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Anson’s head pounded. His eyes felt like they were being squeezed in a vise.

And his arm, chest, and waist throbbed. In fact, more of his body hurt than didn’t.

This is not what I had in mind when Nari offered to help me escape FUC custody .

Or rather, Agent Lee. She finally confessed it was all a trick to gain his trust. He’d not been sprung out of house arrest against FUC orders as she’d led him to believe.

Maybe “trick” was too strong a word. “Ruse” worked better in his opinion.

At any rate, the jig was up. Helplessness squeezed his heart.

If those people chasing him were not FUC agents, then there was only one other option: Dr. Grimm.

But why? Did he know Anson was after Ariel, or was he trying to rescue Anson?

Grimm didn’t seem like the rescuing type.

He seemed more like the let-his-friends-rot-in-jail type.

Or take-them-out-before-they-talk type. They were so fucked.

If Anson were in better shape, he might have used the food distraction as a way to sneak away. To go off on his own and hope he could plead his case with Dr. Grimm. Hope he could be given another chance to save Ariel.

But he wasn’t in any shape to travel. He had no choice but to stay with Nari.

At least she wasn’t bad company. In fact, despite it all, he’d started to enjoy being around her.

What’s more, even if she had lied about betraying FUC, he didn’t think she had lied about wanting to help Ariel.

In fact, as much as he didn’t want to trust any of the agents, he didn’t doubt that they all really did want to save people from evil doctors like Grimm.

That much he’d learned from being at the Academy and seeing the programs they’d set up to rehabilitate those who’d been through unimaginable horrors.

Once he finished tending to his head wound, he tried to see what Nari was up to, but trying to turn his head and neck hurt too much.

Maybe she was right about him not being in any shape to get up.

He took the ice pack from his aching head and placed it on his sore arm.

The pressure hurt, but the cold felt wonderful.

Though not as wonderful as Nari’s touch when she had patched up his hand.

The sensation had startled him so much that he had made her stop touching him.

The thought nearly made him chuckle. He enjoyed it so much he asked her to stop, although some of it did really hurt.

So much of his body ached to the bone. It was a soreness different from strained muscles after a good workout.

He felt like he’d been hit by a truck, though, technically, it was an SUV.

Anson’s stomach rumbled. He’d hardly eaten anything all day. His already fast shrew metabolism required large calorie loads, and with the added burden of healing, his body demanded even more.

“Did you find anything good? Or should we call one of your agent buddies?” he asked over his shoulder. Not being able to turn his head was a pain in the ass.

“I hope you like pasta,” she called from the kitchen. Pots and pans clanged together as Nari worked on finding what they needed to cook.

“Doesn’t everyone?” He started to chuckle, but the pain in his ribs shut that down. There was no way he was taking off anytime soon, with or without Nari. It felt like lightning flashes of burning aches throughout his torso.

“Are you okay?” Nari was quickly by his side. He didn’t even realize he’d made a sound to alert her to his discomfort.

“Yeah. Just everything hurts. Especially if I move wrong.” How was he going to get Ariel back in the shape he was in? Like it or not, for the time being, it seemed he was stuck with the ASS agent.

Nari gently laid her hand on his arm, careful to avoid any scrapes or bruises. Her touch sent goosebumps across his shoulders and launched butterflies in his stomach. He did his best to ignore it.

“I’m going to do everything in my power to help you get your sister back. But now it’s time for you to rest,” Nari said before patting his good shoulder. It was probably the only part of him that didn’t hurt. Her touch sent his heart fluttering.

“And eat,” he agreed, trying to steer his mind away from attraction to Nari. It wasn’t difficult when his rumbling stomach grew louder at the wafting scent of tomato sauce in the air. He needed nourishment if he was going to heal even a fraction of his injuries.

She chuckled, a smile spreading across her face. Her brown eyes glistened with warmth. He never noticed the flecks of honey throughout her irises. They were beautiful.

Nari crossed the room back to the kitchen, stirring the sauce in the pot. He wished she’d never left his side.

“We need to get you healthy again so we can find your sister and the others,” she called from the kitchen, her voice stern with determination.

