wasn’t going to back down. His anger appeared to intimidate everyone, but it wouldn’t make a coward out of me. Taking a deep breath, I squared my shoulders and stepped forward.
There stood the Commander in Chief. He had my previous guards backed against the wall, sheer intimidation keeping them pinned. He seemed oblivious to the sweat tracking down his face, as if he was above the discomforts of mere mortals. ConRad’s profile was rigid, seemingly birthed from the surrounding mountain itself. He was a walking study in simmering rage being kept tightly reined in with stone-cold control.
Wasn’t that how one describes a sociopath? God help me if he had body parts stuck in a freezer somewhere because I’d be next, squished between the frozen peas and empty ice cube trays.
I knew immediately when ConRad became aware I was near. I didn’t so much see his reac [ se/div>
In a hushed second we were alone. Quinn and the soldiers had fled, leaving me desolate like Daniel in the lions’ den with only faith as his shield. Of course, this time the lion wasn’t restrained and my shield of faith . . . a bit tarnished.
ConRad pivoted toward me and stilled. Our eyes held, communicating a wave of heat.
I broke first. I was on no such terms where sharing impregnated stares across a room with this man was appropriate. He was dangerous. It was best I kept that in mind.
“Are you alright?” he asked softly.
Could it be . . . was it possible he’d been worried about me? I’d prepared myself for a scorching set-down, not consideration. My cheeks warmed with insecurity. After our last encounter, I felt overly exposed. A sensation I wasn’t taking kindly to. “I’m fine.”
He stepped back with a nod, allowing me to see the entrance to the interrogation room. “It will be fine, I promise,” he said reassuringly, raising his hand in invitation.
My throat constricted as my earlier anxiety returned. I could almost hear an inaudible pop as my chances of escape burst. I hesitated, searching his face. The sincerity etched in the crinkle-lines along his eyes, and the kindness belying his fierce gaze had my feet crossing the threshold. I sat at the pitted wood table, absent the knife, as he took the opposite chair for himself.
“You must realize by now why your presence here is such a concern.”
“I realize nothing,” I said, “except that I’ve been treated like a prisoner, interrogated as a spy, and in general bullied into submission.” I arched a brow. “Have I missed something?”
ConRad leaned back in the chair and folded his arms across his chest. “Things will go better for you if you cooperate.”
“Yeah, because things have gone great so far,” I said, rubbing my neck. I may have a penchant for drama, but I really had been scared that he was going to kill me. It’s not something a gal was willing gloss over.
“This way of speaking that you do—this tone in your voice, is it your attempt at humor?”
Great, he’s beginning to sound like my mother. “Are you telling me sarcasm hasn’t hit this world of ‘Cavemen Gone Military’?”
I copied his mannerism by folding my arms to match his.
“Hmm . . . there it is again. It’s . . .” he paused for a moment, “annoying.”
Yep, about sixty minutes ago he was telling me I tasted like the sun and now he found me annoying—lovely.
“Regardless,” he continued, now all business. “We need to know where the portal is. It’s a matter of life or death, not just for us at the compound, but the entire human race.”
This question again? We had come full circle, but the “annihilation of the entire human race” thing had started to sink in. My run-in with the monster, an . . . alien was still too real. I had deep scrapes along my hands and knees to prove it. “I’ve told you everything I know. All I remember was passing out and then waking up with a foul stench and a monster breathing in my face. If that was a portal, then I have no
There stood the Commander in Chief. He had my previous guards backed against the wall, sheer intimidation keeping them pinned. He seemed oblivious to the sweat tracking down his face, as if he was above the discomforts of mere mortals. ConRad’s profile was rigid, seemingly birthed from the surrounding mountain itself. He was a walking study in simmering rage being kept tightly reined in with stone-cold control.
Wasn’t that how one describes a sociopath? God help me if he had body parts stuck in a freezer somewhere because I’d be next, squished between the frozen peas and empty ice cube trays.
I knew immediately when ConRad became aware I was near. I didn’t so much see his reac [ se/div>
In a hushed second we were alone. Quinn and the soldiers had fled, leaving me desolate like Daniel in the lions’ den with only faith as his shield. Of course, this time the lion wasn’t restrained and my shield of faith . . . a bit tarnished.
ConRad pivoted toward me and stilled. Our eyes held, communicating a wave of heat.
I broke first. I was on no such terms where sharing impregnated stares across a room with this man was appropriate. He was dangerous. It was best I kept that in mind.
“Are you alright?” he asked softly.
Could it be . . . was it possible he’d been worried about me? I’d prepared myself for a scorching set-down, not consideration. My cheeks warmed with insecurity. After our last encounter, I felt overly exposed. A sensation I wasn’t taking kindly to. “I’m fine.”
He stepped back with a nod, allowing me to see the entrance to the interrogation room. “It will be fine, I promise,” he said reassuringly, raising his hand in invitation.
My throat constricted as my earlier anxiety returned. I could almost hear an inaudible pop as my chances of escape burst. I hesitated, searching his face. The sincerity etched in the crinkle-lines along his eyes, and the kindness belying his fierce gaze had my feet crossing the threshold. I sat at the pitted wood table, absent the knife, as he took the opposite chair for himself.
“You must realize by now why your presence here is such a concern.”
“I realize nothing,” I said, “except that I’ve been treated like a prisoner, interrogated as a spy, and in general bullied into submission.” I arched a brow. “Have I missed something?”
ConRad leaned back in the chair and folded his arms across his chest. “Things will go better for you if you cooperate.”
“Yeah, because things have gone great so far,” I said, rubbing my neck. I may have a penchant for drama, but I really had been scared that he was going to kill me. It’s not something a gal was willing gloss over.
“This way of speaking that you do—this tone in your voice, is it your attempt at humor?”
Great, he’s beginning to sound like my mother. “Are you telling me sarcasm hasn’t hit this world of ‘Cavemen Gone Military’?”
I copied his mannerism by folding my arms to match his.
“Hmm . . . there it is again. It’s . . .” he paused for a moment, “annoying.”
Yep, about sixty minutes ago he was telling me I tasted like the sun and now he found me annoying—lovely.
“Regardless,” he continued, now all business. “We need to know where the portal is. It’s a matter of life or death, not just for us at the compound, but the entire human race.”
This question again? We had come full circle, but the “annihilation of the entire human race” thing had started to sink in. My run-in with the monster, an . . . alien was still too real. I had deep scrapes along my hands and knees to prove it. “I’ve told you everything I know. All I remember was passing out and then waking up with a foul stench and a monster breathing in my face. If that was a portal, then I have no
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