Page 24 of Sold Wolf Slave

“Okay, so the plan is more or less to play along for the time being?” Chris asked.

I nodded. “And if I can get Kendra to trust me, then she might be able to help us.”

“Well, let’s hope you managed to find a way to do that,” Nolan remarked, rubbing his chin as he stared at the stairs, “Because I got the feeling she really doesn’t like you.”

Chris nodded in agreement.

Ignoring this, I finished giving them a recap of everything that had happened, glossing over Kendra’s mysterious escape attempt. I still didn’t know what to think of that. It hadn’t felt like she had been running away. She had been going somewhere. She’d had a purpose. The only question was what.

Stop thinking about Kendra, I told myself for the hundredth time. But I realized that wasn’t going to be possible. I wanted to talk to her, to make sure she was okay. I couldn’tforget that uneasy expression on her face when she’d seen Chris and Nolan. I wanted to make sure she knew she had nothing to be afraid of.

“I’ve taken notes on everything I know so far. You can go and read through them,” I said, gesturing to the stacks of papers on the table. “I’m going to go try and talk to Kendra.”

“Better you than us,” Nolan remarked. At the same time, Chris said, “Good luck.”

I nodded, waiting until they moved toward the table with the scattered papers. Once I knew they were occupied, I turned and walked up to Kendra’s closed door. I hesitated for just a moment, then knocked on the door.

“It’s unlocked,” Kendra’s voice called.

I opened the door. She lay on the bed, her red hair splayed out behind her. She lifted her head when I entered, then propped herself up on her elbows as she watched me.

“Sorry about that,” I said, coming to stand just inside the room. “Not exactly how I was expecting the morning to go down. If I’d known they were coming, I would have warned you.”

“They’re Gold Wolves, too?” she asked.

“Yeah. Does that mean you believe me?”

She let out a sigh and rolled onto her side so she was looking at me. Her hair fell down her neck in elegant waves.

“More so than before,” she admitted. “If only because I would have assumed you or one of your friends would have tried something by now if you were only here for slaves. But you did still win me and take the prize, and I’m not dismissing some sort of elaborate ruse. I don’t have proof you’re one of the Gold Wolves.”

I exhaled, not bothering to hide my annoyance. “You’re not really good at trusting people, are you?”

She flashed me a feral grin. “I don’t have much reason to trust people anymore, now do I?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Would you rather have gone to the other creep?”

Her lips turned into a frown, and she didn’t answer.

“So, what can you tell me about yourself?” I asked as the silence dragged on.

The frown deepened. “Why?”

“Because we’re stuck together for the time being, and I want to get to know you better?” I suggested. “Do you seriously think everyone has some sort of hidden agenda?”

“Don’t they?” she asked, one eyebrow raised, the freckles on her forehead bunching together. Finally, she sighed, slumping back so she stared upward. She took a deep breath. “What do you want to know, exactly?”

“How about how you came to be here?”

She didn’t answer. Instead, she kept gazing at the ceiling.

She’s not going to open up without something in return, a voice in my head told me. The voice had a point.

“Mine is a bit convoluted,” I said. “When I was a kid, I didn’t have much interest in the military or spec ops. Honestly, I was sort of thinking of taking over my parents’ store when I grew up. I had a head for numbers, and I liked the work. Nothing exciting, but I liked it.”

Her eyes moved to me as I spoke.

“Except when I was a teenager, one of the spec-ops groups—the Redwoods—came through town. I remember theywere searching for some guy they thought had holed up in town. I happened to be walking by when they arrested him. He broke away and actually ran toward me. Guess he was going to try and use me as a hostage.”

---