We had come to the question of the hour. What were they going to do with me? All eyes looked to Chase. It was clear who made the decisions in this clan. I wanted to stick my finger down my throat and gag, but my hands were tied. Then I heard him say, “Travis, take her home.”
Everyone’s eyes bulged, including mine.
None of us, including Travis, actually had thought Chase would just set me loose, but that did not mean he sounded pleased. If anything, he was surly as hell, but the decision remained. They were just letting me go. No torture, though Chase had tried to use his compulsion on me, unsuccessfully. Only a half-ass interrogation. And the strangest reunion known to man.
I was flabbergasted.
Never had I thought that I was in any real danger, but my idea of danger was subjective. I figured nothing they could do to me would be worse than what I had already suffered. To say I was surprised and confused was an understatement. I concluded that it had to do with Travis and the girl I used to be.
Speaking of the devil, Travis grabbed me under the arm, and I tried to shake him off, which was difficult with my binds. “Get in the car,” he grumbled.
“I don’t need a ride,” I seethed. “I can get home on my own.”
He raised a brow. “Indulge me. I’m just not ready to let you out of my sight yet.”
I sunk in the seat, trying to ignore my racing pulse. My heart pounded five times in my ear, and I shoved my tied hands in my lap. He had to know that I was going to fight him tooth and nail. Didn’t he?
Peeking under my lashes at him, I wasn’t so sure. I knew the gleam that sparkled in his eyes—hope. “You aren’t harboring some twisted hope that things will be the same between us, are you?” I said, breaking the silence.
His hand tightened on the wheel. “Emma.” My name on his lips shot me with a bolt of tingles. “I haven’t seen you in over a year and hardly believe that you are real. I am shocked beyond belief. Let me just savor the moment, knowing that you are alive. I am sure we both have changed.”
Changed? I was pretty sure I was a whole new person, one he wasn’t going to be very fond of. I snorted. “Travis, open your eyes. I am a hunter. I. Hunt. You.” I held my hands in the air so he could see the ties at my wrists, which were now ringed with cherry circles from the binds.
His eyes zeroed in on the marks. “You’re hurt.”
“Duh. You tied me up.”
Regret filled his expression before he turned his attention back to the road. The last thing I needed was to be splattered all over the pavement if we crashed over his sudden guilt. He parked a block from my house, knowing he couldn’t very well drop me off at the front door, not with the chance that my dad might be home. I let Travis assume my dad was here.
He killed the engine, turning toward me in his seat. “Promise me you aren’t going to do anything stupid if I cut the binds.”
He looked at me with serious eyes. I had to glance away or drown, and he must have taken that as a yes. I waited for him to pull out a knife. All my weapons had been confiscated, which made me feel naked and more than a little annoyed. Travis, of course didn’t need a weapon. He snapped the twine with just his hands like it was nothing.
“We need to talk,” he said, his voice smooth and velvety.
I rubbed my sore wrists, trying to ease the ache on my hands and the pain that had started in my chest. “I’m all talked out for the day.” I sighed. My heart wasn’t going to be able to listen to his voice for long without melting.
I reached for the door handle, but he hit the lock button. Swinging around in my seat, I tucked my leg underneath me, getting comfortable. Apparently this wasn’t going to be a short talk. “So talk,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.
His fingers reached out to touch my hair, and I jerked out of his reach. I tried to pretend that I hadn’t glimpsed the pain that punctured his eyes. He was quick to bank it under a steeling look of indifference, but I knew it was all an act.
I knew Travis.
“No touching,” I said, shaking my finger.
His mouth thinned, and he draped his arm on the back of my seat. “Fine. For now.” It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him never, but he cut me off before I had the chance. “What happened that night? It has been killing me not knowing what happened to you. I thought I had lost you forever.”
He was bringing back memories I would rather forget. And all these crazy feelings that were pinging inside me were making this very difficult. “You don’t want to know.”
“That’s just it. I do. I can’t let it go.”
I closed my eyes, cutting off the glowing gold that sprang into his eyes. “Travis, it isn’t going to change anything. Not between us.”
“Maybe not. But I should have been there to protect you. Save you. Then we could have been togeth—”
“Stop. Don’t even say it.” My heart clenched. “There was nothing you could have done. Not then and not now. It just is, Travis.” Every time I said his name it broke a piece of me inside.