Page 135 of Red Fury

He makes a face and scratches his jaw. “I did the only thing I could think of and went to Webb, same as before. He didn’t believe me this time.” He walks over to the bed and sits.

“How did you convince him?” I sound skeptical.

Fury looks away. He rubs a hand over his face. “I told him we were sleeping together,” Fury continues, and I can see the embarrassment in the way he won’t quite meet my eyes. “I told him that I wasn’t with the redhead in the hotel room that night. I might have told him that it was you.” He squeezes the back of his neck.

I’m surprised to realize it doesn’t bother me the way I thought it would. In fact, there’s something almost…nice about it. Someone else knows about us.

“I’m sorry, Shadow. I’m sure you’re angry, but there was nothing else I could do. I had to tell him there was something between us,” Fury adds quickly. “I had to tell him that it was more than just sex, even though it’s not.” He pauses. “I’m sorry Ihad to lie about that, but it was the only way to get Webb to help me find you.”

The warm feeling in my chest deflates.

I know this already. Why do I keep doing this to myself?

“I understand,” I tell him. “If you hadn’t done it, I’d be dead. You don’t need to apologize for—”

A soft knock at the door, and we both turn as Neilina enters without waiting for permission.

“Hello,” she says, her face lighting up. “I heard you talking. I’m so happy to see you awake and feeling better. You’re looking a little tired. You poor thing. I heard what Master Ivan did to you. Nasty business.” She shakes her head.

Then she glides, more than walks, across the room with a bright smile on her face.

Despite myself, I smile back. “Hello, Neilina.”

“You know this person?” Fury frowns.

“Neilina looked after me when I was abducted by Ivan.”

“I’ve been so worried about you, Shadow. Such a lovely name. Are you hungry? Thirsty? I could bring you something to eat. What about you, big guy?” She winks at Fury, who glowers back.

“We’re fine, thank you,” I tell her.

“Is there anything else I can get for you or do for you?” She flicks her inky black hair over her shoulder, looking at us with her freaky purple eyes.

Fury stands. “We’d like to see Roman Kozlov.”

Neilina turns that megawatt smile on him, and I swear she actually giggles. “No wonder you weren’t interested in becoming the master’s bride, Shadow. You’re already in love! He’s gorgeous,” she whispers, like Fury won’t hear her.

Heat floods my cheeks. “It’s not like that between us.”

Neilina laughs like I just told her the biggest joke.

“Can we see Roman now?” Fury asks again, his voice strained. His muscles are bulging against the shirt.

Neilina scrunches her nose. “I’ll try, but I can’t make any promises. The master is very busy today. There’s been quite a bit of…upheaval since he left for Europe.”

That’s putting it mildly.

She heads back toward the door. “I’ll see what I can do.”

The moment she’s gone, Fury starts pacing, his hands clenched into fists. His muscles pull tight, and there is a smattering of scales on his arms.

“If Roman thinks he can keep us here indefinitely, he’s mistaken,” he growls. “I don’t care how many vampires he has. I don’t care how powerful he is. We’re not staying here as his prisoners. I’ll shift and bust us out of here. Just watch me.”

“It’s okay. We’re fine.” I tell him.

“For now,” he growls. He stops pacing and looks at me, his eyes practically glowing with suppressed rage. “But how long will that last?”

“Think about it,” I continue. “It bodes well for us that they haven’t drugged you with the suppressant. That they gave me something to counteract it instead of just keeping me as I was. If Roman wanted us helpless, we would be. The fact that we’re not suggests he has other plans. He hasn’t locked us away in some basement. He is seeing to our needs, or Neilina wouldn’t be here.”