it to my ever growing list of difficult tasks. Maybe Charlie knew something.
I smiled sweetly. “Queen bitch. How are you?”
She cocked her head, indicating the healing bruises on my arms and ribs. “Better than you. Still a troublemaker, and a runt that no one wants, I see.”
“Hmm, these bruises didn’t come because no one wants me, Shannon, quite the opposite. But, unlike you, I don’t need a big, strong man to take care of me—I never have. I can protect myself better than most alphas can, and I’m certainly never submitting to one.” I allowed my cold gaze to meet Connor’s for a second before continuing my conversation with the woman he’d promised he’d never fuck. Bastard. My chest ached at the thought of them together, and my hands fisted as I tried to deal with an utterly ridiculous sense of jealousy and betrayal. Ah, shit, pull yourself together, Ember. You’re not a child, and you’ve had your own fair share of lovers since you last saw him. Besides, what did you expect? That he would be celibate just in case you ever saw each other again? For heaven’s sake! We both thought the other was dead! I gave myself an imaginary slap after that stern talking to. I had to keep things in perspective, even if all this was sending my brain into a meltdown. “What are you doing here, anyway? Are you on a day trip to Daddy’s work, or did you do something really naughty to piss him off?”
She inhaled sharply, her gaze darting around. “Shut up!”
I smirked. Interesting. I guessed the other inmates didn’t realise she was the daughter of their kidnapper. “So...” I fixed my attention on Connor. How much did his fuck buddy mean to him? I was either in a position to bargain, or he wouldn’t let me out of this room alive to tell anyone. I hoped it was the former. “You want to keep her dirty secret from the others, hmm?”
His eyes narrowed, and his wolf seeped into his gaze.
I judged the distance back to the weapons cupboard. Wooden or not, I could inflict life threatening injuries with them. I’d only have to get past Korea, Owen was on my other side and the others had backed off when Connor’s power got too much for them.
“What’s your real name?” Connor cocked his head, clearly weighing up his options.
I rolled my eyes. “Ember.”
His nostrils flared. “No, it’s not.”
“Yes, it really is.”
He growled. “Fine. I’ll humor you for now.”
I tried not to show my relief. Even that small concession was a step in the right direction.
“Shannon is here because, like the rest of us, she was thrown in here to rot by the director. She has no special privileges, and no one else will find out who she is.” He pushed her away from him and stepped closer to me. “At least they won’t find out from you.”
My heart rate spiked, but fear was an emotion I refused to acknowledge, so I smirked, batting my eyelashes at him. “Ah, but what will you give me in return for keeping yours, or rather her, dirty little secret. I deserve something, don’t you think?”
He leaned in, invading my space. His familiar spicy and warm scent made my heart squeeze. I’d forgotten how much I loved that scent. Gods, I’d missed him so much. I fought not to show how flustered his nearness made me.
“How about your life? Now keep your mouth shut and leave before I change my mind.” He stood back and glared at the door.
But I didn’t want to leave, not now that I’d found him again. I cursed myself for not wanting to walk away, so I deliberately ignored his threat and glanced around the gym. All activity had ceased again. Oh crap, now I was outright challenging the Prime by not leaving straight away. Well, in for a penny, in for a pound, as the old saying went.
“Of course, but how about you let me come use this gym whenever I want and I’ll keep queen bitch’s secret.”
Shannon sneered. “You? What the hell do you need access to a gym for? You never could fight. You were always the weakest of our class, always the runt. Rawson should have put you down when my…”
“Shannon! Enough!” Connor snapped a warning.
The flush over Shannon’s cheeks told me she’d let her anger loosen her tongue without even noticing. As volatile as ever. I banked that little snippet of information.