War of Hearts(45)

Oh crap, he definitely smelled her.

That was disturbing.

Turning away from him so he couldn’t see how mortified she was, Thea shrugged. “It’s just something I can do.”

“It’s something vampires can do too.”

Thea whipped around to glare at him. “I’m not a vampire.”

“I know that. So what are you?”

“I honestly don’t have the answer to that.”

Conall took a step toward her, his expression unexpectedly tender. “Aye, you do. The answer is on your back.”

Her stomach tightened into that ugly knot. “How do we get out of here if the police are crawling all over the place?”

To her surprise, Conall allowed the subject change. “Ashforth is dealing with it. All we can do is hide out at the hotel until he calls to tell us we can leave.”

They peered out onto the street, saw the coast was clear, and made their way back to the hotel. “You don’t strike me as someone who particularly enjoys having to rely on anyone else.”

Conall sighed. “You mean Ashforth?”

Thea nodded.

“Aye, I dinnae. But there was no other way out of here.”

A sudden worry hit her. “What about the werewolves? Their bodies?”

Conall’s features hardened. “Ashforth’s dealing with that too.”

The Scot was so quiet after that, Thea almost began to hope that he wasn’t going to subject her to an interrogation. The reception desk was empty when they passed it again, and they snuck back into their room without being spotted by anyone. Conall locked the door and Thea immediately slumped on the bed.

She glared at the rucksack on the floor, realizing she’d been in such turmoil she’d left without her stuff. What an idiot.

“I’m hungry.” She blew out a weary breath. “How long do you think we’ll be here?”

When he didn’t answer, Thea looked up to see Conall standing in front of the door, legs spread, arms crossed over his wide chest, his expression implacable.

Oh no.

“Food can wait, Thea,” he said, his voice filled with an innate authority that pissed her off. “You will tell me who did that to your back and with what.”

Thea crossed her own arms over her chest. “I dinnae have to tell you anything, Wolf Boy,” she mocked.

His eyes turned to ice chips. “My sister is currently under the house arrest of Ashforth. Now,” he said, stepping toward her, “I need to know if I’ve put her in danger.”

The rebelliousness leaked out of her. Behind the hard ice in his eyes was bleak powerlessness. It was the same look on the little girl’s face when she realized her dad was trapped. And Thea was sure it was the same look on her own face as she stood outside the burning wreckage that had incinerated her parents.

Family was everything.

Even someone as fucked up as Thea knew that.

“Conall …” She shook her head, worried for him, for his sister. “You should never have made a deal with Ashforth.”

The muscle in his jaw flexed. “Did he do that to your back?”

She could still hear the lash hitting her flesh, could still feel the agonizing, burning pain of every slice into her back. She could smell the blood. Could feel it underfoot as she slipped in it. Could remember when darkness finally came.

And the moment she realized there was no relief of death for her.

It wasn’t the worst thing he’d ever done to her … it was just the only thing that truly physically hurt.

“Yes,” she choked out.

“How?”

The words stuck in her throat. As much as she longed to trust someone, and wished she could trust Conall, she just couldn’t. “I can’t tell you.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s my only weakness.”

Silence descended over the room. Finally, Conall let out an exasperated huff. “And you dinnae trust me enough to tell me.”

Thea cut him a look. “You’re taking me to Ashforth. A man who brutalized me. Why the hell would I trust you?”

Conall glowered as he lowered onto the bed next to her.

Tension thickened between them, time slowing down, passing in awful increments. Feeling heat on her face, she looked over to find Conall watching her. His intense study caused a fluttering in her belly she tried to squash.

“What?” She frowned.

“Tell me,” he said, his voice soft. “Tell me everything, Thea. Your side of the story.”

Thea chuckled, the sound bitter and hard. “And have you not believe me? No thanks.”

Conall’s expressed hardened. “Do you think I wouldnae rather pretend you’re the bad guy and he’s the good guy? I do that, I hand you over, I save my sister, and I can forget this whole bloody nightmare.”

Hurt she hated she felt suffused her. “Well, you do that, Wolf Boy. I’m not stopping you.”

“I’ve seen your back, so I’m no longer buying that. There’s no fucking way you will let me turn you over. I dinnae know what your plan was here, with me, but it wasnae to let yourself be handed over to a man who did that to you.” He leaned toward her. “Here’s what I do know. You saved my life because I jumped in front of those bullets in Wroc?aw. You didnae need to do that because we both know I didnae technically save your life.”