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Whereis probably the question I should ask—or at leastwhy—but as my heart jackrabbits, hope warring with fear inside me, the only thing I want to know is what it means for Chloe.
I lift my chin, crossing my arms over my chest. “Does that mean you’re going to help me?”
He’s stops flipping the envelope, then taps it on the table and slips it into his pocket. “Maybe.”
“What the fuck does maybe mean?”
His eyes go hard. “It means we don’t know whether you were sent here by McKenna, so we’re not letting you out of our sight until we figure that out.”
My jaw drops. “What the… I’m not… I need…”
I can’t believe they still think I might be working for that monster. The thought makes me so mad that I can’t even form a coherent sentence, and Maddoc doesn’t wait for me to get my shit together.
“You’ll be staying with us until we decide whether or not we can trust you,” he cuts in. “Then… we’ll see.”
I’m still reeling from the implication that I might be working with West Point, so it takes me a second to catch on to what he means. When I do, my heart lurches, fear rising up to swamp the anger.
Stay with them? No. No way.
I start to back up, glancing behind me as I prepare to bolt for the door.
“You really don’t want to do that,” Maddoc murmurs, his voice calm and commanding in a way that’s far more terrifying than if he’d tried to physically stop me.
Which he can. Any of them can, and I know it. Maddoc doesn’t move, Dante is still sprawled out in that deceptively relaxed pose he seems to favor, watching me with hooded eyes, and the other man, Logan, looks like coiled fury, tracking my every movement with those unnerving, icy eyes of his. None of them have even stood up from the table yet, but a part of me knows if I run for it, they’ll stop me.
“Youcame tous,” Maddoc points out as adrenaline sharpens my senses, my breath coming hard and fast. “Maybe we’ll help you, maybe we won’t. We’re gonna need more information to decide.” He leans forward, and I swear I can feel his gaze spear right through me. “But if you make a scene right now or try to run, you’ll regret it.”
My stomach twists. Fuck. I knew it was a risk coming to the Reapers, but I had no idea it would backfire on me like this. I had no intention of putting myself so completely at their mercy, and I’m not sure I can handle it, but I believe him. Iwillregret it if I fuck this up.
The one thing I have going for me is that I truly am not working for West Point. If Maddoc is telling the truth about that being their concern, they’re not going to find anything. And once they figure that out, hopefully they’ll decide to help.
Any humiliation, fear, or degradation I have to live through will be worth it if I can get Chloe back, so I force my heart rate to settle down and unclench my fists, then give him a slight nod.
“Okay.”
“Good. Let’s go,” he says, tossing some cash on the table as the three of them rise to their feet. I swallow hard as I notice the distinct shape of a gun tucked into his waistband.
I look away.
“Come on, princess,” Dante says, crowding against my side and taking my arm.
Logan glares at me, sandwiching me in from the other side, and I can feel Maddoc’s body heat crowding me from behind as we head to the door.
“Seriously?” I grumble.
I try to shake Dante’s hand off, glaring up at him, but he just tightens his grip and gives me awhat are you gonna dolook, shrugging one muscled shoulder.
We leave the bar, and I don’t bother asking about taking my car since it’s clear they were serious about not letting me out of their sight.
They shove me into the back of a shiny black Escalade, and as my ass hits the leather seat, it suddenly strikes me how far out of my depth I am. Coming to them in the first place wasn’t much of a plan, but I’ve been running on pure terror all day. My half-assed idea of asking for help isallthe plan I had.
I have no idea what to do now, and I’m definitely no longer in charge.
The only thing I can do is go along for the ride and hope like hell that it will end with me getting Chloe back.
Maddoc slips into the driver’s seat, and Dante and Logan settle on either side of me in the back. As we pull away from the curb and head in the opposite direction of my apartment, I realize I have no idea how long they plan on keeping me… but it didn’t sound like it would be a short-term stay.
I clear my throat. “Can we at least swing by my place and get my stuff?”
