Page 96 of Caged By the Ruthless Thief

“Should we talk about this here?” I pat the back of the circular sofa.

With long steps, he thuds down the hallway he just came from. I don’t want to follow the ass, but I do. My peripheral vision maps out the contents of the rooms we pass. The portrait the safe was behind is still there.

He takes me to the adjoining room and closes the door. The walls are made of frosted glass that shimmers with opulence. There are twin sofas in front of a desk. He perches behind it. “Take off your wire.”

I give him a look like I’m actually shocked he would think I was wearing one. But I’ve got three on. One with tech so high no swipe could even catch it. I click one off and toss it onto the opulent desk. He eyes it, and with the rise of his eyebrow, I toss the second one from my pocket. “Happy?” I move to the sofa and recline.

As far as rooms go, being in a glass house makes it hard for someone to sneak up on you. But I’m not letting my guard down. I’m not dying by the hand of this asshole. Not that he could take me.

Seeing Leonidas’s brother in the Vitrom apartment is interesting. Vitrom and Tinom working together, close enough that they are invited into each other’s homes, isn’t a good thing.

“I’m not going.” I dig my heels into the plush carpet.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

My head bobs. “But I know you do. So let’s go with that.”

“If I did, I might comment on how your last project was incomplete. And now you’re mated. You want to explain that?”

“Fucking giant eels.”

“And?”

“I have the tapes, if you want to get public about it.”

He recoils at the insinuation of going public, like I slapped him across the face. I’m not sure how this male ever got himself elected governor. “Eels?” he repeats.

“Eels that pinned me to the chasm wall for hours. In the pitch black. I never saw him.”

He pinches his lips together.

“I’ve been the best you’ve ever had.”

“And you will continue to be.” He hits a button on his remote, and an image appears behind his desk. My sister. My sister is in a dark room. “Say hello to your brother, Marina.”

“Eros,” Marina cries out, her voice cracking as she does. I step forward to end this bastard’s life.

“No, no. I die and she’s dead.” He flicks the screen off. “Now, let’s talk about your upcoming trip.”

42

ANNABELLE

Four days. It’s been four days, and Marlee hasn’t texted me back. She’s probably thrown her cellphone away. That’s what I tell myself over and over. I’m going a little out of my mind with worry.

Thankfully, Holter’s got me a study guide, so I’m working on my levels. I wanted to start with science, but the first level is so full of untranslatable Dorian words, doing half a lesson takes hours, so I’m alternating science with cultural studies, and I’m already a 1.2. I haven’t asked, but I’m guessing it’s the equivalent of an older elementary school student.

Nico thuds into the room, and I put my tablet and my block down. The citizens here take learning seriously and are always striving to get better throughout their lives.

“Hey.” My block will glow when a message comes in. So far, I’m only messaging with my father. At some point, I’ll have to deal with everyone else, but not now. I’ve been vague with my dad. Well, as vague as I have to be. He’s not high on the communication scale anyway, and when we talk, I sort of come down to his level. Which isn’t much above grunting. I suppose Nico reminds me of him a bit. While my dad hasn’t ever killed anyone, he also never puts up with anyone’s flack. Him living with Russell for all those years, working with him day in and day out, is still one of the most mind-boggling things. There’s a part of me that kind of hoped when my uncle was out of his life, dad would magically change. But he hasn’t messaged me again.

“Little Krill.” Nico sits next to me on the sofa with a neatly made sandwich on a plate. “You need to eat.” He sets the plate on top of my lap.

I’m not the least bit hungry, but then I glance at him. I pick up the sandwich. One bite follows another, and when I put down the plate, it clinks on the end table.

Nico smiles. “Good girl.” And it’s more than my stomach churning now. He leans in and kisses my mate mark. “I’ll be back. Holter’s in the office. He says Eros left a few hours ago.”

“Oh, where did he go?”

---