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“I’m going to have such lady blue balls,” I mutter, and he barks out a laugh.
“You’re not the only one, Tally,” he replies, even as he crawls back to me and pulls me into his arms. “But I have waited for you my entire life, so I can wait a little longer,” he whispers in my ear. “Forever if I have to, because you are worth it. And this, just holding you, just having your heart, is enough.”
“Maybe for you,” I mutter, and he chuckles breathlessly against my ear, sending a shiver through me.
“Behave, Tally. Now tell me everything they did today.” He kisses my pounding pulse, and it’s hard to concentrate with every hard inch of him pressed against my back, but I recount everything that happened, and when I’m done, the desire is gone, replaced by worry and anger.
“I’m sorry, Tally,” he murmurs, holding me tighter. “Now, let’s work through the problem together.” We do, starting to work through options for escape, just like when we work side by side, and it brings me a sense of calm I can only get from him.
We are just weighting the pros and cons of me working and not working when the cell door opens and his collar activates. He throws me away so I don’t get hurt, and I watch helplessly as he writhes in agony.
“Come with us, and I will turn it off,” a guard barks.
With one last look at Cato, I hurry from the cell so they will turn it off. Once outside, I glare at the two guards. “Turn it off now, or I will go nowhere,” I snarl.
They chuckle but stop it, and I relax. “I wouldn’t be making demands if I were you, little girl. It seems the boss has run out of patience with you.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, edging away as they grin at me.
“It means if you won’t work or mate the monster to give him what he needs, then he’s going to give you to one that will.”
FORTY-ONE
CATO
The collar cuts off, and I slump in agony. Every time they do it, it rips open my wounds, never giving them enough time to fully heal. It leaves me in pain, but not as much as having Talia taken from me again does.
I hate it. I feel helpless, useless.
She’s my mate, and I can’t protect her from them. I’m locked away again like a beast, kept in a cage once more, and it would usually be enough to send me into the haze, but knowing she needs me keeps it at bay for now.
They keep taking her from me, though, and that has me riding the edge as I pace the cell, wondering what is happening right now.
Think, Cato. Work through the problem.
Her voice is in my head as I slash at the walls and roar.
Think.
They need her alive. They need her brain. They need the research.
That means she’s safe.
I tell myself that over and over, but it doesn’t lessen my need for my mate. It just leaves me angry and my beast side champing at the bit to get to our mate and kill those who dare to touch her. She is mine.
I cannot believe she didn’t know. I laugh bitterly. I am such a fool. I should have spent every moment I had with her showing her what she means to me and how much I love her.
I won’t make that mistake again. She will never doubt her place in my life or the fact that I am hers and she is mine.
The collar buzzes again, dropping me to my knees. With a snarl, I fight against the current. Each time they use it, I get more used to it, and this time, I stay upright, fighting the agony as the door opens. Ten men with guns pour in.
“Behave, and we will turn it off. Misbehave, and that tiny human you’re so fond of will be passed between the guards until there is nothing left of her,” one barks.
I snarl but force myself to relax and not attack them.
They would hurt Talia to get to me, and I will never let that happen. I can survive whatever they wish to do to me. I have before and will again for her.
They cut the collar off, and with the guns pointed at me, they slowly lead me from the cell. I behave, despite the fact I want to rip them to pieces for simply speaking about her. The process is slow, since they won’t turn the guns away, but I’m finally led to a room similar to my cell, only this one has a glass wall with an observation room, where a scientist with cruel eyes stands.
