Echoes at Dawn (KGI #5)(32)

“You don’t trust me, do you?”

It was on the tip of her tongue to hurriedly deny any such thing, but she wasn’t going to lie. Instead she leveled a stare at him. “I haven’t made up my mind yet. The jury’s still out. But being able to speak to my sister would go a long way in allaying my concerns.”

The crooked grin got bigger. “Some might say you’re in no position to be bargaining.”

Her cheeks grew warm but she wouldn’t allow herself to lose this silent war of wills with the stare-down. She wouldn’t beg. She’d begged until she was hoarse. Had begged for mercy. For freedom. Her pleas had fallen on deaf ears. Never would she do it again.

“I need to speak to her,” she said in a controlled voice. “If I’m not a prisoner, surely I rate this simple consideration.”

Rio arched a brow. “Prisoner? Honey, I carried you all over the Rocky Mountains on my back. If you were a prisoner, I’d have made you walk it your damn self.”

“I did walk!” she said indignantsaist mely. “I made it by myself. Without your help. Maybe not at first, but I made it in the end.”

Rio’s face softened but his eyes were still bright with amusement. “That you did, Grace.” He ambled forward then perched on the corner of the bed, turning so he could look at her. “I can’t guarantee that I can get you Shea. I can try. You have to understand that she is in as much danger as you are.”

Grace frowned as worry slid down her spine. “I have to talk to her, Rio. She won’t understand why I haven’t reached out to her. She’s probably frantic. I need to know she’s okay but I also need to let her know I’m okay.”

Rio glanced at her, his expression mild but his eyes sharp. He seemed to be contemplating the matter, and she hadn’t realized how close she was to doing what she’d sworn she wouldn’t. She bit her lips to call back the plea. Damned if she’d beg for anything ever again.

“I can try,” he finally said. “I’m not at all certain where Shea is. But I can place a call to Sam to see what I can do. There are conditions, however.”

She raised an eyebrow. “What conditions?”

“I have to have your agreement to my conditions before I’ll consider placing the call.”

Frustration simmered and it took everything she had not to lash out and instead remain calm and centered as she stared back at him.

“What conditions?” she said from behind clenched teeth.

He shook his head. “I’m holding all the cards here, Grace. I’m not trying to be an ass**le, but it’s imperative if I’m going to keep you safe that you agree to my conditions regardless of whether you find them unreasonable or not.”

She honest to God wanted to hit him. Her fingers curled into a tight fist, and she had to clamp her other hand around it to keep from flying into a rage. She was tired of feeling helpless. Tired of being subjected to the whims and subjugation of others.

As if he knew exactly what she battled, he reached over and gently picked up her tightly coiled fist. He rubbed his thumb over the white knuckles and gazed into her eyes.

“Would it make you feel better to hit me? You can, you know. Go ahead, Grace. Give it your best shot.”

She stared at him like he was nuts. He wasn’t angry. In fact, he was extremely calm. She couldn’t wrap her mind around what on earth he was doing. Was he mocking her?

“Hit me,” he said again. “Take back control, Grace. Assert yourself. Did you feel weak and powerless when they had you? Did you wish you had more power? That you could fight back? Or maybe you were too scared to. Did you cower in a corner waiting for someone to save you?”

Rage was red-hot, blinding. She swung, connecting with his chin. His head popped back and pain flashed through her knuckles. For a moment she was too stunned to comprehend what she’d done.

He lowered his head, holding his chin. He grinned crookedly as he rubbed at his jaw. “Nice shot. We’ll work more on getting more power into your jab but not bad at all.”

Her mouth popped open. “Are you insane?”

Rio cocked his head to the side. “I’ve been accused of that a time or two. Depends on your definition of sanity.”

“I just hit you. Aren’t you angry?”

“Did it make you feel better?”

She frowned. She wanted to hit him again. He was so damn calm. Did anything ruffle him? She flexed herSheit fingers then glanced at his jaw, where a slight red spot marked his dark skin.

“Yeah, it did.”

And she did feel marginally better. Some of her intense rage and anger had slid away as soon as she’d exploded into action.

He smiled then. “Mission accomplished.”

She shook her head. “You’re nuts.”

He put her hand down and leaned back. “We can work on a few self-defense moves. You’ve got a lot of power considering how low your reserves are.”

“I just want to talk to my sister,” she burst out.

“As long as you agree to my conditions, I’ll do my best to make it happen.”

“What conditions?” she asked in exasperation. “I can’t agree to anything until you tell me what they are.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “On the contrary, until I have your absolute agreement, you don’t talk to Shea.”