Page 25 of Darkness I Become
That Cade was cooking for himself struck her as peculiar; Angel certainly never did. He had far too many of his women available to trouble himself with that, and besides, it was beneath him.
After another few minutes of stilted silence, Cade grabbed a nearby aluminum tray and scooped the meat onto it. He held it out to Asha and said simply, “Eat.”
She took a hesitant bite as Cade sat across from her. The fat melted in her mouth, and she sighed. It felt like so long since she’d eaten anything more substantial than gruel or soup. Hunger took over and she ate with abandon until the meat was gone and her belly was full for the first time in weeks.
Cade finished his portion, then walked back to the kitchen. He pulled out a knife and began sharpening it on a stone. Asha froze, her hands shaking. She remembered the knife that Angel had heated over a flame, then pressed against her back.
Cade clearly noticed her reaction, because he promptly tucked the knife away in a backpack at his feet.
“Just sharpening it,” he said. “It’s used for hunting.”
Not for tortureseemed to be the unspoken message. A heavy silence hung between them that Asha didn’t know how to break. She’d told him what she wanted, and he’d ignored her—a likely harbinger of things to come.
“Where are you from?” Asha finally asked. “You’re from a compound, but clearly not mine.”
He folded his arms over his chest. “A question for a question: where areyoufrom, and how the hell did you end up out here?”
“I asked you first,” she replied testily, “and youstillhaven’t told me what my duties here will be now that you’re here. If you expect me to get on my knees for you and suck you off every day, then I’d at least like some warning.”
He gave a dark chuckle. “You really do think I’m a monster, huh?”
“You work for Angel,” Asha said, unflinching. “You may come from a compound, but clearly, the life of a Wastelander suits you just fine.”
“I’m not like Angel,” he replied coldly. “I would never do what he did to you.”
Asha didn’t know when she’d clenched her hand into a fist, but it ached now, as did the rest of her battered body.
“Don’t act innocent,” she gritted out. “You may not do it yourself, but you allow it to happen to others. If you think thatnotbeing a rapist and torturer absolves you of that, think again. You’re still a monster, and a hypocrite.”
Another tense silence descended, and Asha wondered if this was it: the moment when he’d explode, show his true colours, and rip away the mask to reveal a man every bit as soulless as his master.
So, she was downright shocked when the corner of Cade’s mouth ticked upward.
“You’re right.”
She wasn’t sure she’d heard him correctly.
“What?”
He shrugged. “You’re right. So, what’re you gonna do about it? So far, the whole spitfire routine you have going on isn’t doing much for you.”
Asha balked. “Oh, I’m sorry, how am Isupposed toreact when a bunch of brutal Wastelanders kidnap and rape me? Fuck you. I don’t need your judgment.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Just stating a fact. I like a woman who takes no shit. But you need friends if you want to survive here, and so far, it doesn’t seem like you have anybody on your side except me. I’m no prince, darling, but I’m what you’ve got.”
She exhaled sharply. She hated everything about this moment…but he had a point. He wasn’t the hero she would’ve chosen. Far from it. But he was also the only one who’d done anything to help her besides Leo, and Leo had only done it on Cade’s orders.
“I do what I have to do to survive,” Cade continued. “Your problem is that you’re still in denial. You think of this as a temporary setback rather than your permanent situation. Your compound is gone. Your old life is over. Now, you adapt or die, and you won’t find anyone who understands that better than I do.”
Asha sighed, rubbing her eyes. She felt exhausted, even though she hadn’t been up for long. Her body was still terribly sore, and she didn’t have it in her to argue more.
“Fine,” she said wearily. “I take your point. But if I’m going to live here with you, I’d at least like to know a bit about you.”
He nodded. “Fair enough.” He paused, as though considering his words carefully. “I’m from the Delta. It’s a compound up in the northern part of the province. Quite isolated. I was assigned as a captain in the military. Leo and Dom were on my squad.”
He leaned over the island counter. “Now, you tell me: where did you come from? We’ll trade an answer for an answer.”
She couldn’t pretend that that wasn’t fair.
