Page 53 of To Hunt A Wolf
I try a different tactic.
“You’re in charge here.”
“Yes. No. Sort of.” He ducks his head, and I can’t quite reconcile a humble Levi with the asshole who locked me up and basically tortured me. “Whoa.” He catches me again and waits while I re-steady myself. It’s slow going, and Levi seems more and more upset with my condition.
“Didn’t they feed you?”
My gaze flicks to where I remember kicking over the lasagna. It’s gone, the space clear of any evidence a food cart had ever been there at all.
Levi waits for an answer. I look up at him through the tangled hair in my eyes, too confused and dizzy to be upset. Playing games isn’t even an option right now.
“No.”
“Come on,” he says, gripping my waist and hauling me to my feet.
Our closeness jumbles my thoughts again. We’re hip-to-hip, which isn’t exactly the most sexual of positions, but all I can think about is his hands gripping my hips, his body fitted against my own.
We take one step together, and I see stars.
Levi catches me even before I realize I’ve begun to collapse.
My head swims. Lack of sleep, lack of food—lack of a lot of things—makes it hard to think clearly. Maybe he was on to something leaving me alone so long.
In this moment, I’m too beaten to deny that he’s won this round.
“I’m so fucking sorry for leaving you here this long. It shouldn’t have happened, but there was an emergency I had to deal with, and I left—” He breaks off, calling out for one of his guys. “Burnett. Get in here.”
A redheaded male in dark blue military fatigues appears in the doorway.
“Get her some water,” Levi instructs him. “And something to eat. Now.”
“Sure.”
The guy disappears, spurred on by Levi’s urgent tone.
He’s not one of the trio from the lasagna incident, which gives me hope he’ll actually do as he’s asked.
“Come on.” Levi grips me tighter and begins moving me slowly toward the door.
I don’t resist. I don’t even think I could if I wanted to. It’s not just the physical aspect, either. His kindness, the apology, it’s too weird. Like I’ve entered some alternative universe that only exists inside this room.
We make it out the door and into the adjoining room, this one larger. It no longer smells like dirt. Instead, the scent of pine and spice slams into me. It makes my eyes water, and I chalk it up to nearly dying of hunger and thirst. But this smell, it makes me thirsty in a different way.
I notice a bed in the corner. It’s nothing more than a mattress on the floor. And it’s literally the only piece of furniture in the room. Beside it, a short stack of clothes is folded neatly on a concrete floor.
Levi turns me away from the mattress and helps me across the room. He stops outside another door, this one leading into a small bathroom.
“I’ll be right out here if you need help,” he says.
“I think I’ll manage.”
I push the door shut behind me and hurriedly do my business. It’s not a big deal in the grand scheme, but I’m pretty sure it’s the best pee of my life. When I’m done, I survey myself in the mirror. Tangled, dirty blonde hair falls over my shoulders, framing a face I almost don’t recognize. Dark circles ring my eyes, and my cheeks bear traces of the scratches from my fighting frenzy when they brought me in. But it’s the hollow look I wear that makes me shudder at my own reflection.
I look like a shell of the badass, capable girl who set out on this journey. I look beaten.
Averting my gaze, I try to remind myself who I’m here for.
Kari.
