Page 14 of Tethered to the World
When Logan reached for her, she dodged away and stood next to Rufus. “You’ll be fine?”
His face softened as he glanced down at her.
Erickson gave an ugly laugh, the interest in his eyes hardening to hatred. “You can’t even control her. She needs to be taught her place. Taught to obey.”
Rufus ignored the other director, then nodded to the boys behind her. “I’ll be along shortly.”
She didn’t even bother to acknowledge Erickson when she left.
She didn’t know why she offered to help. She’d just sworn she wouldn’t use her abilities, and not half an hour later she had to resist doing that very thing.
They entered the building silently. When the guys stopped at the elevator, she walked past them and headed toward the stairs. Mason and Xander followed her, while Camden and Logan remained standing by the elevator doors.
“Not you, too.” Logan shook his head mournfully, sorrow shading his eyes. “Are you a health freak like Xander, or do you hate small places like Mason?”
Annora didn’t bother to turn, not wanting them to see the memories of the nightmares brewing in her eyes. “None of your business.”
Before she could reach the door for the stairwell, Mason opened it for her, then gallantly waved her forward. Annora halted, her past vanishing at the gentlemanly gesture, feeling slightly flustered by his actions. She’d always dreamed of having someone come to her rescue, treating her like a princess.
After her first year in captivity, she knew there were no princes, goodness was a weakness, and no one did something for nothing.
“You might as well move or we’ll end up standing here all day.” Xander edged past her and began taking the stairs two at a time. He made it seem so effortless he appeared to almost glide up them, his long leather duster jacket flapping like wings behind him.
She hesitantly followed, her curiosity getting the best of her. “What are you?”
Xander glanced back at her from where he stood in the shadows, his rugged features making him look like the kind of hired thug her uncle often employed. It was all she could do not to bolt. Only his teal eyes kept her rooted to the spot, reminding her that he wasn’t human. If her uncle got ahold of him, he would be in the cage next to hers, not guarding her.
“What do you see?” He countered, and she’d suddenly wished she would’ve kept her mouth shut.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s not polite to ask a person’s race.” Mason stopped a few steps down from her, leaving them almost at eye level. He wasn’t handsome by normal standards, his features a little too exaggerated to be human, but for some reason, it put her more at ease. There was something calming about him.
He didn’t duck away from her examination, standing patiently so she could look her fill.
A door banged above them, the slam echoing down the cement tunnel, and Logan bellowed down the stairwell. “Where the hell are you guys?”
When Annora flinched, she noticed Xander watching them both, his face impassive. He didn’t seem offended by her inappropriate question, but as she slowly made her way up to him, she felt very much like the fly caught in his web.
She didn’t dare look away as she passed, nor did he lower his eyes, almost like he was searching for something. She should be used to cameras and people staring at her all the time, but something about his look went deeper.
Just as she was about to edge past him, he bowed his head, then glanced up. “On our way.”
He didn’t shout—he didn’t need to even raise his voice for it to fill the stairwell.
As she scurried the rest of the way up the stairs, she couldn’t contain her curiosity about them. They were different from human guys. While they were deadlier, there was also a sea of calm around them…like they had to learn a kind of restraint humans just didn’t have.
Logan was waiting for her at the top of the stairs. His red hair was flat today, his blue eyes tired, but he let nothing show in his expression. When she entered the hall, she saw Camden and Rufus in a deep discussion.
They spotted her instantly and stopped speaking. Rufus smiled and held open a door for her. “We should talk.”
Something about his tone halted her on the spot. “What happened?”
He didn’t miss a beat. “Your uncle has gone missing.”
Chapter Five
“What?” Annora wasn’t sure how she ended up seated in front of Rufus’s desk. The shock quickly wore off, and she shot to her feet, only to stop short when she saw the guys were lined up in front of the door, preventing her escape. “Move.”
