Page 82 of The Pretty Savage

"You can relax, Vega. Trust me." Her eyes narrowed at me, and her hand slowly landed on my cheek, cupping it, stroking me as I closed my eyes, reveling in the feel of her against me. I soaked in her warmth like a man starved for the sun, and I had no idea how bleak my life was until these little touches that wouldn't mean anything to someone else, but they meant the world to me.

I couldn't remember when the last time was that someone had touched me like this. Freely, softly, as if they were afraid I would break. And I was breaking apart, in a way. She unraveled me, threw me off-balance, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

She had awakened the monster in me, and he recognized his mate. He recognized her soul even before my mind had time to catch up.

I fell back with her in my arms, cradling her head while she kept her hand on my face, wrapped around me like she also couldn't get enough of me, no matter what.

"I think I might like you, Adrian," she murmured sleepily, her lips brushing against my throat, sending a new bout of fire through my veins.

I chuckled at her, tightening my hold on her body. "I think I might like you, too." Although, like wasn't a strong enough word to describe what I felt for her, but she wasn't ready to hear that and I wasn't ready to open myself up that much. I wanted to tell her all about me, about my family, about the things I did, and I wanted her to stay once she found out I knew about her.

I fucking needed her to stay, because I was choosing her.

I just hoped she would choose me too.

30

VEGA

I’d been staring at the ceiling for the last fifteen minutes, counting the cracks that had lined up over the years, clutching the note from Adrian in my right hand while also hoping he would be back soon.

After a week of resting and barely moving from the bed, I could say I was finally able to get up and walk toward the bathroom without feeling like roadkill. But did that stop Adrian from carrying me around like a child? Absolutely not.

The man was relentless, hovering around like a mother hen, and I was surprised to see him gone when I woke up earlier, with a note that said he had to go to the admin building and to wait for him since he would be bringing breakfast.

We'd been living in our own little bubble this past week, ignoring everything and everyone from the outside world, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't like it. My phone was switched off, and I knew once I powered it on there would be multiple messages from Alena and possibly Heinrich. She expected a report at least every second day, and by now I had missed all of our check-ins. A part of me hoped she would assume I was dead or at the very least discovered and held somewhere in a dungeon, just so they would leave me alone.

But Alena knew me better than anyone, or at least she thought she did. The plans she shared with me were nothing short of insane, and I had no idea why she thought it would be a good idea to pull me in on her little rebellious act, but she did. Now that I had more time to think about it, I couldn't help but analyze that entire conversation we had just a couple of months ago.

She never did anything without planning properly before, and seeing that she hadn't made any new moves in all this time, I was starting to think she either worked with Heinrich and was trying to uncover which agents would work against him if an opportunity came up, or she was buying time until she hit Heinrich where it hurt him the most.

Truth be told, I didn't want to be a part of her little coup, and I told her as much, but that didn't mean she would stop trying. I saw it in the way she looked at me during my short time at the headquarters and the meeting with Heinrich. She was studying me, her eyes following my every single move, and I would be a fool not to protect myself.

People often said you should choose the lesser of two evils if faced with a decision, but she was still evil, even if it was packaged in a different box. She still wanted power, as much as Heinrich did, no matter what her reasoning was, and I couldn't trust her.

I couldn't trust anyone, and until I told Adrian the truth, I wouldn't be able to trust him either.

He was intense, that much was obvious. The man went from cold and aloof to caring and protective in the span of a few days, and I had no idea if any of it was actually the truth. But I wanted to believe him. God, how I wanted to believe him.

I wanted to let go of all these prejudices the people around me would always hurt me and nothing good could ever come out of trusting another person. Every time I thought of letting go and just falling into his embrace, something in my stomach clenched painfully, reminding me of all the other times my trust was broken.

I was already spending all my time here with him, giving him a chance to prove what he said was true and not just pretty words wrapped in a bow. His words and his actions over the last week were slowly swaying me, making me feel safe—safer than I was in a long time—but a few days could not erase the years of distrust and skepticism I harbored.

So I was giving myself time; time to understand him, myself, and everything that was happening.

He looked at me as if I put the stars in the sky, and I had no idea what to do with the feelings slowly unfurling in my gut. All I knew was, I didn't even want to go anywhere else. Perhaps it was the years and years where I had to take care of myself, but it felt good letting someone else take the reins.

For the first time in my life, I didn't have to be in charge. I didn't have to think about anything but getting better.

I slowly lifted myself up and looked around the cabin. It was a dainty little thing, barely fitting the bed in the back, with a small kitchenette on the opposite side, right next to the door leading to the bathroom. A desk stood perched right underneath the window overlooking the front side of the cabin, and I could imagine Adrian sitting there, going over paperwork or whatever it was that he did.

The bathroom was located right next to the kitchenette, almost bigger than the rest of the space, which I was grateful for because I desperately needed a shower. My cuts were already better and the bruises on my body were slowly fading from that gnarly black-and-blue color into green tones, and I couldn't keep lying around doing nothing or I would go out of my mind.

I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, waiting for the dizziness to hit, but it never came. The first real smile came over my face as I stood up on my own, without my knees trying to give out.

Adrian's shirt hit me mid-thigh, brushing over my skin as I walked toward the bathroom, when a stack of files on the table pulled my attention, making me stop momentarily. My eyes skidded over a familiar-looking manila file as my heartbeat increased, thumping in my ears.

I approached slowly, while my mind told me I was imagining things, that there were others who used the same logo on their documents, but as I stood in front of the table, looking down at the tiny golden scarab beetle at the bottom of the manila file, I knew it came from The Schatten.

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