place like this would put Connor—and my brothers—at risk. The predators in here would sense my weakness and attack.”
I took his hand and gave it a squeeze. He gave me a watery smile in return. “Who says it would end badly? Maybe Myles does want more with you. I mean, come on, you’ve both been here a long time; he knows the stakes as well as you do.” I bumped him with my shoulder again, but the smile fell from my face. “You know what’s happening in two weeks. What if he has to fight—or you do, and one of you loses? Neither of you will have had a chance to say how you feel. Don’t you think that’s sad after loving him from afar for so long?” Slipping the ‘L’ word in was deliberate. Reed was right, what he felt for Myles was far more than lust. Reed didn't deny he loved Myles, just released a heartfelt half-sigh, half-growl.
“Yeah, I suppose it is, but so would opening my heart to him, only to see him die.” The column of his throat bobbed, his eyes briefly closing. “Or for us to have to kill each other.”
“But at least he’d know how much you love him.” The thought of anyone in this place being forced to kill someone they cared about sent a wave of horror rolling through me. At least Connor wouldn’t have to fight, Doherty and the warden needed him.
Reed closed his eyes briefly. “Yeah, he would.”
“And something tells me he feels the same.” I blew a breath out, hating myself for the relief washing through me that Connor would be safe when so many others wouldn’t. I dropped his hand and swung my fist to the side and into the wall. “This place, this whole situation is so godsdamn shitty.”
“Yeah, it is. And if you’re going to have to fight in a fortnight, you need to get back to training. You have to survive to keep our Prime’s head in the game. Come on.” He took my hand and dragged me towards the Gym. “You would do well to watch others fight, too. Knowing your enemy is half the battle…”
Just before I got back in the ring with Rawson and Lionel, Reed pulled me to a halt. He kissed my forehead, earning some incredulous stares from the two waiting men. “Thank you.”
I smiled up at him, not sure I’d done anything to warrant his thanks, but I’d take it. It was nice to talk, to have a meaningful and peaceful exchange of words, rather than having to fight my way through every hour of every day. For some reason an image of Lyss handing me that great big fluffy pink bunny she’d bought me when I first set foot in her home, came to me. Sometimes it was nice to just be offered friendship, no strings attached.
The rest of the day was round after round of punches, throws and fighting techniques. Reed commented and made suggestions from the side, and he didn’t leave us, even when Kawan came to take over his watch. It was nice to think he stayed because he wanted to and not because Connor had ordered him to.
Chapter 16
Connor.
* * *
Impatience buzzed through me as I waited for Drake. Steam and heat bathed my skin and caused drops of sweat to bead up on my forehead and neck until it trickled down the groove of my spine. The stink of acrid industrial detergent stung my nose and made my eyes water. I growled. I hated enclosed spaces, especially this one. It was so dark even I struggled to see and my wolf balked at being so closed in. I beckoned Kawan. He had his hair mussed and his posture was curled forward along with his shoulders. He kept his gaze on the ground and to those above would look like any other laundry worker—weary and submissive.
Zander had disappeared as soon as we had our cargo in the laundry room. He hadn’t explained how he’d managed to get hold of it, and I didn’t ask. “I don’t know how the hell you’re going to get it to work in here.” He’d gestured to the prison with a sweep of his arm. I just smiled and kept my mouth shut. Just as he wouldn’t tell me his secrets, I had no intention of telling him mine. “Just remember if you’re in the system too long, it will flag up unauthorised activity to the security hub.” With