Ice Ball and chose a lover for the evening. Wealthy daughter of parents who catered to her every whim. She’d deliberately cultivated the image to distract from her main purpose.
Roarke leaned against the wall by the closed door and crossed his arms over his chest, silent.
Fuck him, too. She’d given him a glimpse of the real her. Told him about her past. Something she didn’t share with anyone else. He’d taken her weakness and used it against her. For that, she wouldn’t forgive him.
She turned away from him and faced the scarred man. Clearly, he was in charge. Or they wanted her to believe that in this carefully crafted scenario. She arched a brow. “You still haven’t told me what you want and why I’m here.”
They couldn’t know of her kills or her vendetta against Jarad, otherwise she would have been taken to the authorities right away with a one way ticket to a prison colony.
“We’ve brought you here to ask a few questions. Hopefully you can be of some help.”
Roarke didn’t speak and it bothered her more than it should. He’d drugged her while she slept, abducted her and let someone bind her to a chair. Tears pricked at her eyelids but she forced them back. Crying over a loser bastard was pathetic. Shewasn’tpathetic.
“Will you help us, Tempest?” scarred face asked.
She waited for Roarke to add his plea or to use their night against her. Silence. He held her gaze, lips pressed tight and face a blank mask. Disappointment licked at her senses. She’d made mistakes before but nothing like this. A mistake that left her open and bleeding inside.
