Page 31 of Trapped for Her Blood

“And the bear…he did not attack you?”

“No.” The memories flood back. I’ve lost track of time, but although all this must have happened within the last twenty-four, or maybe thirty-six hours, it feels like I’ve known Axe forever.

“Axe did try to scare me away at first, but I was shaking from the cold.”

Zuben tightens his arms around me.

“Axe, as a bear…he warmed me like you are now.” I sigh. “He held me and let me lie against his fur until I fell asleep. And when I woke…” I can’t figure how much to tell. “I realized he was hurt.”

“Hurt?”

“Injured. He had a shard of metal in his—his paw—and I pulled it out.”

I tell Zuben how Axe then transformed into a man, how he gave me food and water, brought me here and made me a fire to keep warm. I leave out some of the details, but tell him enough to help Zuben trust Axel. I have no idea how, or if, we’ll ever get out of this dungeon, but if the three of us are stuck in this cave for a while, the men need to get along.

“It’s your turn.” I twist to see into Zuben’s eyes.

“My turn for what?” He looks confused.

“To answer questions. Where were you taken when you left me down here? Who took you? What happened?”

And has Ryker really left me?

I leave the last question unsaid.

Chapter Eleven

Ember

“After you sawus in the hall down here,” Zuben says softly from behind me. “Ryker and I were taken to DEFTA for questioning.”

“DEFTA? The company you work for?” Wanting to better see his expression, I swivel in his arms until I’m sitting cross-legged between his spread legs.

Nodding, he rakes his fingers through his hair, looking uncomfortable, uncertain. It’s a strange look on Zuben.

“Your own company locked you in here?” I ask to clarify. I thought he was some bigwig executive there.

He closes his eyes for a long moment, then opens them when he speaks. “That night in Rittenhouse Square, the security team had been told to capture any vampire found with Ryker. You and I were taken in error.”

“So why are we still here? And if they were only told to take vampires, why did they take me?”

“Your skin,” he answers. “Since it was burned by the silver they mistook you for a vampire.”

Yes. I nod, hope starting to return. I’m not supposed to be here. Once the powers that run this place—apparently DEFTA—discover that I’m human, they’ll set me free.

I tip my head to the side. “If you were taken in error, why are you back? And while you were out, why didn’t you tell them that they’d takenmeby mistake?”

“To answer the first question,” he clears his throat. “I came back for you.”

“Really?” I suck in a breath. Given his fierce protectiveness, I was already assuming as much, but it’s nice to hear.

He leans toward me. “Ember, I will do everything within my power to protect you—always. You must believe that.”

Seeing the intense earnestness in his eyes, I do believe him. And while I don’t feel the same way about Zuben as I feel—felt—about Ryker, it warms me inside to have him care so much, and it gives me hope that I might develop the same feelings for Zuben some day.

“I realize my recent words may have misled you.” His face turns even more serious. “Something I never want to do.”

I nod to encourage him to continue.