Sighing, she sat across from him and watched him chew, watched his throat ripple as he swallowed. That mouth had been on her, and she flushed at the image that was burned into her brain; him, between her legs, his jaw muscles rolling as he’d feasted on her.
“What are you staring at?” he asked. “Do I have something in my teeth, or what?”
She laughed. “No, of course not. I like looking at you. I can’t help it. Is that a crime in demonland?”
“I guess not.”
A cool draft blew through the cave, sending a chill across her wet scalp. She dragged a hand through her tangled hair. She must look like a drowned rat. “Listen, I know this isn’t the ideal situation for either of us, but if you’re right, and this bond is permanent—”
“It is.”
“Okay, then, it seems to me that we need to work some things out.”
He broke a Fresca off the six-pack he’d set on the table and pushed it toward her. “Like what?”
“Like the fact that I don’t plan to spend the rest of my life in this cave. The moon cycle is done. Can we go someplace else now?”
“No.”
“So you expect me to remain your prisoner for the rest of my life?”
Shade gripped his sandwich so hard mayo dripped from between the slices of bread. “Did you forget about Roag? You killed his female. He’ll want revenge.”
“How do you know? You said he’s insane.”
“His insanity only makes him more dangerous. And I know because it’s what I would do if someone killed y—” He threw his sandwich down on his plate, knocking the top off kilter. “I don’t want to talk about this.”
She stared at him. Part of her wanted to kiss him for what he’d said—or almost said—about what he’d do if someone killed her. But the other part wasn’t going to get sidetracked by his all too familiar avoidance.
“Well, too bad.” She tossed down her own sandwich. “I can’t live like this, and I won’t. Did it occur to you that I have a life? A job I’m good at? People who will miss me?”
“Actually, no. It didn’t occur to me.” He laughed bitterly. “Not once in all this time did I think about it. Gods, I’m such an a**hole.”
“I won’t argue that,” she muttered.
Angry words fell from Shade’s lips, words in a guttural language she didn’t know, but she got the gist. He was cursing up a storm. Yet he took a break in the middle of it to fix the top slice of bread on his sandwich, lining it up perfectly with the bottom.
“Who were you talking to on the phone?” he asked abruptly.
Whoa. That made her heart skip a beat. “You remember?”
“I might have been half-crazed with the s’genesis, but yeah, it’s all coming back.”
She swallowed dryly and reached for her drink. “What … what did you hear?”
“Enough to know that whoever you were talking to knows about the hospital, and that Kynan is involved.”
She broke out in a cold sweat. She’d never been a good liar, and with the bond, Shade would sense her emotions, might know if she was lying about something big. Maybe she could dole out bits and pieces of truth …
“I was talking to Arik. I told you that he and Kynan know each other.”
“How?”
“What is this? An interrogation?”
“Answer the question.” When she said nothing, he leaned across the table. “The longer you stall, the more suspicious I get, and while I can’t torture you—unless you want to be tortured—I have no problem with stringing up Ky. Now spit it out.”
“Stop bossing me around.”
He swore, and this time she understood his raw curse all too well.
“We just did that, buddy. So maybe you could bust yourself out of this grumpy mood and remember that none of this is my fault. And while you’re at it, maybe you could wash your mouth out with soap.”
Both fists came down on the table with a slam loud enough to startle her, but after a moment, he said quietly, “You’re right.”
As far as apologies went, it was as much as she’d get, and she knew it. “From the Army.”
His dark eyes narrowed. “Is he spying on us?”
“No.”
He nodded as if suddenly everything was coming together. “The job you mentioned … you’re working for the military, aren’t you?”
Busted. “No … I …” The lie tangled her tongue, and Shade wasn’t buying it anyway, so she looked down and whispered, “Yes.”
“What does Kynan have to do with this?” When she said nothing, he sighed. “Help me out here.”
Unsure where to start, and afraid to spill more than what might be strictly necessary, she chose her words carefully. “He was a liaison between The Aegis and the Army. He fell off our radar about the time his wife died. We haven’t heard from him since. No one in The Aegis has been able to put us in touch with him. So I came to New York to find him.”
