Page 16 of Knot All Is Lost: Part 2

I grinned at her. “In my language, it means cookie, because you smell like my favorite kind. Snickerdoodles.”

“I do?” she asked, her eyes wide with wonder.

I hummed, nuzzling her neck so I could take a deep breath of her delicious scent. “Yes, you smell absolutely edible.” I pulled back to look down at her. “Trust me, if we had time I would taste you again, but if you want breakfast we need to get ready.”

She gave me the cutest little pout that I just had to kiss it away before I begrudgingly slid out of bed. “I’m going to do a check of your room. If you need to use the bathroom feel free to use mine until I give you the all clear.”

I quickly turned my back, because if she gave me puppy dog eyes I wouldn’t be able to say no to them. All I wanted was to snuggle and love that woman, but we weren’t in a place I could allow that to happen. The two of us needed to figure out what was going on and how to get the hell out of here. They’d taken my personal cell phone, locking it in a safe in the armory. The phone they gave me to use only had two phone numbers in it and only incoming calls or messages could be answered or read. If it wasn’t from either number, I couldn’t use the phone to speak to anyone.

Yoram was brilliant at being a bastard, I had to hand it to him. So, my first order of business was finding a way to let Spencer and the others know she was okay. Then, how to get her the hell out of here.

My eyes scanned her room, spotting the tiny changes telling me that someone had already been in here. I didn’t like that at all, but it must be a maid since most of it was to tidy up the space and a fresh dress was laid out on the bed. Not trusting anything to do with the bed, I picked up the dress and moved it to the back of the armchair. Her closet was the same, but for the dirty clothes gone and the black flats set on the shoe rack. The bathroom was unchanged but for clean towels that I made sure to check. The last thing I was gonna do was trust anything they provided.

Whoever wanted Cambrie dead or gone from this house knew the rules and schedule. The only people allowed here were hand picked by Yoram, so that narrowed my suspect pool down. It also meant it would be harder to catch them in the act, since we were all prisoners here. I knew a prison when I saw it, even if it came with lush carpet and five course dinners. The hardest part was I was one of the jailors keeping Cambrie locked up, but too bad for Yoram, I chose her over anything or anyone. Even if it meant I got locked up and sent back to my home country.

Satisfied her room was as safe as it could be I returned to my own. I spotted her in the bathroom wrapped in a towel, since I had destroyed her nightgown. She’d braided her hair so it fell in a long rope down her back. When I’d first seen the color I wasn’t sure how I felt about it, but the more I stared at it, I approved. Like I told her, it made her stand out like a flower in the desert. She had so much light and life inside her adding a color to her hair made her sparkle outside too.

Giving her some privacy, I went to my closet and dressed in there, not wanting to assume she would be fine with it. We might have given into our desires last night but now it was time to go to work. During the day I was her bodyguard. If at night she wished to be in my bed and in my arms, I would gladly oblige. While I was sure whoever cleaned her room noticed she wasn’t in there and assumed she was with me, I wasn’t going to let them know Iknewwho Cambrie was. The less they could use us against each other, the better.

I needed them to believe I wasn’t a threat to their mission, but I wasn’t going to allow them to lay a hand on her that wasn’t needed. Training and education could be done without beating her. I’d lost my temper last night, but the rage at her mistreatment boiled over and I couldn’t stop myself. Now it was time for me to put on the mask of a soldier doing his duty.

Stepping out of the closet, I found my space empty and went to finish getting ready. I would give her what time I could, but I wouldn’t allow her to miss any meals. She needed the nutrition to make up for what she’d lost and keep her healthy and strong. Mental and physical strength were linked in more ways than people like to believe, but each was equally important.

With ten minutes left, I moved to the door and knocked. “Cambrie, are you ready?” I called.

Moments later she opened the door, wearing a simple forest green dress that hugged her body but was still incredibly conservative. “Yup, let's hope breakfast is something I can manage to eat properly so it’s still warm when it gets to my mouth.”

“Keksík, when we leave this room, I’m not the same Savo. Here in our rooms, we can be free from the worry of prying eyes. Outside this room, I’m a soldier hired by the man who brought you here to keep you safe. No matter what, I will keep you safe, but I need you to ignore that I exist as you go through your day,” I explained, hoping she would understand. “I can only keep you safe as long as they believe I will do my job and won’t cause trouble. The last thing either of us want is a reason for them to remove me from this job.”

Cambrie searched my face with eyes that seemed to see into my soul. “I understand, as long as I know you’re watching over me I can do what’s needed to make it through this. My biggest fear was having to survive this alone, but I’m not anymore.”

Where had this woman come from? How could she have survived what I’d witnessed marking her body and still say things like that to people?

“You’ll never be alone, Cambrie, I’m going to do whatever it takes to get you back to your pack,” I vowed. “Now, let’s head down for breakfast before the nasty butler cuts us off for being late.”

She gave me a flash of a smile and headed for the door, which I had to slam shut making her jump. “Rule number one, the bodyguard always goes through the door first.”

Her cheeks flushed a pretty rose color as she backed away from the door. “Sorry.”

Pulling the door open I entered the hall, holding up a hand keeping her where she was. “Rule number two, don’t enter or exit a room until I give the all clear,” I explained, then motioned for her to join me as we walked down the hall. “Rule number three, unless you are in danger or I feel it is needed, I will be two paces behind you just off to your right so you can see me out of the corner of your eye. Ignore that I’m here, unless you feel you are in danger. If that is the case you will flash two fingers, which means you feel uneasy. Flash me one finger and I will intervene in the situation and remove you to somewhere safe. If I feel you are in danger, but you for some reason don’t want me to step in, make a fist. This signal will be disregarded if I feel you are making an error in judgment.”

“Goodness, I had no idea there were so many rules,” she sighed, rubbing the side of her head like she might have a headache.

Everything in me wanted to check on her, ask if she was alright. Did she need meds or something else to help with the discomfort, but I was just a bodyguard and it wasn’t my place—for now. That would change if I was given the chance by her pack, but I wasn’t holding my breath. Hope was as lethal as it was helpful.

We got down to the dining room with time to spare. She took her place at the head of the table, with me to her left. Moments later, as if the maid had X-ray vision to see through the door, she walked out with a tray and set food on the table. It seemed that breakfast was a less formal meal than dinner. A basket of muffins, bowl of fresh fruit, and bacon were placed, making me feel like the main course was missing. Moments later, the woman returned with two plates, an omelet on each, and set them before us.

“Can I get you anything to drink?” the maid asked, looking at me.

“Coffee, black please,” I answered.

Ignoring Cambrie completely, she returned to the kitchen. A glass of water was already filled and waiting, so it seemed that was what she would have. We ate in silence and I didn’t see any sign of Arthur until we finished our meal. He appeared on silent feet, almost catching me off guard since he entered through a side door hidden behind a tapestry.

Were there servants' hallways in this house?It would explain how people could enter in and out of Cambrie’s room without notice. Now I would need to search her room, and mine, in a whole different way. There’s not a chance in hell I was going to allow someone to sneak in on her. Yet, on the other hand, it might be worth checking out where they went if we needed to get out of the house.

“Miss Cambrie, it is time for your studies. Please follow me to the lesson room,” Arthur instructed.

Cambrie did as he asked, silently following the man upstairs and into a small room that seemed to be a mix between a library and a classroom.

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