Page 9 of Curvy Hostage Mate
It felt bizarre, using the threat of Cain as a defense, but if it meant this man would let me go, I didn’t care.
“I know,” the man growled. “But he won’t find you here.”
“What is this about?” I asked. “Money? Some sort of weird revenge? It doesn’t matter. You’ve overstepped. The best thing you can do is let me go.”
He tilted his head, looking me up and down, his brow creased in obvious confusion. “You don’t recognize me? We’ve met before.”
I shook my head, frowning and taking another step back. “I’ve never seen you before in my life.”
Something like hurt flickered across his face. “We met when your sister tried to rescue you. Kendra and I. We got caught by guards, and she had to wipe their memory.”
I sucked in a breath as that memory came back to me. It was when Kendra realized Cain had decided to make me his mate. She’d tried getting me out, and I’d told her to go. There had been others there, but I couldn’t remember their faces. That whole time was a big blur.
“You know Kendra?” I asked.
He nodded. “She’s safe and happy.”
I let out a sigh of relief, shoulders sagging. “Great. Take me to her.”
He shook his head, folding his arms. “I can’t.”
The small candlelight of hope in my chest winked out. I stared at him with undisguised suspicion.
“So what you’re saying is I have no way of actually trusting you at this point,” I said slowly, not bothering to conceal the implications.
He snorted. “You could trust me,” he said. “I did just save you from a psychopath. I would have thought that would give me some good grace.”
“You have to earn good grace,” I retorted. “Kidnapping me from one psychopath doesn’t mean you aren’t one as well.”
He might have known about Kendra trying to rescue me, and I vaguely remembered other wolves coming to help her at some point, but that whole time was still a blur. Everything blended together. If he wanted me to trust him, he was going to have to do better than just saying I had to take his word for it.
“I want to see my sister,” I said.
I tried to move around him, to get to the still-open door. He stepped in front of me, holding out one muscular arm as he continued staring down at me.
“It’s too risky,” he said. “If Cain is coming to look for you, there’s a chance he’ll search for your sister first in hopes you’ll be there.”
My eyes narrowed. “So now you’re saying that you’ve put my sister in danger?” I snarled.
“Not directly, and not intentionally.” Chris rubbed his jaw, squinting slightly as he tried to come up with the right words. “None of this was part of the plan, exactly.”
“That’s reassuring,” I said sarcastically. “So, what, you just saw me and decided, ‘Hey, how about I kidnap this girl? That seems like a fun way to spend my Saturday afternoon.’”
Tilting his head, he raised an eyebrow. “You could be a bit more grateful. I did just save you.”
“God, are you seriously that arrogant?” I scoffed.
“So, are you saying you didn’t want to be saved?”
I took the chance to dart around him. I moved faster than I looked, and I heard him swear in surprise as I weaved around him, charging toward the exit. I could hear him behind me, but I had a head start. If I could just get far enough away, I might have a chance.
I threw open the door. Cold air slapped against my face as I took a single step outside.
Strong arms wrapped around me, hauling me back inside the cabin. I let out a scream, trying to writhe out of his grip, but he only held onto me tighter as he slammed the door shut. He didn’t let go of me until he reached up and twisted a latch out of my reach. I heard the bolt slide home.
“Let me go,” I snarled as I finally managed to worm out of his grip. He stepped back, arms folded, as he looked down at me.
“I’m doing this for your protection,” he said.
