Page 48 of His Toy

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Back in the room, Alex wrapped Bella up in a hug as soon as they were alone. She clung to him in need of the physical reassurance he was happy to give. Not being able to watch what the Wolf had been doing to her had made that interlude both easier and harder.

“It’s okay,” he murmured into her hair and stroked down the soft skin of her back as he cuddled her close. “It’s okay.”

She stirred in his arms and pulled back to tilt her head and look up at him. Her dark eyes were wide with a kind of shock. “No, Alex it’s not. Did you see what he had on his desk?”

Alex shook his head. He’d been too far back to be able to make out anything on the Wolf’s desk clearly. Bella, sitting on the Wolf’s lap, would have had a much better view, although he hadn’t expected her to look.

“One of the papers—it had the government’s seal on it,” she whispered as she went up on her tiptoes, her voice so low he could barely hear it.

A chill went through him. “Let’s get to the bed,” he said softly.

They wrapped themselves under the sheets, creating a little fort of fabric. It wasn’t soundproof, but it was the best they could do under the circumstances.

Maybe it was a fake.

Maybe it had been stolen.

Maybe someone in power on the Moon was working with the Wolf.

The first option was the most palatable, but if the Wolf could fabricate official documents, it was still frightening. The idea that he might have the means to steal a sealed document was even more so; especially since neither of them had any idea what it might contain and what he might be able to gain from it.

Deep down, they both believed it was the latter: he had come by it genuinely. It would make sense, wouldn’t it? The mercenaries hired by the Moon never came close to catching the Wolf. Those on the Moon had always assumed that was because almost all the mercenaries came from Earth. But what if they were wrong? What if it was because the Wolf was always one step ahead, thanks to his allies in power?

There were other questions, too, though. Was the Wolf telling the truth about when he’d released Abby? If he was, why hadn’t she gotten out of the hospital until today? The news reports had always indicated the Wolf’s captives were returned to their families immediately… but what if they weren’t? What if the reason they never spoke about their ordeal was because someone on the Moon was keeping them quiet?

Bella was the one coming up with the questions, even as Alex tried to convince her it didn’t matter—wouldn’t matter—until after they escaped, anyway. He had to stay focused;theyhad to stay focused on the immediate goal at hand. It wasn’t like they could do anything until they got out of there, anyway. But Bella wouldn’t let it go.

“Even if we manage to escape,” she whispered, “if there’s someone working on the Moon with him, who says we’ll even make it home?”

“They can’t all be working with him,” Alex insisted. “The news would leak out. Someone in the media would have figured it out. The Wolf isn’t all-powerful.”

They lay on their sides, facing each other, hands clasped between them, and so close all he would have to do was lean forward an inch to kiss her. She bit down on her lower lip and worried it between her teeth.

“No one’s stopped him before. It doesn’t have to be everyone, just a couple of key people. Or maybe even a small group.”

They debated in whispers, back and forth, until their dinner arrived, and they came out from under the covers to eat. From the little glances Bella gave him, Alex could tell she wasn’t happy with his determination to remain focused on escape rather than on the new information she’d discovered.

16

They had another night completely to themselves, which was more nerve-wracking than it was reassuring. Bella wasn’t able to fall asleep for long after the lights went out. Thoughts kept whirling around her head about the document with the Moon-government’s seal on it that had been on the Wolf’s desk, about what it meant, about how to convince Alex this was important. Then, again, maybe it was better he continued to focus on escaping because that was something she’d never put much stock in… now that she had her own wrinkle to focus on. Maybe it was better if they both concentrated on something different; if each of their focuses were divided, it might just be distracting.

Still, she felt the seal was more important than Alex apparently did.

Even if they managed to escape the compound, what would be their next move? Maybe escape would put them in more danger than ever. Not only did the Wolf have allies on the Moon who might return her and Alex to him, but, as far as she knew, no one had ever escaped the Wolf. If they were recaptured, what would he do to them? Alex was still ignoring the problem of the trackers in their shoulders. He focused on one step at a time, looking for a way out of the compound before he tackled the next problem.

Maybe that was why he was so focused while she had trouble: he took on one thing at a time, where she looked at the whole big picture and froze instead of acting. The idea of escape, as a whole, seemed insurmountable. Cooperating, getting through their days and eventually being released like everyone else, was easier.

And maybe that was part of the Wolf’s power, too.

If Bella was scared for her life or worried he meant to keep them forever, maybe she’d have more of Alex’s fighting spirit. But the truth was, for the most part, she felt fairly secure within the mythology that had sprung up around the Wolf. There were moments when she wondered if they were in more danger than they realized, but she hugged to the knowledge that his captives were always released and returned to their families.

She could live through this. Bend. Accommodate. Survive. That had been her plan from the start. But if the Wolf had his claws in the Moon’s government, even if it was just through trickery or theft, then their problems would be so much bigger than escaping.

* * *

The soldiers came at their usual time, unlike the day before. Food and bathroom first, but then Alex and Bella were escorted to the Wolf’s hall rather than outside to exercise. That the Wolf had a “guest” coming was not at all reassuring.

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