Falcon (Kindred, #5)

FOUR-2

Hours passed, she knew it because the fuzzy light faded from behind the fogged glass until it became black. Bess came in with food, which Devon refused, much to Bess’ surprise. She was sick of the games, sick of the waiting, sick of being controlled by everyone else. She demanded that Bess take the food away and reiterated what she’d said: either she was let go or the man pulling the strings came to tell her exactly what the hell was going on.

More time went by, all the light faded and she was left in the pitch black. Devon lay down in bed, ready for another night of sleep in this place that was nothing more than a gilded cage. Thinking about what the lack of artificial light outside the obscured window could mean when she married it with the silence she’d monitored, Devon didn’t reach many conclusions.

When Wren and Bess weren’t here, she heard nothing. Either this place had the best soundproofing on the face of the Earth or they were far from civilization and any kind of external noises like traffic and other people.

No artificial light meant no headlights, no passing cars, no street lights. While putting all of these pieces together, her eyes grew heavy until sleep threatened. Just as she was about to lose herself to it, she heard a click and the sound of a door opening.

A sliver of light appeared on the opposite wall, and she pulled her blankets higher over her chest. It grew wider and then was filled by a looming silhouette that she saw only a flash of before it grew so large it blocked all of the light.

When she sat up, Devon registered the tiniest strip of muted light seeping underneath the now closed door that definitely hadn’t been there before. It let in just enough illumination for Devon to decipher the tall, broad shape standing at the end of her bed.

“You’re him, aren’t you?”

“Yeah,” he said. His deep voice had the impact of a gut punch. A low rumble, the single syllable seemed to shake the whole room. “You’re trying to regain control.”

There was so little emotion in his voice that she couldn’t tell if he was angry or upset or if he was just trying to condescend her as his doctor buddy had done when he came in here the first time.

“You don’t have to patronize me. You need me.”

Her strength was bravado. Demanding to see this man had been a way of trying to regain control, to show these people how unfair it was to try to force someone into doing something that they didn’t want to do.

And yet, he’d chosen to come to her at the worst time because while she was in the dark it was like being back in her metal cage. Although the ground was soft here and she had space to stretch and walk, the memories were vivid and still raw, making it difficult to tether her emotions to something solid.

“You’re a pain in the ass.”

So far she’d deduced that he didn’t say much, but when he did speak, he was honest. “Why are you holding me prisoner? Why don’t you let me go?”

“You can go.”

Just like that, did he have that much power, could he allow her to just walk out? If that was the case, she was right, he was the one pulling the strings. Something told her that it wasn’t going to be quite that easy.

“But?”

“It’s the middle of the night. It’s cold out.”

“I’ll get a cab.”

“We’re on a private island.”

An island. That idea hadn’t occurred to her. It explained so much, such as their confidence that they wouldn’t be caught holding a woman captive and the lack of sound or artificial lights.

“Who are you?” she asked, the words coming out of her of their own volition because of her innate need to know who this enigmatic man was.

“Names don’t matter.”

“You have a private island. Does it belong to you? If you have enough money to splurge on buying a person, then I guess it stands to reason that you’d have enough to buy an island. Is it a tropical island?”

“We’re in the Pacific Northwest, Devon, prepare to freeze your a*s off if you go out there in a nightdress.”

Ok, so she accepted that leaving this minute wasn’t a good idea. “How do I get off the island?”

“You don’t. Not until you tell us what we need to know.” A threat. These people weren’t as benevolent as they made out. “You do that and we’ll take you back to the mainland.”

“You can’t—”

“You wanted to meet me, here I am,” he said, becoming stern. “Tomorrow, Bess and Wren will introduce you to some new people. Answer their questions.”

“And you?”

“Forget me,” he said. “Sleep, ‘cause tomorrow you better be ready to talk.”

In less than two strides, he was at the door, and he was out before she could voice any objections. The light beneath the door vanished and she was alone again, blinking into darkness. That brief encounter could have been a dream, something her mind made up, or maybe they’d just conceded.

Devon didn’t know who these new people were or what they would ask. But she’d made progress by forcing the buyer to come here against his will. Although her victory was tiny, she slept easier because of it.