Cash was going to kill me. He could, too. Easily. One little movement with his hands around my neck and it would be lights out, forever. Somebody as strong as him could make short work of a little thing like me.

I almost wished he would. If it weren’t for Tommy, I would’ve gladly handed myself over. I didn’t want to live with the guilt anymore.

He stood there, hands in fists at his sides, wearing nothing but a thin shirt and boxer shorts. It would’ve been comical if I wasn’t so sure he was barely in control of his rage.

When he spoke, his teeth were clenched tight enough to make it difficult to understand. “Say that again.”

I took a deep, shaky breath. “The first day, after I left here, I went to pick up my nephew. Tommy. Somebody had already picked him up from school. They texted, told me to go home, that they were watching me. When I got there, they called. They told me they knew I was working with a shifter—they never mentioned your name, but they knew I was working with somebody like you. They want your blood. As much of it as I can collect.”

“Hence all the draws,” he growled.

“Yes. You were right. There was no protocol for my taking so much, day after day, when I hadn’t injected you with an antidote yet.”

“Why do they want it?”

“They never said. I’ve only spoken to them one other time. Just last night. That was why I was crying. They won’t let me have him back, and I have to have him back!” Passion erupted from me—I felt stronger after sleeping and eating, and it showed. I got up on my knees, blankets clenched in my fists. “I want him back, and I’ll have him back. He’s all I have, and I’m all he has in the world. If they hurt him, I swear to God…!”

“You swear what?” he asked, almost sneering. His eyes were cold. “So, what? You’ll deliver my blood, and then what?”

“I don’t know! I wish I did! This has been killing me all week. You’ve seen it for yourself. This is what’s been driving me insane. I need my nephew, but it means lying to you. Using you. I don’t want to do it, and I never have.”

“When will enough be enough?” he asked in a dangerous voice.

“When I’ve finished my work with you. That’s the thing. They know when I come and go from this place. They’re still watching. If I deliver the blood to them but still keep coming here, they’ll know I’m still in contact with you, and I’m holding out on them. They want as much as they can take. I don’t know why, I sincerely don’t.”

“I know why,” he growled, breathing hard, in and out through his flaring nostrils.

It hit me then just how dangerous he could be—snapping my neck would be a mercy compared to what he could really do to me. He was an animal, after all. I imagined him tearing at me with long, razor-sharp claws, shredding my flesh and draining me of life.

“Cash, please. I never wanted to lie to you or use you. I’ve been working like a dog because I want this to be over. I need Tommy back. He’s only a little boy. He’s had such a hard life. My sister, she’s in prison. Drugs. He was neglected, abused, hungry, wearing clothes that didn’t fit anymore when they brought him to me. He’s with these terrible people. If I make them wait too long, there’s no telling what they’ll do to him. Please, please, understand. You’ve seen what this has done to me. You know I’m not lying.”

I had never pleaded with so much passion over anything, ever, not even when I was talking to that robot-voiced monster over the phone. Not because I was afraid, either. Not because it was a matter of life-or-death for me. But because I wanted him to believe I didn’t want to hurt him. I wouldn’t have hurt him for anything in the world.

“Do you know where they are?”

“Don’t you think I would’ve gone to them by now if I did? A hell of a lot of good it would do to kidnap Tommy when I knew where they were holding him.” His sharp look told me I was overstepping. I needed to reel it back in. “I’m sorry. This has me all torn apart inside. I don’t know what I’m saying.”

He waved it off and started pacing again. “Is there any way you can help me get in touch with my family?”

“Your family? I don’t even know who they are.”

“No, but I can reach them if I can use your laptop.”

I glanced through the open door, into the lab. “I have to be honest. I don’t know if the connection is private. I guess it would be—everything that happens here is highly classified. I don’t know who provided the laptop, though.”

“Probably Mary,” he reasoned.

“I’ve wanted to talk to her. You have to believe that. I wanted to go to her, or Vincent Everglade, anybody who could help me with these monsters who took Tommy. But I didn’t know if that would do more harm than good.”

“No, it’s better that you’re not the one to speak with them,” he agreed.

His voice wasn’t exactly friendly, but he didn’t sound as cold or unfeeling as he had before. Maybe he would take pity on me. Maybe he’d understand that I only did the only thing I knew how to do: whatever it took to ensure my nephew’s safety.

“Cash, I’m so sorry.”

He appeared to ignore me, going out to the lab instead. Only when he was in the next room did he call out, “There are clean towels waiting for you in the bathroom, and some of my clothes. They’ll be too big, but you should put them on. Clean yourself up. We’ll have work to do.”