Anson smiled. Wait. Am I smiling at an agent? He shook his head. One minor concussion and he was seeing stars for an agent. Once their little mission was over, he bet she’d part ways with him faster than you could say ASS.

But how to track down his sister since Dr. Grimm had ruined his gadgets?

The last email Grimm sent him was a good place to start.

Now the question was, should he take Nari there or go alone?

He felt split down the middle on the subject.

She had opened up to him about deceiving him.

Though he wasn’t sure if that meant he could trust her more or less than he already did.

It was hard to think straight with a throbbing headache.

After all, it wasn’t as if he’d caught her in a lie and she’d come clean.

Nari offered up that information unprompted.

Which confused him. Why would anyone confess to a lie when not backed into a corner?

Thinking about it made his head hurt worse.

He’d play ball for now, but as soon as his wounds healed up to where he could function, he’d have the option to shift and head underground, leaving Nari in the dust. At least his healing time was cut in half since he was a shifter.

With his shrew quickness, he’d heal even faster.

Every cell in his body moved faster than those of other animals, except maybe a hummingbird shifter.

Some food would start the process. His stomach rumbled in agreement.

Anson moved the ice pack to one of the many other aches.

This one was the back of his neck. A dull pain shot out like fingers up the back of his head.

The cool pack offered some relief. He sighed.

How the hell was he going to rescue his sister in his current state?

And if those goons had been sent after him to stop him from getting Ariel back, Grimm was trying to hold on to her tighter than before. It made Anson sick to his stomach.

“Here.” Nari put the plate of spaghetti in front of him on the wooden coffee table. He gave her a weak smile. She had bad timing when it came to giving him food right when he’d lost his appetite. Again. It wasn’t her fault. Just bad timing.

He set the ice pack down on the table, picking up the plate of food with his left hand.

He wasn’t sure how well he could move the right one yet.

It would be a shame to drop the good-smelling food in his lap.

His mouth watered before he picked up a forkful.

For throwing it together with found ingredients, it was delicious.

His stomach was very appreciative. Anson stuffed the food down nearly faster than he could chew it, asking for a second plate before Nari finished her own.

Anson devoured three plates before he started feeling full. Nari just watched him with a side eye.

He felt his body knitting itself back together.

Bite by bite, the repairs began, and some of the minor aches subsided.

Even the throbbing headache improved. He leaned back on the couch, closing his eyes for a moment while he allowed his body to rest. Soon he’d be ready to venture off and find his sister.

He remained aware of Nari, though. She gathered the dishes and took them to the kitchen. He heard the sink water running and the dishes clinking as she cleaned. When she began humming, his ears pricked up. The tune seemed familiar. A lullaby, maybe.

Nari seemed nice enough—when she wasn’t being bossy, that was. He wondered why she’d decided to drop her ruse so quickly yet still offer to help him. Why had she flown to this safe house in the woods instead of flying them back to FUCN’A when the mission had gone sideways?

The bigger question: should he tell her what Grimm’s email had said?

The man had given Anson his newest lab location.

Now Anson had options. He could go there on his own and continue to play Grimm’s game while hoping that he’d let Ariel free.

Alternately, he could tell Nari, and she could tell FUC, and they could attempt a raid.

But if FUC failed, Ariel would surely pay the price.

Then there was the third option. Anson could tell Nari, but ask her not to report it to her team at FUC. With an extra set of eyes—eagle ones, at that—maybe, together, they’d be able to find and rescue Ariel.

He adjusted in his seat slightly, which afforded him a view into the kitchen. Nari moved around gracefully as her hum turned into a song. As if sensing his eyes inspecting her, Nari turned, narrowing her gaze at him.

“What?” Cocking her head to the side, it was her turn to inspect him with those eagle eyes. They seemed to penetrate him. In a way, it was hot. Anson liked a woman who could take charge.

“Just admiring your singing voice.”

She rolled her eyes and shook her head, but Anson thought she hid the hint of a smile.

He wanted to see more of that smile. In fact, the longer he was around Nari, the more he wanted to know about her.