36. Sloane
36
SLOANE
C rawling off the bed slowly, I inch my way in front of Jack as Mikhal watches. Jack’s forehead creases as his gaze pings back and forth between my eyes, reading me. Is Mikhal telling the truth?
He is. Can Jack see that by merely looking at me? He can always tell so much.
My hands are shaking as I reach for him tentatively.
The gleam in Mikhal’s stare punches through the panic. He let the cat out of the bag because he wants to see a little drama.
So, I give it to him. “It’s true. I–I didn’t know how to tell you.”
My fingers barely graze his chest, which almost heaves under my touch. It’s not hard to will tears to my eyes. I so much feel like crying over it. Over doing this to him and Rhett and Sterling. I’m just so stupid.
Jack’s silence has me fumbling on. “I didn’t want to ruin your life. That’s all I ever seem to be good at. It’s why Skylar ran away the moment he found out about Reese. Why Alistair treated me the way he did.”
My fingers grip his T-shirt, and I miss the warmth of him when I drop my hands. The best show I can give is the one I’m most scared of. Just get it out of the way, say all the things I’m actually afraid of.
“I should have put more effort into preventing this. Because why would you want to be attached to some young girl who doesn’t know any better? Who doesn’t know my place? Who has to fight with you about everything ?”
I suck in a slow breath as hot tears drop down my cheeks to where my hands are sitting in my lap. My shoulders sink forward, my posture drooping. A hiccupping breath has me closing my eyes. I can’t believe I’m saying these things aloud.
“I’m not worth it, you know.” My voice is a warbling whisper. “I’m not worth any of this. All I do is fail and put burdens on other people. I don’t blame you if you resent me for this.”
Finally, I open my eyes again, bringing my hands up to wipe away the wetness. Jack’s features haven’t changed. God, he’s shut down. He’s in shock, truly angry. And now he’s stuck with me.
Emotions hitch my breath again as I say the one thing I know will hammer it all home. For all three of us, immersed in this performance.
I can’t forget that dark gaze burning along my skin as he revels in this. Hints of a smile touch Mikhal’s features. He’s amused by my tears, by these very real fears and insecurities of mine.
“I don’t know whose it is.” I meet Jack’s stony gaze again. If he didn’t know what I’m playing at before, he knows now. Of course, I don’t know whose it is. And of course, my worst fear is that all three of them will write me off for this and that one of them will hate me for permanently tying us together.
His eyes narrow, and I wish he wasn’t so good at this because the disappointment in them lands a real blow.
Tears start flowing again, and I don’t bother trying to stop them.
Jack’s jaw clenches.
I drop forward on my knees, my stomach clenches, and my tears turn into small sobs.
I’m drained dry. Tired. Defeated. Done with all of this, so I just stay curled over myself until I feel our captor move around us.
Mikhal hums. “Seems that our Sloane has exhausted herself. It takes much energy to be such a naughty girl.”
He bends on the other side of Jack again, taunting him on his knees.
“Being able to take three men at a time could prove a useful skill down here. In case you plan on giving her up.”
I feel Jack tense more than I see it.
“We might take her anyway.”
The best way to get him to break his stoicism, but he still doesn’t speak. I flinch.
Mikhal’s laughter follows him and his goons out the door. The silence that follows is filled with my heavy breaths as I slow my tears. It’s harder than I anticipated.
“Sloane.” God, Jack’s voice is soft.
I hiccup and pull up, blinking rapidly until my vision clears. Wiping the remnants of my tears clear, I peek up at him. His features have completely changed. They’re open and full of worries over me.
“Come here.”
I lift myself completely and tip into him, burying my face against his neck, the masculine scent of him calming me in ways that shouldn’t be possible. I wish he could wrap his arms around me.
“You okay? Have they hurt you?” he asks against my hair.
“No. Just a lot of threats.”
After another beat, he nuzzles me and leans back. I’m bereft without him, and the feeling catches me unaware. Holy shit, I’ve become so attached to him that I’m half convinced my performance has turned into more than that.
But he simply rolls back, jerks his arms, and snaps the bindings off his wrists.
A new wave of heat hits me, and he smiles when I meet his gaze again.
“Hot, right?”
God, yes. Yes, it is. As much as I hated his beefy muscles at the start, I’ve grown to enjoy the perks that come with them.
When he breaks mine open, tingles shoot up my arms, but I couldn’t care less. Jack finally draws me into his grasp, a false sense of safety.
His breath sears the side of my neck as those big hands of his draw circles over my back. “Is it true?”
Naturally, I inch back, but he tugs me in again, tightening his hold on me. My nails dig into his shoulder blades. “Yes. It’s true.”
And I explain the reality of it. How I found out right before I was taken. How even though I’ve been taking my birth control, it wasn’t enough. How it could be any of theirs.
Surprising me, he kisses my temple. My hands slide down his waist, and I feel something tucked there. Jack’s soft laugh has my hand sliding away. How had he managed to get that past them? Did they think the cuffs and guns were enough to hold Jack?
His mouth presses against my forehead, and my anxieties reduce to simmering instead of a full-blown roil. “You okay?”
I take in a deep breath, filling my lungs with the scent of him before I nod. “Yes. As okay as I can be.”
“What can you tell me about this place, about the people?”
“They’ve rotated guards twice since I’ve been here, but I don’t know how long that is.”
“About eight hours, give or take.”
I hate it when Jack retreats, stands, helps me back to the bunk I was on when they shoved him in here with me. But I get that he needs to make the same inspections that I did when they dropped me in here. Except he’ll probably find something I missed.
No one ever trained me for this.
While he searches, I tell him about the tunnels, what I saw, what I can remember. I tell him about the plane they stole and the ride in. I tell him about Edmund helping them. That I don’t know if he’s still here, how I haven’t seen anyone but Mikhal and his guards since I arrived.
“That’s probably a good thing.”
Given the threat he made—for what I hope was Jack’s benefit—I’m glad it’s just been me and that monster.
Jack bends in front of me until I focus on his stony blue eyes. His thumb brushes my cheek in sweet, circling sweeps. “Get some rest while I poke around. The guys are coming. We just have to bide our time for now.”
He drops another tiny kiss on my nose before he steps away, returning to his search. I enjoy the view of his backside as he sweeps the room methodically.
Slowly, my eyelids droop, and I’m drifting into a fitful rest. Half of my mind is on alert, waiting for a change that would make being trapped here all the more unpleasant.
My mind fills in the other half of my consciousness with images of my belly growing round, the weight in my center making me feel far too reliant on others for help, the pain of pushing out a babe. It’s so far from now. But it will be here before I know it.
The dark starts to drag me under when shouting rouses me. It’s coming from inside the tunnels of the cave. I push myself up on an elbow as Jack squats in front of me again.
“Ready?”