“We should do this together,” he says.
“I need to do this alone.” I won’t let him sacrifice everything he’s worked for. All I want is to help Zelena understand why she’s here, and hopefully if she does then the only issue for the police becomes her original abduction, the one that stole her away from her real parents a long time ago.
He has his hand on the door, but he isn’t opening it.
He’s really worried about doing this. He believes everything those experts told him.
“What are your instincts telling you?” I ask him, trying to get him to rely on those instead.
He blinks at me, before he straightens. “My instincts.”
There’s a second of hesitation before he pulls open the door. “Don’t tell her anything outright. Ask if she knows who you are. Tell her we’re here to help her.”
I nod, taking in what he’s saying and preparing myself.
I’m about to step out into the blindingly white hallway when I realize I can’t go speak to a woman who’s traumatized while I’m almost naked. It’s not a good look.
“Give me your shirt,” I tell him quietly, holding out a hand.
He whips the black T-shirt over his head, and hands it over to me without another word.
I slip it over my head as he closes the door on me.
I listen to the lock engaging before I turn and walk toward the kitchen.
I’ve got one chance to help everyone now, and I hope to hell I don’t mess it up.
Chapter Forty-Eight
Zelena
A noise from the hallway makes me straighten in my seat. That sounded like a door being closed. The cookie falls from my fingers onto the table where it breaks into messy pieces. I get a good grasp on the unicorn, holding his ripped-open stitching together.
Someone’s coming. I need to be ready to attack.
My heart thumps hard and fast inside my chest.
I can barely breathe as I get to my feet and creep a few steps to the right, to position myself behind the open door, ready to raise my weapon higher and strike it down on whoever dares to walk into the room.
My whole body feels like it’s trembling as I wait.
“Zo—Zelena?” a voice calls out, male but soft. Warm.
I frown, not willing to call back and reveal where I am.
“I know you’re in there, and I know you’re scared,” he starts. “We can talk without seeing each other if that’s what you need. I’m not here to hurt you or frighten you.”
Sounds like something a psycho might say right before he swings his machete, or whatever, but when I focus on feeling his emotions, I can tell he’s genuinely concerned, and a tiny little bit heartbroken.
Doesn’t mean he’s not a psycho, but I do want to know what I’m doing here, so maybe I should try to find out, now that someone’s finally shown up to talk to me.
“Who are you?” I call back. “What do you want?”
“My … I’m an Omega,” he says. “We were brought here together.”
Right. Sure. Whatever you say, pal.
“How do you know that?”