Page 34 of Betrayed in the Dark
“What do you think you’re—”
“What happened to your hand?” I ask, running my thumb over the bandage as I try to remain calm. But the sight of her injured stirs something powerful inside me.
She sighs, looking away. “Nothing.”
“It doesn’t look like nothing.”
She shakes her head, trying to pull her hand from my grip, but I don’t release it. “It was a cooking accident.”
“Cooking?” I arch a brow.
“Yes. I was cutting…an onion.”
“You don’t know how to cook.”
She scowls. “I can cook.”
The air becomes stifling as the lie settles between us. “For all the years I’ve known you, I’ve never seen you cook one damn thing.”
She looks out her window, unable to maintain eye contact. “I’m fine. Why are you making a big deal out of this?”
Because your safety means everything to me.
“Why are you lying?”
She tugs her hand out of my grip and then rubs her temple. “Just drop it, Eli. Please. I have a lot going on, and the last thing I need is to be interrogated by you.”
Is that so?
I lean toward her, purposefully brushing my lips over her silky hair. “Don’t forget who you’re speaking to. I spent years training in the art of interrogation. I know how to use pain to make a man spill his deepest darkest secrets in a matter of minutes.”
She turns toward me, her face only inches from mine. Her tongue pokes out and swipes across her plush bottom lip as she swallows hard. “But you…you would never hurt me to get information out of me.”
I reach out, brushing her hair over her shoulder. “I would never hurt you. But I do knowother waysto make you talk.” I move closer, pressing my lips against her ear to whisper, “Other ways to make you scream.”
A small gasp escapes her lips as I pull back and relax against my seat, facing forward. I watch in amusement as she crosses her legs and turns away from me, trying to appear as if I don’t affect her in the slightest.
A grin pulls at my lips.
Oh, this is going to be so much fun.
“I’ll take one in every color.”
The saleswoman, Lisa’s, eyes grow wide as Madeleine continues scanning the rack of coats, pointing out different styles she likes. “But this coat comes in twenty-five colors…”
Madeleine arches a brow as if to say,And the problem is?
“Of course,” Lisa answers, hurrying off. “I’ll go grab them from the back!”
“Wait!” Madeleine calls after her. “I’d also like each one paired with a matching hat, mittens, and scarf. Oh, and some fluffy socks!”
I drag my hand down my face. I know she enjoys occasional shopping sprees, but this seems a bit excessive, even for her.
As Lisa walks off to retrieve everything, I turn to Madeleine. “Don’t you think twenty-five coats is a bit extreme? People are starving in this world, and you’re buying the same coat in every color just to make a damn fashion statement.”
She pauses, her fingers stilling on a cashmere sweater. The corners of her lips lift as she faces me with one of the most lethal stares I’ve ever seen. “One can never have too many coats. Besides, I don’t recall asking your opinion on the matter.” She shifts her attention back to the sweater. “You’re here to do your job, which does not require speaking to me.”
I narrow my eyes on her as I step toward her, crowding her space.
