“No. Absolutely not.”
Christian growled the words. The same ones he’d repeated for at least the hundredth time. Over the last twenty minutes, their little group had gone over several plans to get them the hell out of that place and had discarded all of them. Except one.
It was one they all kept coming back to every time they reached a dead-end, and it was the one that he detested the most. Mainly because, out of all of them, it was the only one that stood a chance at working. And it was the one that would put Melody in the most danger.
“It makes sense, Christian,” Melody pleaded, also for the hundredth time, or at least that’s what it felt like.
Christian had to fight the urge to growl in frustration again and had to settle for clenching his teeth so hard his jaw ached.
“They won’t hurt me. Not really. Not after what happened…”
Melody trailed off and looked away, but not before Christian could see the flash of painful memory shadow her dark gaze. He reached towards her, tilting her head until she faced him once more.
“Remember what I said, Mel? No shame. Not ever. No guilt. You didn’t do that. You didn’t do any of this. And you sure as hell didn’t kill that man.”
Melody let out a shuddering breath, and Christian had to clench his fists to hold back the anger. Not at her. At the man who had done this to her. The man who had hurt her over and over again.
“No, but he still died because of me, Christian. That won’t ever change.”
“Don’t let it scar you. Don’t let it in. He’s hurt you enough already.” Christian drew in a deep breath. “And I’m sorry, but I can’t let him hurt you again. I can’t let you go through with this.”
The plan they had roughed-out involved using as Melody as bait. She would pretend she was injured and call for help, then play on the men’s fears of Enrique to get out of there. Then she would do whatever she had to convince them to take her back upstairs to the bedroom. With the door and the lock that was broken. They wouldn’t know that, and the hope was that they would ‘lock’ her in and be none the wiser. Then she would be able to get out and call for help.
There were way too many if’s and maybe’s for Christian’s liking. All he could see were all the ways it could go wrong. All it would take was for her to say the wrong thing, look the wrong way. For them to discover that it was all a ruse. And then she’d be trapped somewhere else, separated from them, all alone to face Enrique’s wrath when he got back and found out what had happened.
No. No, he couldn’t let her go through with it. Just the thought alone made him break out in hives and sent panic skittering through his body like a live wire.
“It’s too risky, Mel,” Christian said softly, imploring her to see the agony it caused him, to understand how terrified he was for her, for their child.
“It’s too risky to do nothing,” Amanda cut in, giving them all a harsh look. “If Melody wants to try it, you can’t stop her. She has the right to make choices for herself.”
“You don’t get to talk,” Bianca interrupted sharply, glaring at Enrique’s cousin.
She hadn’t forgotten Amanda’s betrayal of them all those months ago.
“I have just as much right as you do, old woman.”
“Oh, you think so? Well, let me set you straight about something you…”
Amanda and Bianca started arguing, again, and Christian just let it wash over him. His mind was too busy working furiously, thinking in circles, trying to come up with something, anything, that would stop this plan from moving forward. That would stop Melody from putting herself in even more danger than she already was.
“The baby,” Christian whispered, saying the word out loud without meaning to.
“What did you say?” Melody asked just as softly.
Bianca and Amanda were shouting at each other so loudly that neither was afraid of being overheard, but Melody had still picked up his sudden slip.
“The baby,” Christian repeated the words again, already feeling guilty for using it against her, but not any more than he was afraid for her safety. “You can’t risk our child. It’s too dangerous.”
Melody flinched at his words as if he’d hit her, and she wrapped her arms protectively around her belly. He hated the desperate look in her eyes.
“What else can we do, Christian?” Melody shook her head, despair shadowing her gaze. “How else are we going to get out of here?”
She drew in a deep breath before going on.
“I know it’s a risk. But it’s my fault you are all trapped here. It’s the least I could do, sacrificing myself to get you out of here. I owe you that.”
“You’re wrong, sweetheart,” Christian said softly, cupping her cheek with one hand. “We come up with a different plan. We do something else. But whatever it is, we do it together, alright? Together, or not at all.”
Melody stared at him in the dark room, and his heart skipped a beat at the love and spirit he could see gleaming at him from her dark eyes. After a long moment she nodded.
“Alright. Together, or not at all.”