he said. She needn't have worried about him buying that story. Clearly he had no trouble believing that she was a thief.
“So what about these Bulgarians?” Zora prompted.
Savage looked at her, but she saw from the closed expression on his face that she was not going to get an answer. He stepped towards the door and she knew that it was going to be another one of those many lingering questions that surrounded her stay. She was quickly growing tired of the mysteries. Apparently he thought she didn't deserve answers, all she deserved was pain and recrimination. “Fine, just go,” she said bitterly. “See you the next time you want to hit me.”
He stopped by the door and looked over his shoulder at her. “You'll get your answers when you're ready for them.”
“And in the meantime? What am I supposed to do?”
“Behave yourself.” He left quickly, closing the door behind him and bolting it too. Yet again Zora was locked away by herself, confused and hurt. Frustration overwhelmed her and she hurled herself against the sheet metal door, kicking and punching and swearing up a storm of rage. She battered her frail flesh against the solid door until she was so tired she could no longer lift her arms, then she collapsed onto the bed, feeling more miserable and alone than before.
Chapter Five
Savage paced back and forth in his office, his brow furrowed. Zora was proving more complicated and difficult to deal with than he'd imagined. He'd counted on discipline as a means of taming her, but every time he spanked her he seemed to make things worse. Her sobbing cries still echoed in his head from the last time he'd been forced to take her in hand and in his mind's eye he could see the look of disappointment on her face as he left her alone afterward. His plan to get her to a point where she'd trust him and be receptive to learning the full truth about her situation was quickly unraveling. Her stubborn resistance made it difficult to get through to her and he did not like the idea of resorting to ever more extreme measures.
“Dammit,” he swore to himself. This was not supposed to happen. He wasn't supposed to care, wasn't supposed to get attached, but he was starting to do both. For all her negative traits, Zora was brighter and braver than most. She'd been wrenched out of her comfort zone and subjected to what she considered harsh discipline and it had not cowed her in the slightest.
Savage was usually a man of honor, a man who did what he thought was right. He didn't like what he was doing with Zora. She'd never asked for what was happening to her, she'd never asked to be used as a tool in a war that was almost impossible to win. She deserved to know what was really going on. As he paced he admitted to himself that he wasn't keeping the truth from her because she wasn't ready to know, he was keeping the truth from her because he was loathing the prospect of dealing with the fallout when she realized what was really going on. For some bizarre reason, he cared about what she thought about him. When she knew the truth and realized the full ramifications of what he'd done, he would become a monster in her eyes.
“This is not the time to get sentimental, Brett,” he lectured himself. It was time to do what he should have done days ago. The window of opportunity for the mission was closing by the day. It was time to get Zora on board - one way or another.
Steeling himself, he sat down at his desk and sent for her. She turned up fairly quickly in the company of a soldier. Since her bout of illicit drinking she'd been confined to detox as a precaution. As a result she was once more wearing the white scrubs that made her look shapeless and left her rear end so very vulnerable.
“Ms Matthews,” he greeted her cordially.
“Captain Savage,” she replied, looking around his office with curious eyes. She had not been here before, but she was already looking for something of use to her. He knew the way
“So what about these Bulgarians?” Zora prompted.
Savage looked at her, but she saw from the closed expression on his face that she was not going to get an answer. He stepped towards the door and she knew that it was going to be another one of those many lingering questions that surrounded her stay. She was quickly growing tired of the mysteries. Apparently he thought she didn't deserve answers, all she deserved was pain and recrimination. “Fine, just go,” she said bitterly. “See you the next time you want to hit me.”
He stopped by the door and looked over his shoulder at her. “You'll get your answers when you're ready for them.”
“And in the meantime? What am I supposed to do?”
“Behave yourself.” He left quickly, closing the door behind him and bolting it too. Yet again Zora was locked away by herself, confused and hurt. Frustration overwhelmed her and she hurled herself against the sheet metal door, kicking and punching and swearing up a storm of rage. She battered her frail flesh against the solid door until she was so tired she could no longer lift her arms, then she collapsed onto the bed, feeling more miserable and alone than before.
Chapter Five
Savage paced back and forth in his office, his brow furrowed. Zora was proving more complicated and difficult to deal with than he'd imagined. He'd counted on discipline as a means of taming her, but every time he spanked her he seemed to make things worse. Her sobbing cries still echoed in his head from the last time he'd been forced to take her in hand and in his mind's eye he could see the look of disappointment on her face as he left her alone afterward. His plan to get her to a point where she'd trust him and be receptive to learning the full truth about her situation was quickly unraveling. Her stubborn resistance made it difficult to get through to her and he did not like the idea of resorting to ever more extreme measures.
“Dammit,” he swore to himself. This was not supposed to happen. He wasn't supposed to care, wasn't supposed to get attached, but he was starting to do both. For all her negative traits, Zora was brighter and braver than most. She'd been wrenched out of her comfort zone and subjected to what she considered harsh discipline and it had not cowed her in the slightest.
Savage was usually a man of honor, a man who did what he thought was right. He didn't like what he was doing with Zora. She'd never asked for what was happening to her, she'd never asked to be used as a tool in a war that was almost impossible to win. She deserved to know what was really going on. As he paced he admitted to himself that he wasn't keeping the truth from her because she wasn't ready to know, he was keeping the truth from her because he was loathing the prospect of dealing with the fallout when she realized what was really going on. For some bizarre reason, he cared about what she thought about him. When she knew the truth and realized the full ramifications of what he'd done, he would become a monster in her eyes.
“This is not the time to get sentimental, Brett,” he lectured himself. It was time to do what he should have done days ago. The window of opportunity for the mission was closing by the day. It was time to get Zora on board - one way or another.
Steeling himself, he sat down at his desk and sent for her. She turned up fairly quickly in the company of a soldier. Since her bout of illicit drinking she'd been confined to detox as a precaution. As a result she was once more wearing the white scrubs that made her look shapeless and left her rear end so very vulnerable.
“Ms Matthews,” he greeted her cordially.
“Captain Savage,” she replied, looking around his office with curious eyes. She had not been here before, but she was already looking for something of use to her. He knew the way
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