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“I understand,” I murmured.
“You will delay the meeting and then we’ll deal with it together when I get home. We recovered the fusion reactor and are on our way back to the airstrip. It will only be a few more days. I promise,” he continued.
“Okay,” I replied.
“Be a good girl for me, little girl,” he pressed, his voice a bit gentler this time.
“I will,” I answered.
I lied to him for the first time.
* * *
All night, I thought about whether or not to cancel the meeting. A big part of me wanted to prove that I could handle this on my own. I didn’t need him to deal with it for me. Another part of me was just annoyed that he was gone.
Even though I was happy here, New Englandia was my home. I couldn’t turn my back on them completely, especially not when they had gone to such lengths as to send someone who had once been my friend along with an emissary to make things right after they’d gone so terribly wrong. If anything, I deserved to hear their apology. This meeting had a potential to open the lines of communication between our two city states and I wanted to be the one to initiate that.
I didn’t delay the meeting.
The next evening, I came home from work and cleaned up around the house. I prepared the sitting room for guests, cleaning off the dust and preparing a small tray of fruits, vegetables, cheese, and meats. I put on a fresh pot of coffee and poured a cup for myself before Corinne and the emissary arrived. I sipped it slowly and by the time I was done, there was a knock at my door. I pulled my shoulders back and lifted my chin before I went and answered it.
There was no one there.
I looked out into the darkness, my eyes searching into the shadows. I stepped out onto the porch and turned my head back and forth.
Nothing.
Had I been hearing things?
A rush of sound to my right caught me off guard. Someone grabbed my upper arm. Another hand grasped the back of my neck so roughly that I cried out. Nails dug into my skin hard, leaving no doubt in my mind that there would be scratches gouged into my flesh in the morning. Immediately, I brought my hands up to try to defend myself, but the arms holding me were thick and strong.
Mine were half the size. Whoever this man was, he was huge.
A fist closed around the hair at the back of my scalp, dragging me backwards into the house. I screamed, the agony radiating across the back of my skull. In a panic, I kicked my legs against the floor, trying to do anything to break his hold so that I could escape. He stopped cold, just holding my head several inches above the floor. It still hurt, but much less so than before.
“Where is it?” he growled.
“Let me go!” I shrieked. I reached back and tried to pry his fingers from my scalp, but it was as useless as trying to claw through dried cement.
“The nuclear reactor. Where did he take it?” the man demanded, and I cried out as he jerked my head a bit harder. I dug my nails into his hand in an attempt to dislodge him just a little bit, only earning another painful yank that hurt so much it nearly brought tears to my eyes.
“Please. Let go. I don’t have it,” I pleaded.
The front door crashed open, slamming into the wall behind it. It shook the walls hard enough to jostle the table beside it, and the glass vase full of freshly cut roses teetered back and forth before falling to the floor. It shattered, pieces of glass scattering everywhere. Water splashed and pooled outward. The roses remained intact, lying perfectly still, surrounded by the destruction.
My gaze jerked to the door.
Ryker.
He stood there in the doorway like a wild animal assessing his prey for the opportune moment to pounce. Something caught the light and I glanced down, sucking in a breath when I noticed the knife in his hand. The blade was smooth and sharp.
He was dressed in dark colors, still slightly muddy from his expedition. His dark brown leather jacket was well worn, and the gray t-shirt underneath was stained with sweat and dirt.
His stormy expression was the most terrifying part of the entire thing. His eyes flashed with fury and his jaw clenched. Deep lines were furrowed into his brow, more evidence of the angry restraint keeping him only just at bay.
“You weren’t supposed to be here,” the man holding me captive roared.
“This is my home,” Ryker rumbled. He took a step inside the house, and I could have sworn he was even bigger than I remembered. I trembled a little, struggling in the man’s grasp. His fingers clenched tighter, and I cried out as a fresh wave of agony coursed through me.
