Page 84 of Collateral Claim

The wind blows, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say my bones froze over.

“Can’t catch a cold from the cold, huh?” He mocks what I said days ago.

“I realllllly hatttte you.”

“The feeling is mutual. Maybe you can freeze and topple over into the river. I’ll fish you out in the net.”

“Sounds like you’ve done this before.”

Endo narrows his eyes.

I do the same, even though I’m about five minutes away from thermal shock.

Endo pats the towels. “They’re heated.”

As far as the baiting game goes, Endo deserves a gold medal. He wants me to ask him for the towels. He wants me to break and ask for comfort. I don’t know why I fight it. I’m old enough to understand that I’ll lose this silly game of wills unless he shows me mercy.

In two minutes, I’ll go into shock and topple into the water and drown just as he said. However, he’ll save me. He will because he must. I’m his collateral.

My vision blurs. I sway on my feet.

Endo flares out a towel and throws it over my shoulders. Immediately, I’m relieved. He does the same with the blanket. Then he yanks me toward his body and bundles me up, restraining me completely.

Dark brown eyes narrow, and his jaw hardens. “For all you know, you will be a free woman tomorrow. Why would you go and do something this rash?”

“Because I don’t like being trapped.”With you.

Endo brushes his cheek against mine. It’s warm, and I lean toward him. A survival instinct, nothing more, that prompts me to rub my cheek against his stubble. It prickles. A reminder that I’m alive and breathing and that I can get through this ordeal. I can’t give up. It’s almost over.

“Tomorrow,” I whisper.

“Tomorrow.” Endo scoops me up to carry me back into the Keep.

Chapter 34

The villain is chipper

Scarlett

Endo dropped me off by the fireplace, where I spent the night in a lazy chair wrapped in military-grade thermal blankets. At around four in the morning, I woke up to use the bathroom and found my pajamas next to me. I put them on and moved from the chair to the couch, where I have slept till now.

It’s nine thirty, and a commotion wakes me up.

I sit up and cover my yawn when Endo walks up to stand by the couch. He wears a crisp white shirt with black slacks and smells fresh, as if he just put on his cologne. His beard is trimmed, and there’s a sparkle of excitement in his eye.

“You seem excited. Who died to make you so happy?”

“Good morning,” he says and offers me a cup of coffee. “Nobody has to die to make me happy when I have a beautiful captive stretched out on my couch like a lazy cat.”

He called me beautiful. It’s too early to think about what it really means. “A peace offering?” I ask.

“No. I made coffee and brought it to you.”

I accept and sip, moaning at the taste. “Dark roast.”

“The only kind we brew.” Endo is attractive when he smiles. It’s like the sun shines on me.

“You’re chipper.” Please say my father called.