AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Then tell me, Gabe, what will it be like?”
He fidgets in his seat, barely able to contain his frustration.
He’s ashamed.
“Whatever it’s like, I’ve been through worse. Guarantee it.”
“It’s…it’s not bad.”
“Then tell me about it.”
“It’s called the Keep. And it’s just that. A place to keep things safe. To keep you safe.”
I smile. “You make me feel so special.”
“I guess I’ll take that, though I can’t promise the next sentence out of my mouth won’t make you want to kill me.”
“I remember what you told me last night. That I’m meant for one of your friends.”
He takes a deep breath, like every sentence he says is labored. “Yeah, but you were in shock and weren’t thinking straight. I didn’t think you remembered.”
“I wasn’t in shock. I was scared, but I was thinking plenty straight.”
He looks up at me sheepishly. “And you’re not mad?”
I shrug. “Did you see where I was? I’m not saying that whatever setup you have is ideal, but it has to be better than Frank’s.”
“There’s more.”
“What? Am I going to be forced to work twelve-hour days?”
Gabe chuckles sardonically. “No, you’ll be treated more precious than gold. If anyone so much as speaks to you crossly, they’ll be in for a world of hurt.”
“Then what’s so bad about it?”
He clenches his jaw. “You’ll be expected to…procreate.”
My mouth gapes open, but then I remember his words.“It’s a rebuilding thing,”he’d said, after assuring me I’d only have to take one man.
“Frank shoved me full of birth control.”
“They’ll wear off, eventually.”
“So…I walk into this Keep and some man claims me like a caveman, and I’m supposed to have his babies?”
Gabe scratches his head. “Not quite, or it wasn’t supposed to be. It was kind of a finders keepers thing. You keep what you kill, so to speak.”
Hope flickers in my wary heart. “So I’m yours.”
“Jesus, Brooke—we’ve been over this. I’m not claiming you.”
A dreadful feeling wells in my gut. “Is it because you’re already taken?”
His brow pinches together. “No! I spent all my time looking for you. The last few months, women didn’t exist to me. Just you.”
“But you’ve found me now, and I’m very much a woman. I’m no teen, and I’m no virgin.”
“Have you ever thought that maybe I don’t want you?”
