Michelle insisted on walking when they left Remington’s office an hour later, needing to exert at least a little independence in a life that felt like it was entirely out of her control. Sinjin hadn’t argued with her, but he hadn’t budged from her side either. He’d patiently kept pace with her, letting her lean on him as she limped down the hall. Jase had said his goodbyes at the elevator before heading home. It was finally just the two of them again. At least it would be once they got to their room. In the hallway, she was still subjected to polite glances and curious stares.

“So where are we staying again?” she asked as Sinjin fished a key card from his wallet and waved it in front of a small black console.

“There are a dozen or so rooms set up as temporary quarters for those nights we can’t or don’t go home. We’ll be staying in one of them tonight.” He opened the door and led her inside, flipping on the lights as they entered.

“Hey, it’s like a hotel in here,” she observed and noted that their bags had already been delivered to the room. There were no windows, but in every other respect, it resembled a generic hotel room. Double beds, closet, bathroom, and even a flat-screen television set mounted on the wall across from the beds. “Now if they just had room service, I’d be ready to move in,” she joked and made her way to the bed, sinking down on it with a tired sigh.

“Oh, we’ve got room service.” Sin gestured to a phone sitting on a bedside table. “There’s a menu around here somewhere, too. The cafeteria is open twenty-four-seven. Nothing fancy, but it’s tasty.”

“You guys have your own cafeteria?”

“This is a full-service sort of place. We’ve got a cafeteria, gym, swimming pool, motor pool, armory, the works. We’re like a city in miniature here. White Knight employs more than a hundred personnel between the support staff and the specialists out in the field.”

“And here I thought you were just hired muscle,” she teased him and then blushed as her stomach rumbled.

“Room service, coming right up.” Sin tugged out a drawer from the bedside table and pulled out a simple, laminated menu. “I’m starving, too. We managed to miss dinner with all the travel time.”

She lay back on the bed and closed her eyes, part of her listening in as Sinjin ordered them what seemed like an insanely large amount of food. After he hung up, she felt the bed dip as he sprawled out beside her, one strong arm curving around her waist to tug her in close.

“You’re safe here you know.” His breath was warm and tickled where it brushed over her ear. “We’ll just avoid bathtubs and swimming pools for now, and it’s not likely we’re going to find ourselves attacked by an indoor windstorm, now is it? Tonight, you can sleep, and tomorrow I’m betting Remington has a plan to deal with this situation.”

“I hope so, Sin. I really want my life back, soon.” She curled into him, amazed at how safe she felt when he was near. Even though it had only been two days, she felt like she’d known him her whole life. As if he was a part of her soul. They were probably destined for heartache, but damned if she didn’t care about the consequences right now. She needed him, and maybe, just maybe, he needed her, too.

Sinjin had made sure she’d eaten well and then tucked her into the bed furthest from the door. He put his own body between hers and anyone or anything that might come through the only entrance to their room. The need to protect her was growing stronger, and he hoped like hell that whatever was going on between them, it didn’t disappear when the danger was finally dealt with. The intensity of a dangerous situation shared could bind two people together quickly, but it always seemed to fall apart the moment the danger passed. He’d experienced it once himself. The realization that what they’d shared was just a side effect of the situation had left him with a bad taste in his mouth and a reluctance to ever get involved with anyone he was supposed to be protecting. And yet here he was, lying next to Michelle, ready to give his life to keep her safe. Not because it was his assignment, but because he cared about her, deeply. At least he thought he did, but how could he be sure? He faded off to sleep, still trying to figure out if what he and Michelle had between them was real or just the product of adrenaline and lust.

He wasn’t sure what it was exactly that woke him up. Some sixth sense that told him something wasn’t as it should be. It wasn’t until he tried to move that he knew something was truly, terribly wrong. He couldn’t stir an inch. Not his hands, feet, or legs. Not even his mouth would work when he tried to speak. He felt his eyes open at last and he tried to scan the room, but his view never left the image of Michelle sleeping peacefully beside him. He could see the bare curve of her shoulder rising above the blankets by the faint glow of the clock radio’s readout. He felt his hand rise and fought to stop it, but his body was not his to control and his brain screamed in denial of the violation he was experiencing.

“Mine,” another man’s voice sounded inside his head, rife with satisfaction. “She’s always been mine.”

His hand stroked lightly down Michelle’s shoulder, smoothing the covers off of her arm, and exposing her naked beauty to his view. He could feel the silken softness of her skin beneath his fingers and the rise of goose bumps across her skin as the cooler air of the room chilled her flesh. No matter how hard he fought it, he couldn’t stop his hand from moving. Nor could he force a single sound from his throat. He could do nothing that would wake or warn her. His fingers slid out of sight, and he felt the soft weight of Michelle’s breast beneath his palm, heard the hitch in her breathing as her body reacted to his unwilling caress.

He knew the moment she woke up. He felt the change in her body even before she moved. She turned toward him with a sleepy smile that made his heart ache. Her eyes were full of trust, and his every touch was a betrayal. He redoubled his efforts, frantically trying to push beyond the strange walls that kept him a prisoner deep in his own mind. For a moment, his hand trembled as he willed himself to move it away, to stop touching her. Then he lost the connection and that voice laughed mockingly in his head again.

“Stop me if you can, soldier boy.”

Michelle slid an arm around his neck and kissed him. “Sin,” she whispered and snuggled her soft body close. “Make love to me, please?”

He felt his body react to her touch. The hot surge of desire followed by the ache in his cock as it hardened against her thigh.

