Something to Die For by Kaye Blue

Thirty-Nine

Angel

It had beena day since I’d seen Lucas, and it felt like time was moving backward.

I knew what I had to do.

Keep my cool, be ready, and maybe find something that might be helpful for us. Seeing him had only reinforced that.

It had also reinforced how desperate I was to be out of here.

I’d kept my head down, completing the tasks assigned to me without so much as a peep. It went against my grain, but I did as I was told, didn’t make trouble.

But for some reason, I’d caught the leader’s attention. Had found out his name was Adler, though I’d never heard anyone call him anything but “sir.” I wasn’t sure why he’d noticed me after that first meeting. A new face, sure, but with everyone else scurrying around trying to curry favor, I shouldn’t have been a blip on his radar.

I was, though, and had been given the honored task of working in his office, managing his day-to-day schedule, keeping him organized. It was so fucking ridiculous, I could hardly contain my annoyance. But I did, kept it and played the perfect secretary, even though I wanted choke the shit out of him every time I looked at his face.

“That took a little longer than I expected,” the leader said as I walked into his office.

He’d tasked me with arranging the camp’s records and seemed to be annoyed that it had taken more than three hours.

“Oh, some of the files were mislaid, so I took a second to reorganize them. I hope that’s okay?” I said.

I tried to appear nonchalant, didn’t let my expression give anything away. At least I hoped it didn’t. Because while I’d been arranging records, I’d been taking stock and had a good idea of what supplies were on hand.

“Taking initiative,” he said, nodding. “I wish more people would do that.”

I murmured something noncommittal and then quickly sat at the desk that he’d stationed immediately to the right of his.

I hated this shit, but I did it, and did it to the best of my abilities.

Because I had meant what I said to Lucas.

There was something very, very wrong here, and sooner we got out, the better I would feel.

“Angel, why don’t you have lunch with me?”

“Oh, thank you for the offer, sir, but I still have a little bit I need to do,” I said.

“I insist,” Adler responded, brushing away my attempted deflection without breaking a sweat.

“Okay,” I said, hoping to cover the trepidation in my voice with the bright smile on my face. I joined him, reminding myself that I needed to stay focused, not upset the apple cart.

Still, it was difficult. I hated being in his presence, felt like a bug under a microscope whenever he looked at me.

He probably knew that, and I suspected he used that to his advantage with everyone else.

And I was determined not to show him any fear.

“So, that man you arrived with…”

“What about him?” I asked, again keeping my voice even, knowing he was probing for a reaction, one that I refused to give him.

“You’re so refined, intelligent. He is…not. I can’t imagine that you’d have much in common.”

“We don’t. But it was better to be with someone than be alone out there,” I said.

“Smart,” Adler said.

He set his book down, then sat up, his gaze holding me, his expression intense.

“I could tell you were smart the first time I saw you,” he said.

“Thanks,” I responded.

“You recognize that it’s good to have friends, people who can help you, protect you,” Adler said.

“I guess,” I murmured.

He covered my hand with his, and it took everything inside me not to flinch away.

“Good. Because I think that you and I can be friends, or at the very least come to a mutually beneficial arrangement.”

I said nothing, not sure what approach to take.

He held me with his gaze, unblinking, and after a moment, I looked away.

I hated the idea that I was appearing to be weak, but I couldn’t stand to look at him a moment longer. After a second, he pulled his hand away and twisted his face into a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. He gestured toward the table to the left of his desk, and I walked to it and sat down.

“We’re just getting to know each other. We can talk about these things later,” Adler said.

He sat across from me and took a bite of food, then waited, his intention clear.

“Okay,” I responded before I shoved a forkful of food into my mouth.

It tasted like sawdust, made my stomach turn, but I forced myself to swallow it.

Just as I forced myself to get through the rest of the meal.

It was a quiet, totally unremarkable affair, and if I’d wanted to, I could convince myself that whatever I thought I had seen earlier wasn’t there.

But it had been, and I knew that the danger I had sensed was even greater now than it had been before.

I finished the meal, then finished the workday, doing everything I could not to sprint when I was finally free to go.

As I walked back to the outbuilding that I shared with the other women, I saw Lucas, let my gaze follow him as he moved around.

Reminded myself that I wasn’t alone, that he had made me a promise, and so far, he had stood by his word. When I got to the outbuilding, I looked over my shoulder, saw that Adler was staring at me.

I hurried inside, trying to squelch the ice that spread in my gut.