Page 21 of Heathen

I grab her wrists and hold them down at her sides when she attempts to push me away, leaning my head in as close to her ear as I can manage without brushing my lips against the lobe.

"Do you have any fucking idea how dangerous a place like this is?" I growl. "What the hell were you thinking?"

She freezes, making me realize my entire body is against hers. I put an inch or so of distance between us but keep my mouth close to her ear.

"You're in danger," I whisper.

"From sickos like you who think it's okay to pick a woman from a line to marry," she mutters, but her body has lost some of the tension. "I want you to leave."

"I'm not here to find a wife," I argue. "I'm here to find you."

She jerks her head back, eyes scanning mine, as if she can't believe what I've just told her.

"What? How?Why?"

I shake my head. "Now isn't the time to discuss this."

She opens her mouth again but snaps it closed when I shake my head.

"The room is being monitored. Look over my left shoulder."

The tiny gasp that she releases tells me that she can see the camera in the corner of the room.

"You're in danger, and if you cause another scene and don't let this play out, then I'm in danger as well."

The way she glares at me tells me she isn't too concerned for me at this point.

"Pick someone else. I need to stay."

"Do you have any idea what will happen to you if I leave and someone else comes and picks you?"

Her jaw flexes but she remains silent, the hint of a tear forming on her bottom lash.

"There's another woman," she whispers, eyes still searching mine. "I need to know what happened to her."

"I can help you figure that out, but I can't leave you here."

She still shakes her head.

"You're willing to stay and be married off to some creepy asshole who is going to fondle you and do all sorts of unforgivable things to you so you can try and figure out what happened to your friend?"

Even with this information, I don't know that I've convinced her.

Chapter 10

Kaylee

I open my mouth to continue arguing, but the door opens back up.

"Is she your one true love?" the big guy asks as he steps back into the room.

"Not yet," the stranger says as he takes a step back, releasing his grip on my wrists. "But she will be."

The big guy laughs like they have an inside joke between the two of them, and I want to slap both of them across the face. The man standing in front of me raises an eyebrow, a challenge to trust him. As annoyed as I am that he's here, the other night was miserable, and as close a rein as the men here have on the women, I can't see myself having the chance to break away from the group and go snooping around.

From the way this guy is talking, doing so might be a death sentence, and as brave as I'd like to pretend to be, dying isn't on my list of things to do today.

"He make good husband," I say in broken English and an accent so fake and terrible that the stranger in front of me coughs to hide his laughter.

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