It’s a fair question, and one I’m not sure I have the answer to. I try to explain anyway.
“I’ve been a tracker for The Elite for more than a decade, and during that time, I’ve lost count of the number of women I’ve abducted. Yet none of them have ever touched me the way you did. You weren’t even on my radar. I snatch women to order, and when I first saw you, there wasn’t a requirement for someone of your description. But the second I watched you run down the street with your hair swinging in a high ponytail and wearing those pink athletic pants you favor, I knew I had to have you.”
She shakes her head. “You realize that’s wrong, don’t you? Women aren’t possessions to be owned.”
I shrug again. “They are in my world.”
The way she flinches is telling. She’s just so damned innocent it’s almost painful to watch that naivety be stripped away so swiftly.
“What about the other girls, the ones I was with last night?”
“Four made it.”
Her eyes fill with tears, which surprises me. I wouldn’t have thought she spent long enough with the women to form any kind of bond. Just goes to show that stressful situations can connect people in a way we don’t expect. I’m hoping the same happens with Calla and me.
“The redhead,” she whispers. “Was she one of them?”
I smile, pride swelling in my chest. Red must have shown that feisty side of herself to the other girls, too. “Yeah. She made it. I had no doubt. She was one of mine.”
Her lips thin, and a pulse beats in her jaw. “It’s nothing to be proud of.”
“It is in my world.”
She grimaces, then stands and begins to pace around the small kitchen, her hands on her hips.
“And this is where we’ll live?” She gestures with her arm. “Here, in the middle of nowhere. For the rest of our lives.”
I smile. “Hopefully not. I have a few places, and I’d eventually like to show them all to you. But for now, this is the safest place to be.”
She narrows her eyes. “Why? Shouldn’t I be safe with you?”
She’s astute, another quality I like.
“You are safe with me. It’s just… well, let’s just say I didn’t exactly ask for permission to take you.”
Horror steals across her face, slowly, like a shadow creeping across the room as the sun begins to set. “So they could still come for me? Drag me off to a brothel?”
It pleases me that she’d clearly rather stay here with me than face the alternative. Right now, I’ll take it.
“No,” I insist firmly. “That won’t happen.”
“Liar,” she snaps. “If you were so sure, we wouldn’t be cowering up in the mountains.”
The flash of anger comes quickly, and I don’t anticipate it. She picks up her empty plate and throws it at the wall.
“This is all insane. You’re criminals. Evil, vile criminals who should be in jail. I want to go home!”
She makes a dash for the door, and I let her go. She won’t get far. For one thing, she’s not wearing any shoes, and for another, the weather up here is significantly colder than back in Denver, and she’s only wearing a thin cotton dress. I’ll give her ten or fifteen minutes. If she comes back of her own accord, that’s a win for me. If she doesn’t, I’ll go looking for her and bring her back.
I’d really rather the former happens. It’ll make things easier from here on out.
Chapter Seven
Calla
I barely make it to the end of the narrow path before my feet are almost numb from the cold and sore from stepping over the sharp stones that are impossible to avoid. I don’t have a coat, I don’t have any means of communication, and I haven’t a clue where I am. And his warning about wolves and lions and bears keeps reverberating around my head like a pinball machine. I’m swiftly coming to the conclusion that there are worse things than Hawk in this world. He might have brought me here against my will, but until now he’s shown me nothing but kindness, and he hasn’t once tried to touch me inappropriately.
But he keeps calling you his. That’s weird right there.
I briefly consider that what he’s told me about The Elite are all lies, a ruse to make himself look like the good guy, but instinctively I know he’s telling the truth. I feel like I’ve had a very lucky escape, and that in itself is so fucked up I can’t believe I’m thinking it.
Hawk is not a good guy.
He takes women for a living and seals their fate—for some, a fate worse than death.
Yet he doesn’t scare me. I’m drawn to him in a way that I don’t understand, and I’m not sure I ever will. But whatever the reasons, a few minutes after I stormed off, I trudge back to his cabin. I’m surprised he never came after me, but as I push open the door and sheepishly enter, one look at his expression tells me the reason; he knew I’d return.
“Here, come and warm yourself by the fire,” he says, gesturing to a comfortable-looking chair.
I take a seat without argument and curl my legs beneath me. Hawk’s heavy feet pace over to the kitchen area, and he returns five minutes later with a steaming cup of cocoa. He hands it to me, and I take it gratefully. He sits across from me and folds his hands in his lap, but he doesn’t speak. I guess he’s leaving that up to me.
“So what happens now?” I ask.
“What do you want to happen?”
I arch a brow. That’s not a serious question, surely. “To go home.”
He sighs heavily. “We’ve established that can’t happen. I’m a patient man, Calla, but I won’t keep repeating myself endlessly.”
“You really plan to keep me, then?”
He nods.
“And what? We live happily ever after?”
“Perhaps. That depends on you.”
“Me?” My eyebrows arrow upward. “Why me?”
“It’s all about acceptance, Calla. The sooner
