“—protocols for wraiths,” Talia interrupted. “She’s not a wraith, so there is no need to keep her locked up.”
“You touched her?” Adam’s voice dropped a few octaves.
Annabella wondered what touching her had to do with it, but she wasn’t about to exacerbate the situation and ask.
“And what if she had been?” he pressed.
“She’s not.”
Adam closed his eyes, his lips silently forming the words, one, two, three, four…When he opened them again, the weight of his attention fell on Annabella. She took a step back.
“Apparently,” he said with effort, “you’re not a wraith.”
Talia grinned as if she’d won a battle and wrapped an arm around Adam’s waist. Annabella watched them in reluctant appreciation. They balanced each other. Dark, angry Adam and light, small Talia.
“Let’s get you comfortable for the night,” Talia said. “You have a big performance tomorrow and need your rest.”
Wait a minute…“I’m not staying here.” They’d dragged her by force and stuffed her in an airless cell, and now they thought she was going to sleep in this hellhole? Nuh-uh. “No way. If you’ll kindly return my flashlight, I’ll head home.”
“If a creature of Shadow is stalking you, this is the safest place for you to be.” Talia’s eyes were tense with concern.
Adam’s steely gray gaze softened as well, and he shrugged somewhat reluctantly. “And your involvement with Segue may have made you a target for wraiths.”
“Great. So you’re saying that because I accepted the help of your friend, I am actually in more danger.” Freaking fantastic. “I want to talk to Custo.”
“That’s not possible.” Adam’s voice was flat and uncompromising.
“Oh, I think it is,” Annabella said, so livid a quaver entered her voice. She might not have the nerve to yell at the pregnant woman, but Adam could take it. “I want to see Custo, and I want to see him now.”
“He’s not safe.”
“He treated me a whole lot better than you.”
Adam’s eyes glittered. “Custo is in lockdown and will remain there. Wraiths are permitted no visitors.”
Frustration had Annabella’s body warming. “You seem like a smart guy, and yet you’re not getting it.”
Adam’s eyes narrowed, but she didn’t care.
“He. Saved. Me.” She enunciated each word in case he was hard of hearing, too.
“Custo will remain in lockdown. You are welcome to stay here while we investigate your problem, but you are also free to leave.” Adam gestured toward the door.
Poor Talia. The man was impossible. Annabella turned on her heel to exit the cell. Free to leave? Well, that’s exactly what she was going to do.
“Stay,” Talia said, reaching out to catch her arm. “Just for the night.”
Annabella tried not to scowl at her. “I don’t want any of this. I want my old life back.”
“I don’t think there’s any going back,” Talia said with a slow shake of her head.
Obviously, Talia knew nothing about the power of avoidance. A lot of problems went away if Annabella ignored them and thought of something else, something better. It was a gift.
“One night,” Talia repeated.
Annabella took a deep breath and sighed, her rage and bluff evaporating into the air. She needed the sleep—she couldn’t avoid that. And if they could help her get rid of the wolf as Custo promised, then okay. She didn’t like it, but okay. “One night.”
Talia broke out of Adam’s hold and moved to the door. “You’ll be comfortable in the infirmary. There are a couple of private rooms, and it is always staffed, so help is close. I doubt any wolf, Shadow or otherwise, could bother you there.”
Adam gestured, ladies first.
Annabella exited the cell behind Talia to find herself in a long concrete corridor of several similar cells. Uniformed guards stood sentry at regular intervals, armor molding their upper bodies and helmets stretching down over their faces. Some kind of machine gun was held at their chests, ready to fire. Good thing she hadn’t tried to run. Where the hell was she?
“Don’t mind them,” Talia said over her shoulder as they walked the length of the passage. “They’re the good guys.”
Good guys, right. If those were the good guys, then the bad guys must be seriously scary.
The three of them came to an enormous retractable door made of riveted metal both wide and high enough to accommodate a vehicle. Adam tapped a coded panel at its side, and the door shuddered open, an earsplitting screech of metal on metal echoing through the space. Beyond, the corridor resembled a long, lit tunnel, like an industrial subway. Broken yellow lines on the floor dictated two-way traffic, though it was empty now. The concrete ceiling was high, yet the passage had a cavernous feeling, as if she were far underground. In spite of all the space, all the air, Annabella had to work to breathe against a mounting press of claustrophobia.