Page 30 of Vengeance and Vipers

‘I’m in control,’ he promises, and I snort softly.

‘For how long?’

‘Long enough to get you somewhere safe.’

He starts to pick me up, but I wave him away. I get to my feet on my own and give myself a nod of approval. I don’t need help from a dude who was just going to—

I stagger to the side, smacking into one of the shelves, and I wince. The floor pitches.

‘Ok, fine,’ I mutter, glancing at him and waving him over to me.

I let him pick me up and cradle me against him. I know when to accept help. I’ll be my usual bad-ass bitch self as soon as I feel better.

Krase carries me across the cellar floor to what looks like a wide closet, but when he opens it, I see it’s an elevator with a spiral staircase next to it. I huff and roll my eyes. No wonder I couldn’t find the exit.

‘Where are we going?’ I ask.

He doesn’t answer. Instead, he walks into the elevator with me, the door closing silently behind him.

He presses a button, and I feel us going up.

‘It’s really quiet,’ I mutter when the door opens again a few seconds later with no dings or anything.

No answer.

He peers out and darts into a hallway I recognize as the upstairs landing. We’re in his room before I can blink, and he seems to relax as soon as the door is shut and he’s closed us in together.

‘The lift used to ping when the doors opened,’ he says as he lays me on the bed. ‘I cut all the wires so I could travel straight up and down without any ofthemhearing me.’

‘Why?’

‘Because …’ he stops and frowns. ‘I actually can’t remember why now. It seemed important at the time, though.’

He turns away and goes into the adjoining bathroom. I hear water running, and I immediately sit up in anticipation, grunting as my ribs smart. I prod at them with my fingers and find that they’re thankfully not broken.

Krase comes back into the room and regards me. ‘I’m guessing you’d like to bathe.’

I nod. ‘It’s been a minute.’

He raises a brow and sniffs the air. I scowl.

‘Okay, three months. But, in my defense, there was only a river, and it was frigid.’

He walks over to me, and I get up from the bed.

Force of habit.

His eyes are piercing as he hands me a glass of water. ‘I’m not going to hurt you.’

I shake my head at him and give him an incredulous look. ‘You literally almost broke my ribs ten minutes ago and then strangled me, demon. You’ve told me how you’re going to kill me in great detail multiple times.’

‘I know, but it wasn’tmeme.’ He frowns. ‘Do you need me to look—’

I roll away from him to the other side of the bed, ignoring my ribs when they protest.

‘Nope. I’m a big girl, Krase. I don’t need you to play the chivalrous doctor.’

He steps back with his hands up. ‘I deserve that. I’m sorry about before, but I promise you that things are different now. I won’t hurt you, Jules.Neither of uswill hurt you.’