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“I don’t know how,” I forced out, my voice wavering.
In a second, he was in front of me, his hand wrapping around Tim’s throat. His fingers dug into Tim’s skin, cutting off his air immediately. On instinct, Tim clawed at Amaros’s hand, but his fight was nothing compared to the vampire’s strength.
“Fear is the best kind of threat,” Amaros murmured, glancing over his shoulder at me while Tim’s face turned a shade darker. “You bring them to the brink of death. Let the terror overwhelm their mind. Then you do it again and again.”
I tried so damn hard to fix my expression before Amaros looked at me, but I knew I’d failed the second his lips tipped down in a frown. He didn’t release Tim, even as he stared at me.
“You’re worried for him. Scared,” he stated. “Do you know him?”
“I don’t like seeing any human suffer,” I said thickly.
“You’re lying,” he shot back. “Don’t play me for a fool. It will never end well for you.”
“She’s from Project Hope,” Zan cut in. “The same city as him. I’m sure they’ve seen each other.”
Amaros’s eyes flicked to his son. “You failed to mention that.”
“I didn’t think it was relevant.”
“Everything is relevant when it comes to dealing with PARA.” Amaros suddenly released Tim, leaving him gasping for breath as he turned toward me once more. “Are you hiding secrets? Secrets that could help us?”
“No,” I answered stiffly.
My word only brought him closer, and he reached behind me, his hand fisting my hair. I bit back my cry when he tilted my head back, forcing me to look at him.
“She found some hawthorn,” Zan bit out. “She can’t be entranced right now.”
“Is that so?” Amaros questioned, his eyes not leaving mine.
Viggo forced out a laugh. “Our fault. We raided a PARA truck and brought the hawthorn back here.”
“We’re not used to having a human in our place,” Pax muttered.
They were lying for me. Again. Though I didn’t think it would help. Amaros was solely focused on me, and even if he couldn’t entrance me, it still seemed like he was going to try. His fingers were still painfully tangled in my hair, but he was keeping me an arm’s length away. He was calm. Unbothered. He had control of this room like he most likely did everything else in his life.
But then he turned to speak to Zan. I couldn’t even hear his words, because I was too engrossed in the sight in front of me. Amaros’s chest. His heart. Unguarded. This was it. My chance. Quite possibly my only one.
I didn’t let myself overthink it. My fear would only get in the way if I did that. Trying to keep my body as still as possible, I reached under my shirt, my fingers wrapping around the rough wood.
Then I moved, raising my arm and aiming straight for Amaros’s heart.
Chapter 13
Kali
His reflexes were so fast. Too fast. The tip of the stake had barely brushed his chest before his fingers curled around my wrist, halting my attack. His other hand was still in my hair, and I let out a yell when he yanked me closer, keeping the stake between us.
“Kali, no,” Zan roared, his voice saturated with panic—something I’d never heard from him before.
My heart was pounding out of control, dread climbing through my limbs. I was so dead. Every part of me knew it, and there was no stopping the fear from swallowing me whole.
Silence smothered the room, and I had no choice but to look at Amaros as he kept my wrist trapped, and his other hand in my hair.
But then he laughed. A loud, amused laugh that echoed in my ears, making ice drip down my spine.
“I like you,” he murmured, his eyes studying me as if for the first time. “You still hold fear, but unlike so many other humans, you don’t let it control you. Though you should probably work on your rash decisions. Those might not end well.”
I glared at him, loathing in my gaze. No words formed in my head as I counted my last minutes. My move might have entertained him, but I doubted he was going to let me get away with what I’d just attempted to do.
