I look up at Jaden as he stands over me. If I see even one shred of pity in his eyes, I’m done. Pity I don’t need. He, however, looks at me with a kind of fascinated horror. He’s silent with the appearance of great calm. But below the surface, he’s wound up like a well-coiled spring. I’m getting used to his intensity, but I don’t have a fucking clue what he’s thinking. I don’t like this disadvantage. Have I pushed him too far? What is he thinking?

I shut my eyes and focus, trying to get a read on his emotions. It’s one of the weird things about me—I feel what the people around me are feeling. Not all of the time, but often. Kind of like an empath. A nut bar more like. With Jaden, I rarely feel anything but a huge gray void. But occasionally a crack opens in the wall, and his emotions burst through with the blinding crystal glare of a diamond reflecting off a glacier.

Instead, he barks out a harsh laugh. “Male Buddy Bonding dinner parties?”

That does it. I’m pissed. If there’s one thing that pulls my trigger, it’s being called a liar. My eyes grow huge. I hope the shards of ice I throw drop from my imagination into his brain. I stand up and put my hands on my hips, elbows pointing toward each wall. It’s one of those moments when I wish I could morph from five feet three inches to match his magnificent six feet plus. I ignore the fact that if he wanted, his two hundred or so pounds could crush a little runt like me.

“Yeah? And what the fuck would you know about it, eh? How many men do you know who were kidnapped and forced to work as sex slaves? How many times have you been kicked and punched when you refused to kneel and lick some guy’s piss off the floor. How many times—”

“Whoa, whoa. Rayne, I’m sorry. The idea isn’t funny at all. It’s absurd. Incongruous. That’s what I was reacting to.”

I huff as the wind leaves my sails.

Jaden drops a hand on my shoulder. I leap up like he’s applying a hot branding iron. My fists clench reflexively. I pant hard as adrenaline floods through me. I take a few deep breaths and try to put a harness on my panic.

"Shit. Sorry. You okay?" Jaden looks like he’s about to swallow a live rodent.

“I’m fine.” Don’t hit me.

He reaches out and takes a step toward me. I flinch. Here it comes.

“Then why are you hunched over like that?”

What? He’s right—I’m crouched and ready to spring if he takes one step closer to me. With a great deal of effort, I uncoil and sit back in the chair.

“Sorry. I’m just a little on edge.” No way am I going to tell him more.

“That’s an understatement. What did you think I was going to do to you?”

I thought you were going to hit me. “Nothing. I don’t know what got into me.”

His golden eyes lose their spark and go dead. He keeps his gaze locked on mine.

“Rayne, I told you I only have one rule. Don’t lie to me. Ever. Tell me you don’t want to answer. Tell me it’s none of my business. But don’t lie to me.”

Yikes. The ice in his voice chills me right to my bone marrow. I feel terrible. Like I’ve kicked a cute little puppy when I was mad at Viper. At the world. One fucking day and a half, and I’m mooning after this guy like I have a major crush on him. I so do not.

“I thought you were going to hit me. It was a knee-jerk reaction.”

“I’ll take that as an apology. You have my word. I will never intentionally hurt you. I repeat—you have my word. Now, I need to take a look at that shoulder.” He walks off in the direction of the infirmary.

Can I believe him? How can he possibly know that he won’t hurt me? What if he loses his temper? I’ve already had a glimpse of what he does to a punching bag. I reluctantly follow.

When I step into the infirmary, Jaden’s placing a metal tray with gauze, tape, and scissors on another tray attached to a swinging metal arm with a magnified light. I stand at the end of the bed. He doesn’t look at me. He finishes fiddling around and leans against the gurney. He still doesn’t look at me. Just stands there with his arms crossed, gaze glued to the floor.

I sit on the gurney and slide the strap of my tank top over the wad of bandages on my left shoulder. He unfolds himself and starts lifting the tape holding the gauze in place.

“This will hurt a bit, but nothing like when I took it out.”

I wince but don’t move as pain shoots through my shoulder. Jaden lifts the bandaging and busies himself cleaning the wound and trying to move my arm around. He’s gentle, but it still hurts like hell. I say nothing. He says nothing. I can’t stand the silence one more minute.

