Page 20 of Wrong Squad, Right Mess

“Not a chance,” Carter answered. “If she knows, she’s only going to worry more. With any luck, we can bypass any guards they have and be through the portal before they realize it.”

“And if we can’t?” I asked. “If we get caught up in something before we get our asses home? Then what?”

Carter shrugged as though it didn’t matter much to him one way or the other. “If the Guild wants to make us their enemy, well, they’re going to see exactly what we do to our enemies.”

Chapter Twelve

Yun

I felt Corsa, but he didn’t appear in my dreams. It was like hearing a coyote howling but not seeing them. I might have guessed he had simply not shown up, but another sensation there in my mind told me the truth.

Shear had said he’d take care of things, that he’d watch over me, and the familiar buzz that told me he was there said he’d kept Corsa at bay. Or he’d at least done something to make Corsa decide not to bother me then.

I woke, feeling surprisingly rested given what couldn’t have been a very long nap. I’d chalk that up to Shear and Kenyon, knowing damn well that between the two of them, they could make my body and mind do damn near anything.

No one was inside when I woke, the bookstore empty and quiet. A rush of fear hit me, this feeling that perhaps I’d been abandoned, before I shook my head and calmed myself.

There was absolutely no reason to believe that had happened, to think there was any chance that they had tossed me aside like that, especially here, in the middle of The Pitt.

Sure, I’d been thrown away enough in my life that I didn’t doubt it could happen, but I refused to let my own fears control me, not anymore.

So I breathed through the initial onslaught until I could calm my heart and slow my thoughts.

They wouldn’t leave me.

“Good girl.” Carter stepped into the room from outside, a more honest smile on his lips.

“You don’t know what I was thinking.”

“I might not be able to read your mind, but I sure can read your face. You woke up and thought we left you, but you took a second and decided to trust us, instead.”

I hated how easily he understood me, how much I felt on display. It was worse than stripping down, worse than standing naked right there. “You have no idea what you’re talking about,” I muttered.

He strolled over, looking far too pleased with himself. “Don’t be like that. You deserve a reward for being such a good girl.”

“Does that work on anyone?” Even as I said that, I couldn’t ignore the growing heat inside my stomach, or the fear that it might very well work on me. Something about the way he said it, the slight drawl of his voice, the promise there—I wasn’t totally unaffected by it.

“Sometimes it does,” he said, undeterred by my rejection. “I’m usually pretty good at knowing what’ll work and what won’t for each person.”

“So this is just another game for you? I’m just another person for you to try to win over?” The words caused an ache as I said them, chafing against old fears.

He slowed for a moment, then slipped onto the loveseat, pressing a knee into the cushion beside me. “You know it’s more than that. Have I used these skills on others? Sure. But have I ever given a fuck if they worked or not before? Nope, not one bit. You’re the only woman whose rejection would really break my heart.” He took my hand by the wrist and pressed my palm against his chest, above his heart. If I were stupid, I might have actually believed him. “Feel that? How fast my heart beats? Yeah, Blizzard, it only does that for you.”

I tried to pull away but couldn’t win against his strength. “We don’t have time for this.”

“We might not make it out of here, so why would we give up any moment we have? What’s another twenty minutes, huh?” He still held my hand against him, waiting, staring at me, and something in those eyes stilled me as it always did.

“Stop hiding,” I whispered.

“I’m right here.”

I sat up to come closer, though given our size difference and the position, I still had to look up into his eyes. “No, you’re not. I remember what I’ve seen before, just glimpses that you hide right away. No fake smiles, no softened edges. Let me see it all.”

He let out a harsh rush of air, as though I tested his patience. His smile fell away, and he stared back at me, looking so much more frightening than he had before, as though all that civility he normally wore had washed away. “You don’t want this, Yun—no one does. You like the charming me, the one who whispers sweet things and stares at you with these eyes.”

“What I want is the real you.” Even as I said it, I doubted myself a little.

What if I changed my mind? What if he reminded me of Corsa? What if I lost it and hurt him?