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“Yeah, yeah, okay.” The technician shot to his feet and sprinted to the other side of the room.

Leah slid into the vacated seat and groaned. She’d had headaches before, but not like this. It felt like someone was drilling a hole through her skull.

The technician, an Indian male in his early twenties, returned holding a needle with a reddish liquid in it. She slapped a hand over her arm before he could inject her.

“What is it?”

Dmitri gave her a reassuring smile. “It’s a pain killer we give the Hunters. It’ll help. Trust me.”

She trusted him as far as she could throw him, but the pain was becoming unbearable.

“Do it,” Dmitri ordered.

This time, Leah didn’t protest. Her arm stung. A second passed. Two. She counted her breaths. The pounding in her head lessened and was gone in less than five. In fact, she felt significantly better than before. Stronger even. Excited energy suffused her. She leaped to her feet, unable to sit any longer.

“What now? Wait!” She held up a hand to stop Dmitri. “If you tell me I’m going back to the cell, I will punch you. I think I’ve proved myself.”

Dmitri smiled with amusement. “No, you’re not returning to the cell, but I can’t leave you free either. We don’t know what Blackmore can do. We haven’t studied the vampire’s mating bond before. Until we separate you two, you’ll be under observation.”

At the word “separate,” Leah’s heart skipped a beat. “Are we leaving here? When?”

“Tomorrow. I have some more business to take care of.”

Tomorrow. Okay, she had time.

“Now, let’s get you back to your room.”

Her room this time was on the second floor and had a view of the desert landscape. It was utilitarian, set up like a hotel room with a twin bed, white cotton sheets, an adjoining bathroom, and a desk area. From her window, she glimpsed the tall, barbed, and electrified fences, and a few other buildings. The air shimmered from the heat of the brutal afternoon sun, but the AC kept her room at a comfortable temperature.

The clock read four p.m. A few hours until sunset. Before sunrise, she had to escape this room, get down to Julian, free him, feed him, and steal a car for their getaway.

Her heart constricted at the impossible task. The sense of defeat threatened to overwhelm her.Damn it!This would’ve been so much easier if Julian hadn’t played the hero to save her.

She was used to being alone. Used to rescuing herself. Given time, she could’ve escaped.

But if Julian hadn’t come, would she have returned to him? Or would she think he’d abandoned her like everyone else in her life to fend for herself?

Except he hadn’t abandoned her.

He’d allowed his enemies to chain him up like an animal because of her. Her vision blurred at the thought of Julian being drained.

She reached out for him again, for their connection, and the same maddening darkness tried to suck her in.

Leah wiped away the tears and sniffed.Keep it together.

He hadn’t given up on her, and she would not give up on him.

That same unknowable feeling inside her expanded.

Had he changed his mind about claiming her? Why else would he come? Did he feel something for her, the same way her feelings for him had grown? Again, she wished she could talk to him, wished their time together hadn’t ended the way it did.

No use thinking about that now; she needed to focus on getting out first.

Her gaze landed on the screen on the desk. Information. Yes, that was it. She knew too little about this place to formulate any plausible escape plan.

When she pulled up the screen on the desk, the Organization’s internal login screen popped up. She sighed with relief when it accepted her credentials, and she began her research.

“Ugh!”