But of course, he doesn’t hurry. Slowly, he takes a step forward, closing the distance between us. His eyes are intent on mine, his breathing heavier all of a sudden. He brings his hands up and presses them to my body just beneath my arms. He lingers there, watching me like he’s waiting to see how I’ll react.

  I try to keep the revulsion off my face, knowing it’ll only make it worse.

  With slow, unhurried movements, he drags his hands down my hips and around my waist. His eyes are locked on mine, and he’s standing so close I can smell the spicy aftershave clinging to his skin. I force myself to hold his gaze, disgust curling in my gut as his hands venture upward once again; this time, running down the front of my chest.

  The air crackles with tension, but it’s not pleasurable. Not for me.

  I can see his arousal though, pressing against his pants. It’s all I can do not to drive my knee into it. And judging from the look he wears, he knows I’ve seen it. Maybe even knows what I want to do to it.

  When his palms reach the downward slope of my breasts, he pauses, cupping them and squeezing lightly. Pure rage lights in my veins, and I know it’s crept into my expression. He smiles—fucking smiles—and then drops his hands lower, running them down over my abdomen—then lower still.

  When he gets to my thighs, he kneels in front of me. His exhale of hot breath washes over the front of my pants. I force my feet to remain where they are. Fists too. He looks up at me, his eyes shining with an expectation I recognize instantly.

  He’s turned on.

  He wants me turned on too. But he also wants me to hate this.

  With a sickening twist in my gut, I force my expression to neutral. Bored even. And I ignore the way his warm hands trail around my inner thighs. His thumb brushes my sensitive spot, and I flinch.

  “Do that again and I’ll kill you,” I snarl.

  I’d step back, but there’s nowhere to go. Instead, I press myself into the wall and breathe.

  His hands finally reach my ankles, and he finishes his exploration—because that’s exactly what this was. Not a search. A discovery.

  Bastard.

  Finally, he pushes to his feet. His cheeks are flushed. His erection even more obvious than before as he looms over me. I was right; he wants me to fight back.

  So, I don’t.

  My shoulders press hard against the wall in some attempt to put space between us. But he just leans in closer, refusing to give me an inch.

  “Can I go now?” I ask, putting every effort into sounding unaffected.

  His expression falls, and I know I’ve managed to resist giving him what he wants from me. “You’re all clear,” he says.

  I turn for the door, hating that I’m slinking away instead of shoving him back. But he refuses to back off, and I can’t stand here any longer without committing a murder that would doom Levi to the dungeons forever.

  “Pack your things,” he says just as my hand closes around the doorknob.

  I look back at him sharply. “Are we leaving for Blackstone?”

  “Soon,” he says. “In the meantime, I want you close. You can move your things into the office across the hall. I’ll have your cot moved as well.”

  “No.”

  His expression tightens. “Excuse me?”

  Just the thought of it. Of him putting his hands on me whenever he wants…

  “I’m not sleeping across the hall from you.”

  “You’re not in a position to refuse me.”

  “You’re the one who wants me badly enough to barter for a man’s life,” I say. “I think that means I’m exactly in a position to refuse you.”

  His eyes narrow. “Negotiating is one thing, Mac. Disobedience will have unpleasant consequences.”

  “You are an unpleasant consequence,” I tell him and then let myself out before he can say another word.

  In the hall, Burnett glares at me, and I suck in a breath, determined to hold it together until I’m away from them both. I half-expect Jadick to come after me and argue harder for me to switch rooms, but he doesn’t.

  Still, I walk quickly.

  Burnett holds the outer door for me, and I don’t stop moving until I’m in the main corridor, and Burnett closes the door behind me, shutting me out.

  Tripp stands nearby, talking to a group of Jades. When he sees me, he breaks away from them and hurries over to me.

  “What happened?” he demands.

  “Don’t ask.”

  I head for my room, and Tripp falls into step beside me. Still, Grey is nowhere to be seen.

