Page 34 of Taken By the Convicts
“Damn, I was hoping the outage wouldn’t affect us here. Power went out in mines four through eight. Some asshole thought he’d avoid work by torching the control panel. Got himself shot for his trouble. One of the engineers is still repairing the panel. I guess that answers the question of what portion of the underground power grid supplies the bunker. I’ll have Jayce see about securing a secondary power source or tying us to another section of the grid as a backup. Where is he?”
“Not here.”
“He hasn’t returned?”
“No one’s returned.All fucking day, Ivan.”
“I get it, Zev. You said that already. Afraid of the dark, are you?”
“Fuck you, Ivan, and while you’re at it, fuck your sense of honor. You locked her in there without food, water, or access to the damn bathroom. She stopped talking hours ago.”
No wonder the guy sounded ready to strangle him. Ivan hadn’t given him access, and he was probably worried about her. She was fine, though. Monsters didn’t die easily.
“Head above,” Ivan ordered, trying not to show any regret for a woman who deserved to suffer. He hadn’t foreseen the power going out, though. She wouldn’t die going a day without water. “See if you can find Jayce and let him know about the power. Maybe he can drum up some additional flashlights if nothing else.”
“Let her out of the room.”
He couldn’t see Zev’s face, but he didn’t need to, given how the anger resonated in the man’s voice.
“You didn’t let her use the bathroom before putting her in there last night.”
“You’ve made your point. I’ll go in as soon as you head out,” Ivan said as he shucked his coat and tossed it in the kitchen
Down the hall, Zev tapped on her door. “Ivan’s going to let you out now, Mel. I’ll be back soon. You’ll be fine.”
Ivan’s stomach knotted at hearing the compassion in Zev’s voice for her. These men shouldn’t get attached to her.
Zev slapped the flashlight into Ivan’s palm and climbed the steps. Sunlight blazed down the stairwell for a brief instant along with a cold rush of air before the door clicked closed behind Zev. The locks to the bunker and her room were zurlite powered and not tied to the power grid that provided light to the bunker. That meant power failures didn’t affect access to the bunker or her room. He hadn’t intended to keep her in there that long.
on his way to her room. He placed his thumb against the pad and the lock opened. All day long, he’d thought about what to do with her, and he still had no idea.
He sensed no movement inside, but he smelled urine. Damn, Zev was right. He should have taken her to the bathroom before he’d left, but he’d counted on Jayce getting back mid-morning at the latest. What if something had happened to him and Jayce? Reece was on a hunting trip and could be gone for days, possibly a week. She could have been trapped in there a lot longer than a day.
“Doctor?” When she didn’t reply, he pointed the light around the room. He found the puddle in one corner and her in another, curled up on the floor.
When the light hit her face, she shied away, curling tightly into a ball.
“I’ll be good, Namir. I promise,” she said, her voice barely audible.
Ivan scooped her up and brought her to his room, where he laid her on the bed before racing off to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. There was still no food in the pantry. He’d eaten at the commissary, relying on Jayce to bring back basic provisions.
“Drink, Melina,” he said as he held the cup to her lips.
Her eyes lifted. “Y-you called me Melina.”
“Yes, now drink.” He tilted the cup, and she took a few sips but didn’t seem eager. Her body felt cool, too cool compared to the temperature of the bunker. She was wearing the clothing he’d left for her. Maybe sitting on the cement floor had done this to her, but it shouldn’t have. The heat that ran under the bunker warmed the floor. He pressed the cup to her lips again. This time, she drank heartily.
“I couldn’t get out. Zev left. Everyone left. Did you l-leave me there to d-die?”
“Not to die,” he ground out. Damn, what if something had happened to him and Jayce? Zurlite locks were practically impenetrable without the right tools to disable them. “I didn’t mean to leave you there all day and night. It won’t happen again.”
“I d-don’t like the d-dark.”
When she shivered again, he pulled her body in against him, until she rested her head against his chest. As he pulled the blanket over her, trying to warm her, he couldn’t resist running his hand through her soft tresses.
How could anyone so soft and sweet be the monster who killed his men? None of it made sense.
“Why do you hate me?” she asked, staring at him. “Is it because of what happened on Markov 4?”
