Page 94 of Ransomed to the World
And she fucking loved him.
He was one lucky son of a bitch.
He had to prove to her that he was worth the risk, show her that she wouldn’t regret keeping him. While the guys followed him down the stairs, he waited for one of them to take him to task for stealing a few moments of pleasure with Annora. Instead, they seemed happy things were working out between the two of them.
Annora didn’t even hesitate at the office door, instead walking clear through the wall. He went to follow…only to smack into it when the wall turned solid once again. He cursed, and a second later she reached through, grabbed his shirt, and yanked him after her. It didn’t take the others long to join them.
Logan cast a dismissive glance around the room. He’d grown up in the middle of such opulence, and it didn’t impress him. And, based on his experience, it usually hid something evil. Annora didn’t waste a second as she crossed the room, heading directly toward the bookshelf instead of the desk as he’d expected.
Curious at what caught her attention, he followed her, noting that Edgar and Camden headed toward the desk. Xander went to the windows, keeping watch, while Mason trailed after them.
“What are we looking for?” Logan asked, even as Annora touched a glass case.
He watched as it disintegrated to dust.
That was so fucking cool.
He knew he should be leery of such an easy display of power, but this was Annora. Everything she did, even just breathing, awed him. He could watch her sleep and never get bored.
Shaking away his fanciful thoughts, he watched her pick up two sheets of paper and turn toward him with a grim expression. “These.”
She held out the missing pages from her grimoire.
He scanned the top page quickly, his mood turning sour, every word on the page more damning than the last.
“What did you find?” Camden came closer, reaching for the papers.
“What the fuck is a bridge?” Logan handed over the pages, biting back a snarl.
Annora looked sheepish. “I meant to tell you—it’s the real reason Daxion wants me. The reason my mother hid me for so many years.”
Edgar blanched when he scanned the papers, and Logan barely resisted the need to beat the crap out of the asshole. “Did you know about this? Did you already know she’s the key to ruling the darkness?”
“Of course not!” Edgar exclaimed, his face thunderous. Then he turned toward Annora, his expression pleading. “Bridges have been extinct for generations, long before the old ones had abandoned us. They only pick the most worthy. She’s…”
“A half-breed?” Annora asked with a dangerous lack of inflection.
“That’s not what I meant.” Edgar looked stricken, his stride stiff as he stalked from one end of the room to the other, ready to pounce if she tried to leave. Logan took a protective stance at her side, ready to help her run if that’s what she wanted.
Edgar kept his eyes on hers. “You have to know I don’t care about that at all.”
Annora studied Edgar closely, then finally relented with a nod, the tension going out of her spine. “I know you don’t.”
“That doesn’t change the fact that Daxion will never allow her to leave. This was all a trap, a way to get Annora to the island and claim her.” Camden began pacing the room. “We need to contact the captain and get off the island.”
Xander shook his head, turning away from the window. “Daxion would only come after her with a full army and pick us off one by one. She’s too important to him.”
“Then what do we do?” Logan didn’t like her being in the middle of the war between Daxion and the reapers. She was in danger, and there was nothing he could do to save her from the coming confrontation. Even if he wanted to snatch her up and run away with her, it was much too late—they’d never let her go.
“We set a trap of our own.” Annora faced off against them, her stubborn little chin set.
Underneath her bravado Logan spotted a thread of fear—that she’d end up in another prison, this time one she wouldn’t be able to escape. He balled his hands into fists, resolving to do whatever it took, even risk his own freedom, to ensure that no one would ever hold her captive again.
Chapter Twenty-six
“Whoa! You want to do what?” Xander glared down at her, his fists on his hips, while the rest of the guys prowled around her, their beasts ready to burst free at her announcement.
“I need to talk to the reapers.” Annora matched Xander’s pose, determined not to let him intimidate her into doing what he wanted. “And I can’t allow any of you to come with me. I’ll be too worried about protecting you, and it will leave me vulnerable.”