  “Okay, where are we going then?”

  “I’m getting my stuff and staying with you.”

  “Uh, not to point out the obvious, but how does Jadick feel about that idea?”

  “I don’t give two shits how he feels.”

  Tripp, wisely, says nothing to that.

  Back in my room, I deflate, realizing belatedly there isn’t any “stuff” to grab. I came here with nothing but the clothes on my back. Other than the bag my mother left me, I’m without a single earthly possession. For some reason, that realization nearly breaks me.

  “Fuck!” I kick over the small table and watch as it slams against the far wall.

  “Whoa, hey.” Tripp grabs my shoulders, steering me toward the door. Or, more specifically, away from anything else I can damage. “What happened in there, Mac?”

  His eyes are kind on mine, but I hold back.

  “Nothing,” I say.

  He drops his hands, disappointment flashing. He knows I’m lying, but he doesn’t press it.

  “And the scouts?” he asks. “Did he say anything about them?”

  “No. he obviously knows Guy was stabbed. I’m guessing one of them ran his mouth.”

  “I don’t think so,” Tripp says.

  “Did you hear something?” I ask, remembering how he was whispering with those Jades.

  “They didn’t escape. Jadick let them go after they agreed to recruit more of the pack to our side.”

  I’m not holding my breath on that one. But I’m sure they told Jadick what he wanted to hear to save their own asses.

  “Do you think anyone knows we were in that room?”

  I can’t help worrying that I’ve somehow screwed myself out of my bargain. Without our deal, I have nothing. Especially after finding out the scouts are those two assholes. They want to help me less than Jadick does. And if the pack doesn’t fight on our side, what will happen to my mother? To Levi?

  “I think if he knew for sure, he wouldn’t have searched us and let us go,” Tripp says.

  “You’re right,” I agree, but deep down, I’m not so sure.

  Jadick’s playing a game with me, but it’s not necessarily the same one I’m playing with him. The problem is I have no idea how either game works.

  “He wants me to move into the office across from his,” I say.

  Tripp frowns. “To sleep there?”

  “Yes.”

  “What did you tell him?”

  “What do you think?”

  He grins. “I bet that went over well.”

  “Listen, if I stay with you, it’ll make you a target. He’s going to be pissed. So if you don’t want to—”

  “Give me some credit, Mac.” He slings his arm over my shoulder and pulls me in for a quick hug. “Come on. Let’s go get you settled in your new space.” He scoops up my extra clothes and tucks them under his arm. Then he extends his free hand. “Roomie,” he adds.

  I take his hand in mine as I grab the bag my mom left me and let him lead me out. “Thanks,” I tell him.

  “Don’t thank me yet. I snore, remember?”

  I nod at the clothes he’s carrying. “That’s what the dirty socks are for.”

  CHAPTER 15

  Tripp’s room, it turns out, is one in a series of small alcoves carved out by dividers that look like they were stolen from a container store. A very likely scenario, considering where we are. The dividers offer a small semblance of privacy but do nothing to block out the noise coming from the other “rooms” around ours.

  “How many bedrooms are there in here?” I ask as he leads me through a maze I’m very sure I won’t be able to navigate my way out of alone.

  “Probably sixty or so,” he says with a shrug.

  “That’s insane. The mall’s huge. There’s so much room to spread out.”

  “Jadick ordered everyone to stick closer together.” He tosses the words almost carelessly over his shoulder as he leads us through what used to be a large, wide-open department store. But I can’t help wondering why he’d order something like that.

  Is this all so Jadick could shove me down that far hallway alone? Is he so worried about what will happen if I’m tossed in with everyone else? Or does he simply not care about anyone else’s circumstances so long as they don’t impact his?

  Finally, Tripp motions for me to enter one of the spaces. It’s not much bigger than a cubicle, but there’s a cot wedged against the far wall with just enough room for another beside it.

  He dumps the clothes on his mattress and then starts for the door again.

