Page 11 of The Captive
What waswrongwith her?
The moment they were out of earshot, Lana opened her mouth, but Deacon glanced over and muttered, “Quiet.Not yet.”
Her mouth snapped shut.Apparently Deacon was just as good at delivering orders as his boss, but again she didn’t object.A few more seconds weren’t going to kill her.
These men, on the other hand…
They entered the cabin, and a musty stench immediately filled Lana’s nostrils.She made a face.They couldn’t invest in some air freshener?The main room was dark and it took a few moments for her eyes to adjust.When they did, she realized the cabin didn’t look any better than it smelled.It consisted of one large room, which had a crumbling stone fireplace, three torn couches and a table that sagged.There was a small kitchen on one side, a dark corridor on the other.
Holding her suitcase as if it weighed only a couple of measly pounds, Deacon led her down the hallway, which featured three doorways.As ordered, he took her to the room at the very end of the hall, pushed open the door and gestured for her to enter.
Lana reluctantly walked inside, slightly pleased to findthat this room smelled better than the one out front.Like pine cleaner and Windex, as if it had been cleaned recently.
The thought brought a tremor of panic.Had the room been cleaned in anticipation of a guest?As inher?She glanced around her, studying the single bed against one wood-paneled wall, the little desk under the window and the thick white shag carpet beneath her sandaled feet.
And then she spun around to face Deacon, who quietly closed the door behind them.
Their eyes locked.Silence fell over the room, hanging there for several seconds, until Lana finally exploded.
“Why thehellare you doing this to me, Deacon Holt?”
* * *
Deacon cringed as his name, his real full name, snapped out of Lana’s mouth like a sharp round from a shotgun.She sounded absolutely livid, and he couldn’t help but notice how cute she looked with her cheeks flushed in anger.He pushed aside the inappropriate thought and focused on her blue eyes.He had no idea where to start, or how he could possibly explain himself and his actions to this woman.
So he just stood there, his mouth half open, his brain working overtime trying to find a way to make this right.
Uh-huh.Because making thisrightwas actually a legitimate option.
Fortunately, Lana spoke again before he could say anything, though when he heard the words, he realized there was nothing fortunate about it.
“You’re a cop, right?”she said urgently.
His eyebrows shot north.A cop?She actually thought he was a cop?
“Undercover,” she went on.“You’re pretending to be in cahoots with these jerks so you can arrest them, right?”
A headache formed at his temples.Christ.The hopeflashing across her face was almost painful.He dreaded having to burst that optimistic bubble.
“You’re going to get me out of here.Right?”
The pleading note to her voice did him in.He broke the eye contact, turning his head to focus on the splintered old desk beneath the window.He knew Le Clair had been trying to punish him by assigning him babysitting duty, and he felt wholly punished.Not because he’d gotten stuck with a task that most soldiers despised, since coddling targets was always a pain in the ass, but because he now had to explain to the woman he’d taken to bed that she was wrong.That he was, in fact, one of those “jerks” she spoke of with such vehemence.
“Deacon,” she begged softly.
He found the courage to look at her again.“No.”
A beat of silence.“No, what?No, youarein cahoots with them, or no, you won’t get me out?”
A pained sigh left his throat.“No to both.”
Horror flooded her eyes.“You’re not a cop?”she whispered.
He shook his head.
“You’re…you’repartof this?”
He nodded.
