Page 124 of Us Dark Few

“You’re right, Takeshi. I didn’t listen to you. I should’ve. Not hoping would’ve made my life a hell of a lot easier and less fucking disappointing. But in this one thing, I finally beat you.”

Khalani lifted her head, meeting his sharp gaze. “I may not be ableto knock you out or shut off my emotions, but if you ask me, it takes greater strength to maintain hope when everything is crumbling around you. I haven’t given up yet, and don’t intend to start now. So, what will it be? Will you help us, or am I wasting my breath?”

His expression shifted. “And if I said no, what then?”

“I’ll find another way to escape. And not even you could stop me.” She lifted her chin, daring him to contradict her.

The corner of Takeshi’s lip lifted, and a hint of depravity flashed in his hooded eyes.

“I’m nearly intrigued enough to let you try.” The silence lengthened. “Fortunately for you, it won’t be necessary. I’ll help.”

She let out a deep breath, cold relief spreading through her, despite the uncertainty of trusting Takeshi. “Tha—”

“Don’t.” His intense voice whipped against her. “I don’t want to hear it from you. Not when you’re wrong.”

“About what?”

“For your own survival, Kanes, don’t make the mistake of searching for the ‘good’ in me. You’ll only end up disappointed.”

He turned away as her face transformed into disbelief.

“Then why’d you change your mind?” she asked, unable to keep her mouth shut.

Takeshi stopped, the large muscles of his back facing her.

“I have my reasons. Maybe someday I’ll tell you. Maybe I won’t.”

He walked away without a backward glance.

A torrent of emotions flooded her body, bitter and sharp enough she could almost taste them.

“Am I just another game to you?” The pained question flew from her tongue before she could snatch it back. Takeshi paused, and Khalani held still, not wanting to hear the answer but dying to all the same.

“Everyone’s a player, Kanes. I’ve punished. I’ve killed. But I never once played with your life.” He turned his head and their eyes locked. “Can you say the same?”

She pursed her lips in response.

“What I thought.” He stared brazenly. “I’ll get you to the surface. Alive. Try to get yourself killed, and you won’t like my reaction.”

“I’ve already seen you angry at me.”

“No, you haven’t. You wouldn’t dare be in this cell alone with me if you had.”

Takeshi’s lethal tone and the way his eyes glinted made her muscles coil instinctually. Takeshi inclined his head and opened the bars, leaving her alone with a soft bang of closure.

She stared at the spot he’d just stood, their conversation replaying in her mind over and over. If their plan worked, she wouldn’t be able to rest or relax, not with Takeshi around. He might turn into an even bigger threat in the future.

She rubbed her hands over her legs as an unfamiliar and terrifying emotion seeped into her.

Would she be able to take the necessary actions and kill Takeshi if it came to that?

Khalani cursed in the confines of her cell.

Yes. Yes, she would. She would have no other choice. Because if she started caring for the enemy more than herself, she already lost.

30

Alone, I fall. Together, we rise.

---