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“Why? You’re the only one he wants. He hasn’t touched another jewel—”
“You heard him that day. If he leaves here, his brother will hunt him down. He won’t trade his life for ours. There’s just no way.”
“Maybe not our lives but yours…” Rachel whispered.
My heart skipped.
“And besides,” —she continued— “he and his brother are family, whether they like it or not. And family forgives each other. If you convinced Henri that you’d fallen in love with him—that you’d stand by him no matter what. That you’d protect him from his brother…he might help. Not to help us but to keep you all to himself. He hates the other Masters. He slaughtered two of them that day without even batting an eye. He shot us, not because he was thinking about winning a game and earning a few more jewels for his twisted pleasure, but so others wouldn’t lay a finger on us.”
Pressing one of the faded bruises on her arm where Henri had layered both of them in red paint, she added, “Peter was right when he said he saw something good in him. I saw it too. It might’ve only been for a second, but…no other Master would’ve carried Peter back for treatment.” Rachel took my hand with a warm squeeze. “No other Master would’ve gone to the lengths he did to protect you. He loves you, Ily—”
“He what?” I stumbled back. “No, he—”
“I don’t think he realises it himself yet, and I’m pretty sure he’d do whatever it took to prove otherwise, but…I think we could use him to get free…if you think he’s trustworthy.”
Loves me?
Ha!
My insides tangled at the thought.
Henri was many things. Kind in a dangerous way. Protective in a monstrous way. Messed up in every way. He couldn’t even say my name anymore. Couldn’t look at me, talk to me, touch me…
They’re wrong.
If anything, his unwillingness to have anything to do with love was the reason he was here in the first place. Even the offer of staying with him in the outside world wouldn’t be enough to make him rejoin it.
“What if he doesn’t agree?” I asked quietly. “What if he’s loyal to Victor and merely waiting for him to return?”
Rachel shook her head. “I think he’s loyal to you.”
“That’s a lot of thinking, Rach.” Mollie sighed heavily. “Know what I think? I think you’ve read too many romance novels.”
“No. I just have eyes.” Rachel sniffed. “I haven’t been immune to feelings in this place. Crap, a year into being Victor’s favourite, I truly thought I was falling for him. So yes, I admit I might not be the best judge of character. And bringing Henri into our little operation could backfire, but…you both said we need as many hands as possible. And I agree. The workload is immense. I want out of here before I’m seventy-five, so…we have to be prepared to use everything and everyone we can.”
Goosebumps scattered down my arms.
I hung my head, a confession springing free. “I admit it’s crossed my mind to ask him. It’s on the tip of my tongue every night when he looks so tormented and tragic, but…he hasn’t said much of anything to me since the night of Emerald Bruises. Each time I try to talk to him, he ignores me and acts as if he can’t stand me. Whatever you think you saw between us is over and—”
My throat closed up.
God, that hurt.
Admitting that all the cold rebuffs and lack of intimacy hadn’t been because he was sinking into places I couldn’t go but perhaps because he no longer felt anything for me.
“Test him out tonight,” Rachel murmured.
“Test him out?” I squeaked. “How?”
“Seduce him.” Rachel leaned closer. “Give him whatever he likes and make him confess how he feels about you. Depending on his answer, tell him what we’re planning or don’t. We trust you to make the call.”
I shivered. “And what if he doesn’t react the way we hope? What if the man who tried to protect us no longer exists?”
Mollie shrugged. “Then he’ll die with the rest of them.”
My entire body flinched.
We all paused for a long moment, mulling over our separate tasks.
