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I reached out to pull her to me, and she winced as soon as I touched her upper arm. My hand spasmed open. “What is it? Did I hurt you?”
“Not you.” She pushed the sleeve of her shirt up. Even in the lowering light, the dark bruises marring her tan skin stood out in stark contrast.
“Who did this to you?” The words tore from my throat in a harsh growl.
“The guard back at the lab.” Then she shoved up her other sleeve to show more bruises. Her tone tried for wry, but an underlying anger vibrated through her voice. “He gave me matching sets.”
Rage bloomed in my chest, hot and sharp, balling my hands. The guard had better pray I never saw him again. I’d never considered myself a male driven by violence—a true warrior fought only when necessary—but the desire to pound my fists into him until my knuckles bled made my heart race.
I stepped closer and leaned over so she could see my face in the low light. My fingers trembled as I stroked them over her forehead. “He should never have touched a single hair on your head. If I get my hands on him, I’ll make thatveryclear. He will pay tenfold for every hurt.”
“I’ll help.” A feral grin split Vivv-Ee-Aan’s face, her wonderful fierceness flashing in her eyes.
There she is, my hellcat.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Vivian
Wrin’s hands moved at his waist, and I squinted into the darkness, failing to see what he did.
Max read the question from my mind and said,“He taking off clothes.”
“What?”Why was Wrin getting naked? And thank god I’d been practicing speaking to Max in my mind. I didnotneed Wrin hearing even half of this conversation. He was smart enough to figure out what we were talking about.
“Keep this on you.” One of Wrin’s large hands engulfed mine, turning it palm up and pressing something into it. Amusement filled his voice. “I trust you know how to use it.”
My hands clasped the elongated object, my fingers teasing over leather to find a harder substance.
“It’s a knife!”
“It’s a wrin dagger,” he said.
“Like your name.”
“Yes, we were both named for a famous ancestor, who was a great warrior and blacksmith. He designed the first wrin dagger over three hundred years ago.”
I pulled the blade free to get a feel for the balance, and the length and weight were perfect. Remembering his words from before made me grin. No wonder he’d called my scalpel a toy. I re-sheathed the knife and tucked it into my pants pocket.
“Thank you.” The last of the tension left my shoulders. The relief of being armed after a week of vulnerability… Tears prickled my eyes, and I blinked them away. I wasnota crier.
But Wrin had slipped past all my defenses. He’d trusted me with a knife, even after I’d stabbed him. He’d also seen into the heart of me—that being helpless hurt in a deep and fundamental way—and he’d worked to fix it.
“Now, if I may carry you, we’ll get to shelter. I know of a place nearby.”
“Yes.” I dropped the whole see-in-the-dark thing, able to admit I’d only pushed it because of how out of my control everything had felt. My fingers stroked over the knife in my pocket as I stepped forward, into his arms.
As I settled against his chest, my body hummed to awareness at his nearness.
“Now that we’re close together, you should cover your head with the cloth so we remain a small dot on scans.”
“Right.” I did as he said.
Wrin set off at a jog, somehow able to see well enough to move that quickly.
Note to self, if I need to get away from him, it had better be during the day.
I hated this, hated feeling as if I couldn’t trust him, but I didn’t have enough information yet. And it wasn’t only me on the line. The fate of over a thousand women rested on me making the right decision.
