The echo of their breathing filled the hollow expanse of the concrete loading bay, thick and heavy. Alexander didn’t let go of her hand immediately. His grip remained firm, his thumb resting right over the racing pulse point on her wrist. He was analyzing her, applying just enough physical pressure to see if she would flinch, if she would look away, or if the desperate bravado she had just thrown in his face would shatter under a direct gaze.
"You talk about empires and time bombs with a very smooth tongue, Miss Betty," he murmured, his dark eyes boring into hers like two frozen drills. He slowly let his fingers slide away from her skin, stepping back just enough to let the harsh glare of the single overhead light fall across his face. "But why should I trust a random young lady who stumb
