Page 7 of The Truth Between

“I couldn’t do that.”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “Then we have nothing more to discuss about that. Anyway, I just wanted to check in on my favorite captive. Make sure you’re comfortable and you feel at home here.”

I snorted. “Comfortable? Aren’t you the charitable host?”

“I want to make sure that you’re relaxed and have your needs catered to in my home.”

So I was at his place, but where that was, I had no idea. His words did nothing to dissuade me from what was coming out of my mouth next.

“Are you fucking kidding me? I’m locked up in a basement like a damn prisoner, you asshole!”

Anger radiated from every word that spilled from my lips. When I was alone, I’d tried to prepare myself for when I would see Soren again. I told myself I would try to keep my cool, not allowing him to rattle me because showing emotion would be like showing weakness in this situation. I didn’t want to give Soren the satisfaction of seeing my frustration, but something about him saying the word comfortable made me snap.

I was stuck here. No one knew where I was outside of potentially Nash and Raven, the former serving for the organization that Soren is trying to protect. My poor grandmother was probably trying to figure out what had happened to me. She was probably going out of her mind with worry.

I repeated the mantra that I hated Soren. I hated him with every fiber of my being. He was delusional, and I was willing to do whatever it took for him to let me go.

Soren frowned and stood, moving toward me. I shifted my body in an attempt to get as far away from him as I possibly could. I didn’t know what would happen with me being so close to him.

“Why are you avoiding the inevitable?”

“Nothing is set in stone here. Just unlock me, and then we can talk about this.”

Soren looked at me and then shrugged. “Look, petal, there’s no point in trying to fight me. I’ll win. Because I always do.”

My lips curled up into a snarl before I could gain control of my feelings. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I took a deep breath to keep from flipping out on him. “I’m not trying to compete with you. This isn’t some kind of competition,” I said through clenched teeth.

“You and I both know that’s a lie. I can see that you’re trying to find a way out of this. You’re working out a plan that you hope to enact, and that’s smart, but you need to stop. Trying to escape while the Chevaliers are still deciding what to do with you will just end up with you getting hurt.”

Soren walked toward me and bent down, our eyes meeting because we were now on the same level. He leaned in toward me, his lips brushing against my forehead, and I moved my hands so I could push him away. It all happened so fast, and Soren was left trying to find his footing. He glared at me, but I was way too proud of myself for what I’d done.

The heat in Soren’s eyes was downright scary, but I didn’t care. I was determined to go down swinging. I wasn’t going down without a fight and Soren should have known that.

When he moved toward me again, I was prepared for him. I had my hands curled into fists and ready to go.

When his lips were a whisper away from mine, I was fully prepared to hit him, but instead, he grabbed my hair and yanked it, forcing me to look up into his eyes. “I can do anything I want to you and no one but you and me would be any wiser.”

“The hell you will.”

“Do you want to test me, petal?”

The challenging look in his eyes made me want to shrivel up into a ball on the floor, but I refused to let him see me like that. Just like I refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing me cry.

Neither of us said a word before he released me, and I immediately brought my hands up to grab the back of my head in an attempt to ease the tension. My scalp stung slightly from where he’d pulled my hair.

I sat there while he stood over me, both of us in silence for a moment because there wasn’t anything else to say.

What I did know was that I didn’t trust Soren Grant any more than I trusted the devil. He was used to getting what he wanted by any means necessary, no matter the cost.

“I can’t wait to fuck you again, especially that pretty little mouth,” Soren said, seemingly out of nowhere.

“That’s never going to happen.”

“Never say never,” he said quickly.

“How about over my dead body?”

“That can also be arranged.”

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