Page 71 of Son of a Witch

I threw out my hand. “I’m so appreciative, Warden.”

He accepted the hand and shook it. “Don’t mistake my approval for kindness, Miss Nomical.”

Some of my excitement caught in a tight bundle in my chest.

“Tor is still an asset to the Guardians for the next five years.” He buttoned his jacket as he stood to walk us out. “He will be expected to perform in whatever capacity he can.”

Fuck. I expected something more like,“This is a lovely gesture, Miss. Nomical. I hope it will achieve its intention.”

Nope. We really were expendable to this guy.

At least Vartros did his best to protect us from the other gangs.

This guy, not so much. This was strictly business to get Tor’s heart off the floor and his mind back where it should be. On performing his duties. Capturing the missing prisoners and the damn escaped vampires. One wrong foot out of line—like disclosing information about the Guardians to his family—and my Candy Man might never see the light of day again.

My heart hammered hard. The word asshole fluttered in my mouth, and I had to swallow it and stamp the bitch down my throat.

Vancor swung open the door. “I’ll be in touch tomorrow about the inventory.”

Heart a little deflated, but also pleased that I got my request, I stood there, scraping my palms together.

“Thank you, sir.” Knoxe herded me out of the office and out into the hallway.

I felt a little numb as he pushed me up against the cold stone, and leaned down to whisper, “That went well.”

“Yes, it did,” I said, breathless from his proximity and the outcome of the meeting.

Heat from his body soaked into mine and burned away the warden’s chilled warning about mistaking his kindness.

“You’re an incredible woman, Sunset.” Knoxe tipped my chin up to meet his eyes, the fierceness in his gaze reminded me of my determination. “I’m glad you’re my woman. Glad you’re ours. I wouldn’t want anyone else on my team fighting for me. For us.”

Fuck, that meant a hell of a lot. It reminded me of something similar he said to me when he welcomed me to the team and apologized for being an asshole.

I lost the rest of my thoughts as his hot, slick mouth descended on mine to show me how much he respected and adored me. Previous thoughts about the warden got swept away with the blazing fire of Knoxe’s sexy mouth.

***

The next day,the warden delivered on his promise, providing all my inventory except the tarps, nails, and a drill. Prisoners weren’t afforded tools like a drill or a hammer to pound nails into the stone to hang the lights. Despite this setback, I didn’t care. The fact that I got a single thing approved was a victory in my eyes.

Knoxe, Pascal, and I sweated it out, transforming our training room for mine and Tor’s date. The man I was due to surprise was in his physiotherapy session and straight after that he had an appointment with the prison psychologist.

Plenty of time for us to set up the room for a magical afternoon.

“Think this will hold the weight of the lights?” I tugged at the black plastic garbage bags that we taped to the windows to black out the room. Not very secure, but the best option we had under the circumstances.

The warden posted a sentry in the corner of the training room to watch us. We hadn’t earned his trust yet, and he might worry we planned to fashion weapons and make a break for it, too.

“If it doesn’t,” Knoxe said, “we’ll have to make do. The warden made it clear we couldn’t ask for more materials.”

“No, he didn’t.” I shifted to the lockers and strung up the lights where they would sit better, and I wouldn’t stress about the scenery falling down.

“He’ll love this.” Pascal jerked at the duct tape and tore off a piece, sticking the last garbage bag to the training room window. “It’s a really thoughtful gesture.”

I clasped my fingers together and sent up a silent prayer to whoever was listening. “I just hope it brings him back to us.”

A collective quiet fell over us. Tor straddled the line of darkness, and we were all worried about him.

Tor lived and breathed superheroes. Defeating evil and being a hero were the lens he saw life through. Fear gnawed at the back of my mind that this might backfire spectacularly on me. That I might push him away instead of motivating him.

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