  “Where are you going?” I ask.

  “I’ll grab your cot and bring it back,” he says. “Stay here.”

  His voice takes on a note of authority, but I roll my eyes. “Yes, sir.”

  I mock salute, and he shakes his head as he disappears back into the maze.

  With nothing else to do, I sit on the edge of Tripp’s mattress and listen to the conversations floating in from the nearby quarters.

  “...Levi put him in charge for a reason,” a female voice is saying.

  “Levi didn’t put him in charge,” replies a male. “That asshole grabbed power from a vacuum.”

  The voices aren’t familiar, but their words have my full attention.

  “What, did you want the Quinn girl to step up?” the female asks with a derisive snort.

  “Which one? The mother or daughter?” the guy challenges.

  They both laugh.

  I listen to their footsteps as they shuffle out into the maze. Their words stay with me, though, long after they’re gone.

  More conversations swirl.

  Someone asks about dinner.

  A fight breaks out over a stolen toothbrush.

  Someone says, “I love you” with no sarcasm.

  There’s a camaraderie in the chaos of so many bodies forced to live so close. And even though I’m smack dab in the center of it all, I am very aware of how separate I am from these people. They’re connected. To each other. To their cause.

  I’m connected to no one.

  Even my relationship with Levi—such as it is—doesn’t contain the same kind of bond these people share. Levi and I are mates, and that should count for something. Maybe it does. It’s the reason I’m trying so hard to free him after all. But at the end of the day, the Jades are his people. They’re the ones he’s fighting for. The ones fighting for him.

  I just hope they’re worth it.

  Because when I’m done, they’re all Levi will have left.

  “Hi.”

  I look up to see an older gentleman standing in the narrow opening. He’s wearing worn jeans and a baseball cap with a fish on it.

  “Hi,” I say warily.

  “You’re Levi’s girl.”

  Levi’s girl. I swallow hard at how warm those words make me feel.

  “I’m Mac.”

  He nods. “Jim. My mate, Amelia, and I came away from the compound with you.”

  His scent finally registers, and the small stirring of my wolf confirms his words. She remembers.

  “It’s nice to see you again,” I tell him honestly. Mostly, I’m glad he’s alive. That they made it when so many others didn’t.

  “We owe you for helping to get us out of there,” he says.

  I stare at him. “You don’t owe me anything,” I finally mumble.

  “You led the way around Kari’s scouts. Without you, we would have met them head-on.”

  I shake my head. “You would have figured it out.”

  He cocks his head, studying me. Something about his expression suggests he wants to argue, but he merely shakes his head. “You officially one of us now?”

  “What?”

  He gestures to the cot and the small room. “You sleep here. You eat here. You fought for Nely, and you’re fighting to take down the Clemons alpha. Sounds like a Jade to me.”

  “I’m…”

  His words stun me. My sudden burst of emotion makes it impossible to form words.

  Up until now, I’ve felt only their hate and disgust, but the way Jim is looking at me is nothing like that. If anything, there’s an openness. A friendly acceptance I haven’t experienced in so long it clogs my throat with unexpected emotion. And I find myself wondering if I haven’t missed this shred of acceptance that exists scattered among them.

  Tripp returns, saving me from answering.

  Jim doesn’t bother saying goodbye, just shuffles off to give Tripp enough room to enter, dragging the cot behind him. I lift my feet and tuck them underneath me so he has space to shove the narrow bed into our shared space. When he’s done, he flops onto it.

  “These halls are narrow as hell.”

  “Are you that out of shape?” I tease.

  He sits up, glaring. “I can still kick your ass, Quinn.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  Before our sparring can devolve into a wrestling match—which would undoubtedly destroy this entire department store town—a figure appears in the doorway. My body tenses, fully expecting Jadick to have come for me. But instead, I see Grey, grumpy as ever.

  “Are you here to drag me back?” I ask him.

  He glances at the two cots then back to me. “I don’t drag people,” he says simply.