“Of course I will, Chelle.” He heard himself speaking and somehow the voice wasn’t his. The words were wrong, and the pronunciation was slightly different. His hand slid over her hip and his fingers tightened, pinching her sharply. Michelle cried out, pain and fear etched into her expression as she jerked herself away from him.

“Sin? What did you call me?”

“Chelle, Chelle, Chelly. Come to me, my darling. I’ve missed you. Now that I can touch you again, don’t you want me to?”

Sinjin could only watch as she scrambled from the bed and into a corner of the room, her eyes full of terror. He was causing her pain, and he couldn’t stop himself. It was unimaginable torture.

“Robert?”

His traitorous body nodded and sat up, moving toward Michelle. “Don’t you like my new look, darling?” He felt his limbs moving awkwardly and realized that while Robert could control a single limb, his entire body was still too much for him to handle at once. Sinjin threw his entire being into a final attempt to break free and regain control. For a moment, he could feel his body freeze up, and then the scream that had been trapped in his mind tore from his throat as his legs gave way beneath him. He came back to his senses in a heap on the floor, but entirely in control of his body again.

“Sin? Sin please, say something! Tell me that’s you and he’s gone. Please?”

“It’s me.” His tongue felt thick in his mouth, and he shook his head to clear the cobwebs from his mind. “It’s me, Michelle. He’s gone.”

“Oh thank god!” She was in his arms a second later, twining herself around him, the contrast of her warmth where she pressed against him making him realize his own body was ice cold.

“I’m sorry, baby. I—he had me and I couldn’t break free. The bastard played me like I was a fucking puppet on a psychopath’s strings.” He shuddered and gathered her into his arms, nearly crushing her to his chest. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay, Sin. It wasn’t your fault.” He heard her words, but they didn’t mean anything. He knew he didn’t deserve her forgiveness. He was supposed to be protecting her, and instead he’d given the son of a bitch another way to hurt her. His fingers brushed over the spot where he’d pinched her earlier, the rising bruise clearly visible even in the dimly lit room.

“I should have done more, done something.” He let her go and lifted her off of him, his guilt eating a hole in his heart. He stood up, putting more distance between them as he turned on the lights and grabbed his jeans off the back of a chair. “Get dressed. I need to make some calls. Whatever the hell Robert is, he’s getting stronger, and clearly I can’t be trusted to protect you anymore.”

He grabbed his cell phone and started dialing, barely able to breathe past the solid lump of guilt that seemed to fill his chest. He’d failed to protect another life, and this time he’d almost had to watch as someone he cared for had paid a terrible price for his failure. He couldn’t let this happen again.

Michelle limped back over to the bed and gathered up a fresh change of clothes from her bag. Her heart felt as battered and bruised as the rest of her. Robert had taken control of Sinjin somehow, and now he was blaming himself. She wanted to go to him. She ached to hold him and explain that this wasn’t his fault, but she knew it wouldn’t make any difference. His guilt was too strong, and she couldn’t stop wondering if he was right. If Robert could control him, she wasn’t safe with him, not anymore.

No. If Robert can control people’s bodies, she wouldn’t be safe with anyone, ever. The truth struck her hard, and she was almost overwhelmed by the urge to give up. Her fears swirled and whispered through the recesses of her mind, making it hard to think. She sat on the edge of the bed and struggled to organize her thoughts until clarity finally came to her, like a splash of cold water to her face. So that’s it? Give up and let Robert’s ghost make you into his plaything for the rest of your life? I don’t think so. You got away from the man. You sure as hell can get away from his ghost!

She got dressed quickly, already feeling better now that her revelation had time to take hold. It was only after she tugged on her T-shirt that she realized that at some point Sin had gone into the bathroom and closed the door. She could make out his voice, but that was all. Whatever he was saying on the phone, he didn’t want her to overhear him. The moment she saw the closed door, she knew what he was doing. He was going to try to keep her at a distance, but she was damned if she was going to let him have things his way. She’d been a passive observer in this drama long enough. Remington was right when he’d called her a damsel in distress. It was time she started dealing with her own problems instead of running away from them.

She was headed for the bathroom door to let Sin know her thoughts when he came out on his own, the phone still in his hand.

“I need to go for a bit. I’ve got someone coming down to stay with you.”

“No.”

He stopped and blinked at her. “What was that?”

“No, you’re not going anywhere without me. No, you’re not sticking me in this room with a stranger for Robert to take over just like he took over you. No, you don’t get to walk out on me just when I need you the most.” She crossed her arms over her chest and met his narrow-eyed stare, determined to make her opinion crystal clear.

“Michelle.” He sighed her name. She could briefly see the guilt he was feeling, but then it was gone, replaced by detached determination. “You promised me you’d obey me without question. Do you remember that? I need you to do this for me. It’s for your own protection. This isn’t your decision to make. It’s mine. I’m compromised, and that means you need someone else to protect you. Someone with a better track record than mine has been lately.”

“So, you lied to me?” She fought back the tears that threatened to fall as she hugged herself hard. “You promised me you’d protect me, Sin. How are you going to do that if you walk away from me now?”

A muscle twitched in his jaw, and she hoped she’d gotten through. But then her heart shattered in her chest as he shook his head and stepped away from her. “I’m protecting you the best way I know how. By making sure better men than I am are watching over you.” He turned and walked away, but not before she saw the flash of regret in his eyes.

“I don’t want better men. I only want you,” she whispered as the door closed behind him, but it was too late. He was gone. She’d finally found the courage to go after what she wanted, and he’d walked out on her.