“No, wait. Whatever Emma tells you, it’s not what it looks like. I…”
He trails off, and I think I hear him swear.
The knob rattles as Spider tries to open the door. Keys jingle, and then the lock clicks. I back away from the door as it opens and he slips into the room, pocketing his keys. He’s carrying a small bag in his hand.
“There you are, Wildcat. Mind telling me what the fuck that was all about? What the hell happened with Rat?”
I stand before him, shaking with fury. I’d been wanting to tell him, and yet now that he’s there, I can’t get the words out. My throat chokes.
Spider’s expression hardens as his gaze takes in my face, wet with tears. He stalks toward me, a muscle in his jaw ticking. “What the fuck did he do?” His voice is cold and dark.
“Rat,” I croak, swallowing. “He was… I went into his control room to bring him something…” My teeth clench. “He was watching us.”
“What?” He shakes his head, looking confused.
“He was watching us. He must have put a camera in here. I saw him, watching me… us… having… on the bed. I saw us… on the screen.”
I have no idea what I expected Spider to do upon hearing that one of his club brothers was watching him in such an intimate act with me, in the privacy of his own room, but his reaction isn’t remotely it.
As soon as the words are out, Spider’s eyes widen. Then his face splits into a grin and he puts back his head, barking a laugh.
“Oh, fuck.” He shakes his head.
I stare at him, my brain sluggish. Disbelief works its way through me.
“I don’t understand.” Indignation and anger at his casual response to this invasion of his—of my—privacy slowly takes over. “How can you…”
“You think he’s the one who set that up?” He shakes his head again, cupping my chin with his fingers.
I blink. “What? I don’t…” I trail off, and as I take in the gleam in his eyes, dread slowly seeps in.
“Rat put the cameras in here, but it wasn’t his idea.”
I shake my head slowly. “No.”
“It wasn’t his idea. It was mine.”
I gape at him, my gut roiling. “You did this?”
He just shrugs. Delight sparkles in his eyes.
“Why?” My voice is high and soft and broken.
“Why do you think, thief?”
My fists tighten as the truth sinks in. Betrayal burns in my blood. Of all the things Spider has done to me, this somehow hurts more than anything else. It cuts deeper than any whipping or insult.
I clench my teeth. “How long?” I grind out.
He just smirks at me, crossing the room to his bed, glancing up at the light fixture, then at me. Watching my rage boil. He puts the bag on the nightstand, completely ignoring my question.
“How. Long?” I repeat darkly. “How long has the camera been here?”
“Cameras. There’s two of them.” He takes his gun from his belt, putting the pistol and the holster inside the nightstand.
“How long!” I scream.
“I had Rat put them in here the day after I brought you here.”
I close my eyes, putting my head back. Tears sting. “Where are they?” I say, making myself look at him.
“There’s one in the light fixture.” He nods to the globe. “It’s malfunctioning or something. Rat’s trying to fix it. You must have caught him watching old footage.” He snorts. “Fucking pervert. Couldn’t resist watching the show.”
But far from being angry with Rat, he seems to find this whole thing a riot.
Hatred mixes with the humiliation that washes over me. “Where’s the other camera?” I demand. “You said there were two.”
His grin is huge. “In the shower.”
My mouth drops, my eyes huge. My head swims with the rush of rage.
“You’re gorgeous even when you’re soaking wet,” he adds when I say nothing, too gobsmacked to reply. “You take nice long showers. Lots of entertainment.”
“You were watching me in the shower?”
Again, he shrugs.
“Wait.” I raise my shaking hand. “That’s how you knew, isn’t it?” I snap. “That’s how you knew I was escaping that day. You saw me climb out the window!”
“Score one for the thief.”
My eyes blur with tears. “How could you do this to me? You knew how I felt about… How, Spider?” My voice is high and horrible and cracked.
“Did you expect me to just leave you in here every day without some way of keeping an eye on you?”
“But you weren’t just keeping an eye on me. You were…”