“Look, I’m sorry, okay. It’s just that every time a guy touches me, he hurts me.” Actually the more I think about it, the more righteous I get.

“I’d think you’d understand that with your background. I know you haven’t hurt me yet, but I barely know you. You can’t fault me for a reflex reaction.”

“What background is that?”

Whoa, chilly. This guy really can make the blood turn to slush in my veins. “You said you’re a doctor. Don’t you get trained on how to recognize abuse? They certainly asked me about it at the ER.”

He perks up a bit at that and finally looks at me. “When were you at the ER?”

“You mean when was the last time I was at the ER? A week or so ago.”

“What were you in for?”

“A concussion. That was when Viper beat my head against a wall. When I came to, I was in the ER with one of Viper’s goons. The nurse made him leave and asked me if I was afraid of anyone or experiencing any physical violence.”

When Jaden finishes with his medical machinations, he rebandages the cut and starts cleaning up.

“So why didn’t you tell them you were?”

“Because the goon reminded me about my little sister, Summer. They would have hurt her if I hadn’t cooperated. That’s why I stayed.” That and I couldn’t get away.

“We’ll get your sister as soon as we find out where she is. Not much we can do until then.” Jaden puts the scissors and twongs—he calls them Kelly clamps—into the sterilizer. All neat and tidy, just like a doctor.

I know he’s right, but my heart tells a different story. I don’t want to think about Summer right now. I don’t want to feel my heart tearing apart. Once, Whippo left the door unlocked and I tried to get her to run with me, but she was too scared.

“I know.” My voice is barely a whisper. I can’t take her until it’s safe for her. Viper probably wouldn’t do anything worse than usual to her since she’s cooperating—unlucky thing.

Jaden turns and gives me another one of those intense looks.

“Okay, then let’s focus on getting the bad guys and finding Summer. I expect the rest of Viper’s men will clear out shortly. To be on the safe side, we’ll stay down here tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll go and meet Sasha so we can follow up on the leads you helped uncover.”

I grin. “Really? I helped?” I’m not looking for flattery. Much. Someone is actually giving me credit for something, and I can’t believe it.

Jaden grunts. “Yeah, you helped, and you bloody well know it. You earned yourself a cool one hundred thousand dollars.”

One hundred thousand dollars. I was rich! If I weren’t hurting so much, I’d do a major happy dance. Now, I can leave. Now, he doesn’t own me. He told you he didn’t anyway.

“When can I have it?”

“Anytime you want. Here’s your bank card.” He takes an RBC card from his pocket. “It’s a numbered account in the name of one of my corporations so Viper can’t trace it. I’ll switch it to your name when you’re out of danger.”

A sticky note on the back of the card says Password: N0morePa1n. Cute.

“And you said I can leave, right?” I hold my breath, waiting for his answer.

He says nothing for a beat. “If you like. I won’t stand in your way.” He starts toward the door. “But I suggest you wait until the coast is clear before you go.” He takes a few more steps and hesitates. “If you decide to stay, I have more work for you. Now, I’m going to get something to eat and watch a movie or something. Join me if you wish.” He crosses the room in a couple of strides and is gone.

After I finish gawking at the contours of that tight ass, I try to bring order to my churning thoughts. I’m free. I can go . . . Where? What would I do? Where would I get a job without experience? I could go back to school, but the thought doesn’t excite me. First, Summer. The problem is, I have no idea how to find the men who bought us on my own.

So, if I leave, where will I go? No idea. I don’t even have a fucking clue where I am. Thanks to Jaden, I have enough money but no idea what to do with it. Okay, yes, I could and would buy some new clothes, but that was about the extent of my wishlist at the moment. The thought of striking out on my own in a world where I have no one makes my head spin. I can’t go back to ES—I wouldn’t even dignify his place with the label “home.” I can’t contact anyone who might let him know where to find me. No doubt, Viper’s already gotten to him. If I stay with Jaden, I have a job and time to make some plans. Maybe even cop a feel of that gorgeous body.

What’s the worst that could happen, right?