'No,' I whispered. 'No.'
I turned my head and saw the bars. Beyond them, someone was sitting on the chair. My heart leapt. Then the figure stood, black eyes meeting mine.
'No,' I whispered again, sitting up. 'Damn you, no.'
'I had to, Elena,' Jeremy said. 'I was afraid you'd hurt yourself. Now, if you're feeling better-'
I threw myself at the bars. Jeremy stepped out of arm's reach, cautious but not surprised.
'Let me out of here!' I shouted.
'Elena, if you'd-'
'You don't understand!'
'Yes, I do. Daniel has Clay. He took him in Toronto. He wanted you to show up at the hotel at ten today. You were talking in your sleep on the way back.'
'You-' I stopped and swallowed. 'You know?'
'Yes, I-'
'You know and you're keeping me in here? How could you?!' I grabbed the bars and strained against them. 'You knew Clay's life was in danger and you put me in here?'
'What do you think Daniel planned to do, Elena? Take you and let Clay go? Of course not. If you went there, we'd lose you both.'
'I don't care!'
Jeremy rubbed a hand over his face. 'You do care, Elena. You're just too upset to think about this logically-'
'Logically? Logically? Are you really that cold? You raised him. You mean the world to him. He's spent his life protecting you. He's risked his life protecting you, risks it constantly for you. You'd sit back, logically assess the situation and decide it's not worth the gamble to save him?'
'Elena-'
'If he's dead, it's your fault.'
'Elena!'
'It's my fault. If he's dead because I didn't get there on time-'
Jeremy grabbed my arm through the bars, fingers cutting to the bone. 'Stop it, Elena! He's not dead. I know you're upset, but if you'd calm down-'
'Calm down? Are you saying I'm hysterical?'
'-calm down and think about it, you'll know Clay isn't dead. Think about it. Daniel knows how important Clayton is to the Pack. To you. To me. He's too valuable as a hostage.'
'But Daniel doesn't know why I didn't show up. Maybe he thinks we don't care, that we've abandoned Clay, given him up for dead.'
'Daniel would know better. To be sure, I've sent him a note. Last week he gave me a post office box to contact him through. Antonio and Nick dropped off a letter saying that we weren't letting you make that appointment, but that I'm willing to negotiate so long as Clay's not harmed. I'm sure Daniel already knows that, but I wanted to make it clear. I'm not taking any chances with Clay's life, Elena.'
On some level I knew Jeremy was right. It didn't help. I kept thinking, What if he's wrong? What if Clay had never even made it back to New York? What if he'd woken up and they'd fought and he was lying in a Dumpster in Toronto? What if Daniel couldn't resist the opportunity to destroy his lifelong enemy while he was drugged and powerless? Even if Daniel managed to keep it together, what about LeBlanc? He'd already proven he didn't give a damn what Daniel wanted. If Clay angered LeBlanc, he'd kill him. Even if Clay didn't do anything to LeBlanc, he might kill him just because he could. As all the possibilities ran through my mind, my aching legs surrendered and I slumped to the floor, still clutching the bars.
'You didn't warn me,' I said.
Jeremy crouched down, putting one hand over mine. 'I didn't warn you about what, sweetheart?' he asked softly.
'I didn't think. I should have known.'
'Known what?'
'That he was in danger, too. He was looking after me. But I wasn't looking after him.'
I dropped my head to my knees and felt the first prick of tears behind my eyes.
Jeremy left me in the cage overnight. As much as I wanted to believe otherwise, I knew he wasn't being heartless or unfeeling. After my crying jag, one might have expected me to give up the fight and meekly accept Jeremy's will. At least, anyone who didn't know me very well might expect that. Jeremy knew me better. When I was sobbing on the floor, he'd reached through the bars to comfort me, but didn't unlock the door. After I'd had a good cry and wiped away the tears, I flew into a rage. I broke the bed, it being the only breakable thing in the cell. I kicked the toilet, but that didn't break anything except maybe a couple of my toes. I flung my dinner on the floor. I cursed Jeremy at the top of my lungs. And once it was all over, I should have felt better, right? I didn't. I felt stupid. I felt like I'd had a fit of hysterics and made a fool of myself. I needed to get a grip and take control. Throwing tantrums wouldn't help Clay.
Of course, just because I was ready to leave the cage didn't mean Jeremy was prepared to let me out. He left me in there all morning, stopping by periodically to make sure I hadn't resumed my
Inside was a Polaroid shot of Clay. He was sitting on the floor, knees pulled up, feet bound together, and arms behind him. His hands were out of sight, but judging by his position they must have been tied or manacled. His eyes were half closed and so clouded by drugs they looked gray instead of blue. Though I couldn't see any sign of bars, I knew he was in a cage. No werewolf would capture Clay without making damn sure he couldn't Change and break out. Keeping him secure would mean drugs, bindings, and/or a cage. Daniel would use all three. He'd fought Clay before and he wouldn't take any chance on an accidental rematch.
I looked at the picture again. Bruises covered Clay's arms and bare torso, an ugly slice bisected his left cheek, his lips were swollen and split, and he had one blackened eye. Despite his condition, he stared into the camera with a look of bored annoyance, like a supermodel who's had one too many photographers in her face that day. Showing defiance would have only set Daniel off. Clay knew better.
I reached inside the envelope again and found it empty. I looked up at Jeremy. For the first time since he'd brought me back, I really looked at him. His eyes were underscored with purple and his bangs fell lankly against his forehead, as if he hadn't slept or showered in days. Tiny lines had appeared around his eyes and mouth. He almost looked his age.
'Where's the letter?' I asked, more gently than I'd intended. 'I know Daniel must have sent a letter. Can I see it?'
'It says they have Clay, which is obvious, and that he's not in great shape, but he's alive, both equally obvious. If you check the background of the photo, you'll see a newspaper hanging on the wall. It's today's
'What does Daniel want?'
'Clay's in no immediate danger.'
'Are you going to give me a direct answer to any of my questions?'
'I've sent a note back. I'm demanding daily pictures while we negotiate.'
I scowled and stomped to the other side of the cell, reminding myself that I had to play nice. Another tantrum wouldn't get me out of the cage anytime soon.
'I know I lost it yesterday,' I said. 'But I'm fine now. I want to help. Can I come out?'
'Eat your lunch. I'll be back in a while to see if you're still hungry.'
Jeremy slipped the tray through the slot near the floor and went upstairs. I bit my tongue to keep from calling
