He took his time answering, crossing his arms and stretching his legs way out. I sat stiffly on the edge of my bed and waited him out.
“I’m taking you somewhere safe tomorrow,” he finally answered.
“You expect me to believe you?”
“You don’t have much choice.”
“Stop treating me like a child,” I snapped. “Tell me the truth.”
“There’s a code of silence.” But the look in his eyes was somewhat interested. Well, interested in what I’d do next, as if I were some kind of performing dog that might pull off another neat trick.
“I deserve some answers, damn you.”
“So do I, Princess, believe me.” He watched me with his head cocked slightly to the side. His green eyes were striking but impossible to read easily. Sometimes I thought I understood what he wanted, but most of the time, this man was unpredictable to me. It wasn’t exciting unpredictability, either. It was terrifying. Like living with a tiger. You never knew when that beast was going to get hungry.
“Is that all you’re going to say?” I asked softly.
“This is for your own good. Now turn off the light and get some sleep.”
I did as he commanded, my heart beating with a slow, dreadful thud and my body cold. I turned off the TV and then the closest light. Then I curled under the covers in a fetal position, feeling as if I would never be warm again.
Still, I couldn’t help but peek at him. Leon sat in the chair, faintly illuminated by outside light creeping past the edge of the curtain. Apparently, he intended to sleep in that chair after all.
I hoped he ended up with a wicked crick in his neck and back pain tomorrow morning.
Unable to settle down, I turned away from him to face the opposite wall. But I could feel him there. Waiting. Watching.
It took a very long time for me to fall asleep.
CHAPTER FIVE
LEON
By the time dawn rolled around, I was exhausted. I slept lightly, fitfully. Mostly in fifteen-minute increments. Nothing more than dozing, really. It was all I dared risk.
Despite my words, I was worried Sofia might do something stupid. She was a smart girl. Smarter than me, probably. But it was important that she toe the line. I couldn’t have her attempting to escape, or worse, trying to stab me in my sleep with a nail file or something. Hard to blame her if she wanted to give it a go. I didn’t expect her to hand me any brownie points for not killing her. Not after I ended up terrifying and kidnapping her.
But I was uneasy about something besides being murdered in my sleep by my hostage—something I couldn’t put my finger on. Yeah, I was worried that everything had spun out of control, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was in increasing danger.
No specifics, not yet, but the feeling shadowed me. I’d learned long ago to rely on my instincts. They’d kept me alive until now.
So I spent all night on watch accept for those brief little cat naps, turning everything over in my mind and not getting any beauty sleep.
Sofia had trouble sleeping, too—not that she could be blamed for it. But eventually, she fell asleep, and I could tell it was real sleep by her breathing pattern. True, she was up and down, but she slept for longer blocks of time than I managed. She even snored a little, which amused me. It wasn’t cute snoring. A hibernating bear with a head cold would have nothing on her.
Like I said, I saw dawn and felt like hammered shit. My back ached. My neck felt like I’d spent fifteen hours in the front row of a movie theater, staring up at the screen.
I got up and walked around, trying to work out the kings. Checked the parking lot. Nothing new out there, and the car hadn’t been stolen in the last ten minutes, so that was good. I wanted coffee but wasn’t going to leave Sofia alone. She was nothing but a mound under the covers. From the change in the sound of her breathing, she was awake but apparently not ready to get out of bed. Couldn’t blame her for that, either.
“Rise and shine,” I announced loudly, dragging my chair back to the table.
Sofia climbed out of bed, not making a sound. She sat on the edge for a second and didn’t look at me. Then she grabbed some clothes from her carry-on and headed into the bathroom.
“Can I shut the door to take a shower?” she called from inside.
“No, but I give my word not to look.” Not that I wouldn’t mind in an entirely different situation, maybe in a parallel universe where I hadn’t kidnapped her and her father hadn’t ordered my brother killed. Hell, she was pretty with those big dark eyes and perfect, natural lips and that sexy little figure—
Fuck. What was I doing? She was the daughter of a man I hated. A man who’d ripped a hole in my family. Why the fuck was my libido doing this to me?