  “What about your knuckles?” I ask, and his eyes narrow. “Do you drag them? Or is that just Burnett and Gregario?”

  For a second, I think I’ve pushed him too far. That he’ll finally snap and try to kill me. But he just scowls deeply and then says, “I thought you’d want to know Jadick’s team just returned from Blackstone.”

  “Team?” I ask.

  “The extraction team he sent for Vicki.”

  He sent a team?

  I sit up straighter. “And?”

  “No sign of her.”

  “What do you mean no sign of her?”

  “Our spies reported the only prisoner being held at the alpha house is Levi.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense. Where is she then?”

  “That’s all I know.” He looks like he wants to leave but then changes his mind. Instead, he shoots Tripp a look I don’t understand before glancing back at me again. “Are you sleeping in here now?”

  Something about the way he asks the question makes it sound like he doesn’t approve.

  I shrug. “I figured I’d let Tripp babysit me for a while. Give you a break.”

  He frowns. “I don’t take breaks.” Before I can think of an answer for that, he adds, “I’m across the hall if you need me.”

  Sure enough, he disappears into the room across from ours.

  “Grey. What the hell do you want?” a voice asks.

  “I’m moving in.”

  “The hell you are—”

  The response is cut short by growl and a grunt. A moment later, I hear, “Fine, just stay on your side.”

  Tripp and I exchange a look.

  I can see the question in his eyes. The one that wonders why Grey is so intent on protecting me himself. Unfortunately, I don’t know the answer either.

  “You think you need protection from me?” Tripp asks, and his question is direct enough to startle me.

  I almost blow him off, dismissing his question entirely. But then I look around and realize, at some point along the way, I started trusting my former friend again. Or maybe I never stopped. Either way, the only way to move forward is to be honest. At least about this.

  “Someone drugged me back at the compound,” I say. “Or tried to.”

  His eyes bulge at my words. “What?” His voice rises.

  I shush him, wondering if Grey is listening. Actually, I’m positive he is. But I push on, anyway.

  “Before we were taken, Levi told me only two people had access to my food while I was a prisoner.” I pause and then add, “Jadick and you.”

  He stares at me, but instead of anger in his eyes, I find only disappointment. Somehow, that’s worse. “And you actually suspect me?” When I don’t answer, he huffs. “You really think I could do something like that to you?”

  I bite my lip. “I don’t know.”

  “I don’t fucking believe this. That’s why you’ve been so distant with me? You thought I tried to drug you?”

  “Whoever was in charge of my care back then left me locked up alone without food or water for days,” I say, temper rising as I remember the hell they put me through.

  Tripp’s hurt morphs into fury. “I never knew,” he says, his voice deadly quiet now. Rage ripples off him. I can feel it from where I sit across the tiny space.

  The voices around us have gone quiet. The more I think about what I’m saying, the more I realize this might have not been the smartest place to have this conversation. The Jades already distrust me. Airing my dirty laundry might just make things worse.

  But Tripp is clearly unconcerned as he pins me with a look. He doesn’t bother lowering his voice at all as he says, “Whatever they did to you—No. Whatever Jadick did to you, I’m sorry. But it had to be him. Because I would never do anything to hurt you. And I’m just sorry as fuck that you don’t know that into your bones. That you could ever doubt me.”

  My eyes fill with hot tears at his words. Because he’s right. I should know it. I should have no doubt about Tripp’s loyalty.

  “I do know,” I say weakly. “I mean, I do now.”

  “Look,” he says, “Jadick has been trying to ice me out for weeks. Months. But now, with you, he’s trying to wedge himself between us. And it’s fucking working. Don’t let him do that, Mac. Don’t let him isolate you or gaslight you into thinking he’s the one you can trust. He’s a snake, Mac. Don’t forget that.”

  “I know.”

  The silence is deafening now. As if the entire room is listening in. And considering they’re all shifters with impeccable hearing, they probably are listening in.