when he realized he was not as weak as before. He forced himself to ignore the glazed eyes that stared past his head, forced himself to ignore the slow slide of the tear as it fell down her face.
His movements were angry as he jerked the towel around his glistening form. The scars bothered him minimally — he was more concerned about finding clothes to wear. He gestured to her with an abrupt wave of his hand. “Clothes.”
Jamie knew what he meant, but shook her head. Bitterness ran through her as he realized he didn’t want to help her escape, let alone speak to her. “I had these on when they took me.” She stood, hand pausing on the lock.
Her voice held a world of pain. “We could help each other...”
Talon roared, lashing out at the counter. “Get out!” His chest heaved, helpless fury running through him.
The door slammed behind him.
Jamie was foolish, still young enough to have a child’s dreams. Hearing talk of escape, of help, almost had him attacking her. Would she not realize that they were damned? His snarl ripped through the air, more animal than human. His shoulders tensed.
He tried to calm his breathing. She had taken care of him, had tried to help him get better despite her fear of him. He realized that she had only done that to help herself. Hurt flashed through him, then cold fury. It was as slick as ice as it slid through him, around him, inside of him. He wasn’t made to be cared for, and he would accept nothing that Jamie had to offer him.
Talon stayed in the bathroom, steeling himself against her. The woman was weak, incompetent, needy. A woman was meant to be used and discarded, and Jamie was no different. If that was what Auro and Lyne wanted in return for his freedom...
Then that’s exactly what they’ll get.
Chapter 7
“Auro.”
The bastard had incredibly sharp hearing, almost as good as Talon’s. It was just a whisper, a soft calling of his name. He knew he didn’t have to wait long before the man would show up.
Although he answered to no one, Talon knew he would come. Because his “pet” had called him, because he never spoke a word to them, because it was his call. Jamie was in the room, her light breathing barely audible. The rapid pulse of her heart filled the room, filled him. She was asleep, blissfully unaware of the door opening.
Talon refused to open it for Auro. The man had caused him enough pain over the months, and now that he had a sliver of freedom he refused to bow before him. The collar, while in the bathtub, had blissfully been gone. The strange magic the thing held angered him, because he knew no one other than Auro and Lyne could see it. Jamie would have known and would have tried to take it off of him, if she had been able to see it.
Soft creaks of the bathroom door opening had him turning, had his gut clenching. He almost puked, almost attacked, almost killed him.
But he couldn’t, not yet. He wasn’t strong enough, wasn’t capable of taking down Auro and then Lyne, once the brother found out that his dear sibling was dead.
The sneer that Auro gave him was chilling, disgusting. A deranged scent coming from him had Talon almost gagging.
“My brother and I were busy,” he sneered, stepping farther into the room. The door closed behind him.
Talon was grateful that Jamie had fallen asleep. It had seemed like hours before he had been able to calm down enough to call on Auro. He wanted to rip at his head, wanted to feel the sticky blood of his enemy running through his hand, but knew that he couldn’t.
He said nothing in response to Auro’s words. He felt sick as he realized what the scent coming from him was. Talon turned to look at him fully, tightening the towel around his waist. Still, he said nothing.
“That woman is lucky,” Auro suddenly snapped, the silence of Talon getting to him.
He merely raised a brow, leaning against the counter, folding his arms over his chest. He no longer felt like vomiting, but he barely restrained from coldcocking him.
“Will you say nothing to me? You took my from my brothers embrace. I had thought you would be ready to —”
“What, exactly, do you want Jamie and I to do?”
The question drew Auro up short. Talon took the moment to guard himself against the smell of