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One dance led to another, until my feet hurt from the spinning. Normally, I loved to dance, but there was nothing normal about tonight. Even time seemed to slip away as he pressed me against his body, one song bleeding into the next. Until finally, Gage straightened, his eyes sweeping the room before they found mine. His next words sealed his fate. “Let’s get out of here.”
Chapter Nine
Neither of us spoke as we made our way through the deserted corridors, the sound of our footsteps on the stone floors echoing the ominous beat of my own heart. Lit sconces cast long shadows that stretched and shifted with each step.
My brain teemed in the emptiness, as if my mind needed to fill the stillness. I had to kill Gage.
I swallowed the bile rising in the back of my throat. I was a nurse. I saved lives. But death was the only way to break the bargain, and he’d intentionally misled me to trap me. Probably to “gift” me to someone for more power.
All the reasons to take his life were right in front of me. But spending time with him, even when he was insufferable for half of it, had forced me to see a tiny glimpse of the man behind the monster. I would be ending them both. But what other choice did I have?
As we reached my doors, I opened them and waited for him to follow me inside. A quick glance at the clock on the mantel told me it was already past three in the morning. Only a few hours until sunrise. I turned to find him stopped on the threshold, the warm light of the hallway silhouetting his body. He had practically walked into my trap. Now it would be easier than I thought to get his gun. Everyone else was at the party, getting wasted.
I opened my mouth to invite him in, my decision made.
But before I could, he spoke, his face half obscured by shadows. “Earlier. When Bain told you about Martin…”
His words halted my rising determination. I didn’t want to talk about this. Especially not with him. Instantly, I was numb. I wished I had shut the door as I retreated a step into the bedroom.
Gage planted a hand on the doorframe, as if to stop himself from following. “I don’t need details. Just…give me a name.”
I only stared at him, numbness melting to panic. It took me a moment to find my voice. “It was a long time ago.”
His jaw clenched, rage flashing in his eyes. “That doesn’t matter.” He sucked in a breath. “When you’re ready, then.”
I forced myself to nod, my plan forgotten in the face of his offer. He turned and started down the hall as his words sank in. I had no doubt what would happen if I gave him that name. But that couldn’t change my plans. If anything, it should prove to me what kind of a man he was. It should make what I had to do easier.
It had to.
I closed my eyes and called out, “Wait.” He turned toward me, and I pushed the bedroom door open wider. “Do you want to come in?”
Even in the dim hall I saw his eyes narrow. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
I swallowed and forced away a sudden surge of guilt. I had to do this. “I thought I wasn’t your type.”
A grim sort of smile carved his mouth. I counted my breaths as he considered until, finally, he stalked toward me. At least fae males were as predictable as human ones.
I twisted around, unable to face him as I tried to ignore the accusatory voice inside me. Liar. Liar. Liar.
Was I any better than him if I did this? Could I live with myself? I tried convincing myself by thinking of everything I knew of him so far. Gage might be more than the sins he’d committed, but that didn’t erase the things he’d done. It didn’t change the fact that he’d trapped me. It didn’t mean that he would keep his promise not to hurt Channing. And I shouldn’t be moved by his offer of vengeance.
“Have you changed your mind?” he asked gruffly, stopping only a few steps behind me.
Awareness prickled like electricity through my body in a way that had nothing to do with the push and pull of my conscience. His unearthly magic at work again.
He cleared his throat, but his words sounded heavy when he finally spoke. “About the name, I mean. The man who…hurt you.”
Somehow he knew that I was anxious. Could he hear my heart racing? Probably. But he’d mistaken why I was worked up. I closed my eyes and remembered what was at stake. He could trade me to someone like Bain or MacAlister. He could take the necklace and trap me here. And as long as he was alive, he could hurt the person I cared most about in the world. I had no choice. The fact steeled my resolve. “No, but I have something else to offer you.” I willed my voice to remain steady. “Something you want more.”
“Oh?” He moved nearer, close enough that I felt his heat through my thin gown.
It would be so easy to turn in to his body, to surrender to this strange, terrifying attraction he compelled from me. But that wouldn’t save me or Channing.
I just had to get the gun.
And pull the trigger.
“And what is that?” he asked gruffly.