Page 28 of Held By a Monster

“What is it?” Her voice was barely a whisper.

“Stay here.”

She nodded, but her entire body tensed. I hated her fear. It wasn’t enough for me to kill the men who took her. She needed to know they were dead. That they would never hurt her again.

The door was still locked; the windows closed. Nothing was amiss. A piece of folded paper lay in the middle of the floor. I picked it up and carried it to her. I wanted to read it, to make sure it was friendly. A notice from her apartment manager, a takeout menu. I told myself it could be any of those things, but my gut said otherwise.

I still wouldn’t read it before her. I grew up with no privacy. No way to escape the constantly watching eyes. Everything we did was on display.

This note was not meant for me, so unless she said otherwise I would not read it.

I held it out to her. “It was slipped under your door.”

Her eyes flew to the doorway that led to the front door and back to me. “What do you think it is?”

She made no move to take it. I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“You read it. It could be from the Society council.”

My shoulders dropped a few inches and I exhaled before carefully unfolding the sheet of paper.

We have reason to believe the kidnappers haven’t given up. Take every precaution with your safety. -Zeus

My fingers tensed, and my claws ripped through the paper.

Kendal gave a nervous chuckle. “That good?”

My vision fogged at the edges. “I don’t want you to leave this apartment without me.”

She bent her knees and wrapped her arms around her legs. “I have to work, Drym. I have bills to pay.”

Her voice was thready and unnaturally high. My teeth ground together. “I know. Can you take a bitmore time off?” Just until I found and eviscerated those fuckers. I kept that to myself. She didn’t need to know the contents of the message.

She knew it was bad from my reaction.

She nodded. “Another day or two, maybe.”

“Will you come home with me?” She was safer in the caves, surrounded by my brothers.

Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. I knew she was thinking about walking into the still dark forest.

Her reluctant nod told me she was more afraid of what I wasn’t telling her than the forest. My heart cracked. She shouldn’t be afraid. She should never have to be afraid again.

I’d protect her. Even if it meant exposing myself to the world.

nineteen

My heart was poundingout of my chest but Drym gave me space to decide. Whatever that paper said, it had made him furious. His gold eyes took on a reddish cast, glowing so bright it was like twin flashlights in my darkened bedroom.

It had to be from my kidnappers. I was deathly afraid of walking into the dark forest again, but staying here was out of the question. They knew where I lived.

“Gather what you need for two days. Wait until it’s full light. I’ll keep watch from just inside the forest’s edge and meet you when you get there.”

He was risking exposure getting that close to being out in the open. Selfishly, I didn’t care. I knew there was no way I’d be able to walk into those trees by myself. My throat felt like the Sahara. Or was it the Sonoran? Whichever place was drier.

I nodded.

“I will watch you every step of the way. I am fast enough to run down a vehicle. You willnotbe taken from me.”

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