bed. She didn’t know how much time had passed. Left alone, she’d explored the confines of her new home, which had taken all of thirty seconds. It consisted of this small room and an even smaller bathroom. No shower, just a toilet and a sink.
She was a prisoner. Locked in a cell. But she hadn’t done anything wrong.
For a brief moment, rage had woken inside her and risen to the surface. She’d thrown back her head and screamed. It made no difference, though. If anyone had heard, they’d ignored her.
Now the anger had faded and despair tugged at her mind. She tried to banish it. Things were what they were; you had to accept and make the most of them. There was a good reason she was here. It was for her own protection.
I am important.
But that brief interlude in the sunlight had changed everything.
If only she understood things better, then she might find her circumstances easier to accept. Dr. Yang had always said that she wanted to know too much. That she didn’t need to know everything. She should just accept the way things are.
She squeezed her eyes shut. In her mind she saw the bird flying high. Free. Then she saw the man from the shuttle. His silver eyes staring into hers. She had a flashback to the way he had made her feel. Strange and tingly and as though she might burst into a thousand pieces.
She wanted a chance to explore the feelings growing inside herself. She wasn’t naive enough to believe in love at first sight. But she’d felt so alive.
A grating sound at the door made her bolt upright on the bed, her eyes opening.
And there he was. In the dim orange light, he was unmistakable. She stared. Had her brain somehow conjured him up? Was this just her imagination playing tricks with her? She pressed her fingers to her eyes, but he was still there when she opened them again.
He raised a finger to his lips.
Even in her limited experience, she knew what that meant. He wanted her to be quiet, and she clamped her mouth closed on the questions that tried to tumble out. Then he stepped to the side of the door and pressed himself back against the wall.
Now that the immediate shock had faded, she could hear footsteps approaching, boots thudding against the hard floor outside her cell. Lots of boots. Her gaze flashed from the man, to the door, and then back to him. He raised an eyebrow but didn’t speak.
Why didn’t he want whoever was approaching to know he was there?
Who was he?
Was he dangerous, or was he the one in danger?
And how had he gotten through the locked door?
A face appeared at the grill; eyes stared into the room, but whoever it was said nothing. She looked back and stayed silent. The face vanished, but more footsteps passed. Her gaze darted around the room, always coming back to the man. Dr. Yang had told her she was here for her own protection. Did this man mean her harm? But if so, he didn’t appear to be in any hurry.
“Can you look?” he said. “Tell me what you see?” The words were quietly spoken but still she jumped. Then she got to her feet and crossed the room, peered out between the bars.
“There are men carrying boxes.” As she watched, one of them came back in the opposite direction. He wasn’t carrying anything. “And they’re returning without them.”
“What sort of men?”
She glanced at him. “Are there different sorts?”
He shook his head then paused for a second. “What are they wearing?”
“Dark green jumpsuits.”
“Are they armed?”
She put her face to the grill and studied one of the passing men. “They have pistols in holsters at their waists. But I can’t tell what kind.”
“Okay. Well, I guess you’ve got company until they finish hiding whatever it is they’re hiding down here. We might as well get comfortable.”
He sank to the floor and sat with his back against the wall and his legs stretched out in front of him. She realized he couldn’t be seen down there if anyone looked in through the door.
“You don’t want them to know you’re here?”
“Hell, no.”
“You speak strangely,” she said.
He grinned and something inside her warmed. “I’ve made worse first impressions, so I’ll take it.” He pulled a metal flask from inside his jacket, unscrewed the top, and held it out to her.
She looked at it distrustfully. Her diet had always been carefully monitored, but now she