Obviously, Tayla had known where he was, but she’d kept it from everyone else in The Aegis. Runa had been sent to do more than just locate him. The Army wanted him. Badly. She didn’t know why, and it wasn’t her place to ask. When orders were issued, orders were followed.
He cut her a sharp look. “There’s more. Something you aren’t telling me.”
“No—”
“When you came to my place, it wasn’t because you were pissed at me, was it? You wanted information about Underworld General, didn’t you?”
Runa looked away, caught her reflection in the stainless steel refrigerator door. Guilt stared back at her. “Yes.”
“You hated me so much that you wanted to bring down me and the hospital.” The tone of his voice became gentler. “Not that I blame you.”
How could she deny the truth? “It wasn’t just that,” she muttered, out of some twisted need to make him feel better. “I wasn’t lying when I said I wanted to kill the warg who bit me, and that’s why I went to your apartment.”
“What day was that?”
“Friday. A week before you landed in the dungeon with me.”
He ran his gloved hand over his face. “Shit.”
“What?”
“I’ll bet Roag was trying to nab Wraith. He was supposed to meet me at my apartment that night, but we canceled at the last minute because I needed to come here—”
“With a female,” she finished, the bitterness in her voice surprising even her.
He averted his gaze. His shoulders slumped a little, and she actually felt sorry for him. He might be putting up an I-don’t-give-a-shit front, but she wasn’t believing it anymore.
“Okay,” she began, her voice softer than before, “so how would Roag have known that Wraith would be at your place?”
“Solice knew. She was a nurse at the hospital. She’s the one who, ah, tortured me in the dungeon.”
“Oh. Well, obviously she didn’t know about the change in plans that night, and I got taken instead of you and Wraith.”
“Fu—ah, hell’s bells.” He shook his head. “I’m so sorry, Runa.” She didn’t have time to be stunned, or to soften up, because he immediately danced away from his apology. “Tell me how involved you are with the military.”
As much as she hated talking about this, in a way it felt good to get this huge secret out in the open. Maybe now Shade would understand her need to get back to the real world. “I’m a paid volunteer. They helped me out after the attack.”
“Helped you, how?”
“Arik took me to the base, and they tried to cure me of the lycanthropy.” She took a deep breath and told him the rest. “The treatments were experimental, and a couple of months after starting them, I gained the ability to shift at will.”
“So you think the experiments are responsible for that?” When she nodded, he shook his head. “You should have told me. Eidolon would know better what to look for.”
“I didn’t know what to expect from you. Or your brothers. I might be a werewolf, but I’m still human, and I can’t betray my own people by spilling secrets about the American military. Think about it. If the situation were reversed, what would you do?”
She knew damned good and well he didn’t want to admit she was right, and sure enough, he avoided answering by asking another question.
“What did you tell your brother about the hospital when you called him yesterday?”
“Nothing, I swear.”
Shade crossed his arms over his broad chest. “Do you know what Kynan told the Army?”
“No.”
“What else can you tell me about this military unit that you work for?”
“Shade, please. I can’t talk about this.”
The look he gave her sent the chill she’d felt earlier straight to her bones. “Then Kynan will.”
Shade stalked away from the table, leaving Runa jaw-dropped and furious at his threat.
Which wasn’t really a threat. Dammit, if Ky had any nefarious motives regarding the hospital, if he was secretly working against them …
Fuck.
Well, Runa couldn’t yell at him for thinking the word.
“Oh, no! You don’t get to just walk away from me.”
Runa caught up to him in the living room as he headed for the exit. He needed to get out of this place, needed just a few minutes to compose himself before he did something stupid, like wrap her in his arms and promise her he’d make up for everything Roag had done to her. His stomach growled, reminding him of exactly why he couldn’t do that; already the curse was affecting him. He’d eaten two sandwiches before she came in from the waterfall, and he felt as though he hadn’t taken a bite.
Relentless hunger.
One down, three to go.
“Get dressed, Runa,” he said, without turning around. “We need to head back to the hospital.” The hospital she’d been tasked to spy on. For some reason, the fact that she’d agreed to do it hurt more than it should.