Page 56 of While She Sleeps (The Hunter and The Thief #1)

CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

EMBER

W hen I say I’ve tried everything to get myself out of this cuff, I mean literally everything.

If I thought breaking my thumb would help, like in those spy movies, I’d have tried that as well, but Orion knew what he was doing when he secured this cuff around my wrist.

It really begs the question, how many women has he chained to his bed?

An unreasonable wave of jealousy hits me right in the chest, and I groan.

This stunt should have me more motivated to run for the hills the second he lets me go, but for some reason, his desperation to keep me safe, and to have me with him, has my stomach doing somersaults.

God, my poor therapist is not ready for our next session. She’s going to start asking for double the payment if I’m not careful.

I stare at the unopened box sitting on the bed in front of me.

When Orion said he bought me a new laptop, I kind of expected just your standard, run-of-the-mill laptop you can get from Walmart for a few hundred dollars.

That’s not what’s sitting in front of me.

No, the top of the range computer that costs thousands is still in its box while I try to wrangle with myself not to open it.

It’s too much.

But I guess so are the rows of designer dresses in the closet a few feet away.

I sigh and brush my fingers over the smooth white box.

I’ve dreamed of having a laptop like this for years.

I’m not sure if it’s because I was always the poor kid in clothes that were too small and never had anything that wasn’t thrifted, or if it’s because it’s so fucking pretty, but either way, every single part of me wants to pull this baby out of the box and take it for a test drive.

After a few more minutes of staring, I can’t take it anymore.

“Fuck it,” I murmur to myself, unwrapping the box and pulling the laptop out.

It only takes a few minutes to get it set up, seeing as I have nothing to back up onto it, and then I’m staring at a blank screen, uncertain where I should start.

I haven’t bothered calling Lucas back. I’m already in trouble, and honestly, I can only handle one emergency at a time. Which is currently being chained to a billionaire’s bed.

When you put it like that, it doesn’t sound very dire.

I roll my eyes at my own thought and pull the flash drive out of my purse, quickly plugging it in. I may as well watch a few hours of security footage while I can’t go anywhere.

G od, I’m so bored.

This alley may just be the only alley in Los Angeles that isn’t seeing at least a small-time drug deal, a mugging, or an argument every hour. Anything would be better than the nothing I’ve been watching for the last fifty-seven minutes.

I’m almost ready to give up when a black Escalade pulls into the mouth of the alley.

No one gets out for a few minutes, and I fast forward to see how long it takes for someone to emerge.

My breath catches in my throat when the passenger side door swings open, and the Hunter steps out, his mask in place as he strides toward the camera with confident steps.

His suit is impeccably tailored, which surprises me.

I don’t know why, but I assumed he would wear cargo pants or something, but I guess a suit makes sense.

The other door on the Escalade opens, and my throat closes, panic slamming into me as I stare at the driver.

The driver I know. The one I’ve met more than once.

Killian follows the Hunter, his own suit clinging to his body like it was made for him.

Questions slam into me so quickly, I can’t make sense of them before the next one is on the tip of my tongue. Has the key to unlocking this mystery really been guarding the man I’ve been dating?

Does Orion have a connection to the Hunter, or does Killian work for them both?

He’s not here all the time, as far as I can tell, and I’m pretty sure Orion spends a decent amount of time in his office, so I guess he would have no use for security during those times.

The elevator dings in the living room, and I slam the lid to the laptop closed. I’ll have to wait for Orion to leave again before I can watch the rest, but the Hunter’s mask plays on a loop in my head as I stash the laptop under the bed where I found it.

The man who killed my brother is close. I just have to keep going, and finally I’ll be able to put his ghost to rest, so long as Lucas lets me be the one to end him.

“Hey,” Orion says from the doorway, his eyes trailing over me with concern etched in his brow. “You okay?”

“You mean other than being chained to a bed?” I snap. “I’m fine.”

I adjust the sheet I’ve wrapped around my body, seeing as I couldn’t get anything else on with the chain attached to my wrist.

“You’re white as a ghost,” he murmurs as he crosses the room and drops into a crouch beside the bed. He takes my chin between his fingers and tilts my head to face him. “Tell me what’s going on, Little Flame.”

“It’s nothing. It’s just been a rough couple of days, and I’m shaken.” I lift my wrist with the cuff attached. “And this really hasn’t helped.”

He brushes his thumb over the apple of my cheek before reaching into his pocket, producing a small key.

He makes quick work of unlocking me, and the moment the cuff is free from my wrist, he massages the skin with such care I can hardly believe it’s the same man the media often calls cold and callous.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers. “I didn’t mean to scare you, but I needed to make sure you were safe while I was otherwise occupied.

I couldn’t handle the thought that someone could get to you while I wasn’t here to protect you. ”

My heart does another little flip it shouldn’t be doing for the man who has kept us locked in his bedroom all day, but I can’t help it.

I’ve refused to let anyone take care of me for such a long time, and it’s kind of nice for someone to do just that, even if it is against my will.

“Maybe we can find another way for you to be assured I’m safe without you keeping me chained to the bed?”

He chuckles. “We can do that.”

My stomach chooses then to give an almighty growl, which only seems to amuse Orion more.

“Put some clothes on and come out to the kitchen. I got us some lunch on my way home.”

Before I can respond, he pushes himself to his feet and strides out of the room, leaving me with my confusing emotions when it comes to this man.

God, life was so much simpler before I started breaking my own rules.

But you were also getting far fewer orgasms.

When my stomach grumbles again, I move into the closet and open one of the drawers, finding the pajamas he referenced in his note.

The soft black satin is simple but elegant, like rich people in reality television wear with their faces full of makeup, and I can’t help but brush my fingers over my name embroidered into the breast pocket.

Before I can allow my mind to overload with more questions to add to all the ones I have about Orion’s security, I drop the sheet and quickly change into the comfortable set.

It’s best Orion finds out now that I’ll always reach for the comfortable option over anything anyone would consider sexy.