Trusted Bond

I‘m not usually so—‖
    ―No, reah, you‘re extraordinary,‖ he said, interrupting me. ―Try and
    remember that.‖
    I glanced at Crane before I went toward the door.
    ―Jin.‖
    I turned and saw Georgia.
    ―Thank you so much.‖
    She just wanted to remind me of what I promised her to ask.
    I reached for the doorknob and heard my name. Looking over my
    shoulder, I saw Yuri.
    ―Me before you,‖ he told me.
    I stopped and waited, stepping back so he opened the door instead of
    me.
    Trusted Bond

    199

    ―Stay close to me.‖
    ―Yuri, he‘s just one—‖
    ―They told me that he‘ll be sitting at a table. He better not fuckin‘
    move, Jin. I will bleed him if he even tries to stand,‖ Yuri promised, his
    voice low, so hard, so cold, and so full of seething, icy rage.
    I was going to say something more to him, but he opened the door
    and stepped inside the room. I followed right behind him, closing the door
    behind me; Logan‘s golden eyes were my very last image.
    ―Jin.‖
    I looked up, and there was Laurent. He was sitting at the table in the

kitchen area, and there were only the two of us and Yuri in the room. He
    was wearing all white, and it looked bad on him. It was washing him out.
    ―What?‖ he asked after a minute.
    ―White‘s not your color, huh.‖
    ―No,‖ he said, chuckling. ―I don‘t think so.‖
    I nodded, crossing the room to the table with Yuri, my shadow,
    behind me. There was another chair there, and I turned it around and sat,
    leaning my right arm on the back. I stared at him and was amazed at how
    normal he looked. I had no idea what I‘d been expecting, but Laurent all
    calm and collected wasn‘t it.
    ―How come there are no marks on you?‖ he asked me.
    ―I shifted.‖
    ―One shift wouldn‘t fix all the damage I gave you.‖
    I cleared my throat, feeling Yuri‘s anger jump behind me. ―I shifted
    into something different last time.‖
    ―Why last time?‖
    ―Not sure.‖
    ―Why not with me? If you could shift into something powerful… in
    fact, you didn‘t shift at all. How come?‖
    ―You were smart,‖ I told him. ―You kept me weak. No food, barely
    any water. A panther can‘t shift if the body‘s depleted.‖
    ―That‘s true,‖ he said, nodding.
    ―‘Course. You made sure.‖
    He sighed deeply. ―I‘m so sorry for everything, honey.‖
    200

    Mary Calmes

    I nodded, pushed my hair back. ―So do you wanna tell me where
    Emilio is?‖
    ―I will, I swear I will.‖
    ―Okay. Is the portfolio with him?‖
    ―Yes.‖
    ―Why did you take that?‖ I asked, and I tried to keep the judgment
    out of my voice.
    ―I didn‘t take it. He thought I gave a shit about what he did, so he
    wanted me to look at it. I mean, all I wanted was his ass, and he
    thought…. He was so stupid, Jin. So stupid.‖
    I took a breath.
    He swallowed hard. ―I don‘t suppose you would consider moving
    any closer to me, would you?‖
    ―No.‖ I shook my head. ―My skin‘s crawling from even this close.‖
    ―Your skin‘s crawling?‖
    ―Yeah, Laurent. You really hurt me. Do you get that? You physically
    hurt me.‖
    ―I thought you liked it rough.‖
    And the absurdity of that statement caught me off guard. I laughed
    hard. ―Not that rough. Jesus.‖
    ―God.‖ He trembled, and I saw his jaw clench hard. ―You sound so
    fuckin‘ good.‖
    I just stared at him.
    ―You know, I thought about blinding you.‖
    What is the correct response to that? ―Huh.‖
    ―But your eyes are too beautiful to ever hurt.‖
    I stayed quiet.
    ―Your face too. I didn‘t want to break anything.‖
    ―Thanks.‖
    ―Was the cut bad?‖
    ―What cut?‖
    ―The long one I made on your side. Remember I said I was going to
    cut off all your skin?‖
    Trusted Bond

    201

    I concentrated on taking a breath because it felt like there was no air
    in the room. ―I remember that.‖
    ―It‘s harder to do than you think.‖
    ―I‘ve never actually contemplated it, but it makes sense.‖
    He stared at me, and I thought for the first time, There’s something
    missing there . Like his eyes were vacant. I couldn‘t see Laurent there
    anymore.
    ―You know why I didn‘t rape you?‖
    ―No. Why?‖
    ―‘Cause I knew you‘d hate me if I did.‖
    ―You‘re right.‖
    ―‘Cause I know you—even now, you don‘t hate me.‖
    Hate was such a strong word, and it took so much energy to hate. I
    couldn‘t remember hating anyone ever. If I didn‘t like someone, I went
    away,