Darkness(12)

He growled deep in his throat, proving he was not completely human. “Do you expect me to believe you are a crime lab technician when you just single-handedly took out five humans?”

She forced a smile and ignored her rapidly beating heart. “I’m really good at my job. I see a lot of bad stuff and don’t forget my love of action films.”

He hissed, fanning her with the scent of chocolate and mint. She hoped her breath smelled as good since their lips were mere inches apart. The urge to glance at his mouth was too strong to pass up but she regretted it as soon as she did. Her eyes widened in surprise and fear at the sight of two long, terrifying fangs.

“Holy shit.” She hadn’t meant to say it aloud.

His upper lip lifted a little to give her a better view of them. It had to be on purpose. His next words killed any doubt.

“I’m nothing like you.” His tone deepened. “I’ll show you mercy if you start giving me honest answers. Were those men sent here to die to fool us into trusting you?”

That jerked her out of the stupor caused by his scary fangs. She stared into his eyes. “What?”

“You heard me. Was that some type of show played out to gain our trust?”

“Are you on drugs?” She’d been excited to visit Homeland but it had turned into a nightmare. Her cover was pretty much blown unless she could talk her way out of the situation. To be accused of being in cahoots with the assholes intent on killing New Species flipped her bitch switch.

“I don’t know if you rushed out of that guard house or if you were already outside but that prick on the passenger side tried really hard to turn me into Swiss cheese. Those explosive devices could have gone off in my hands before I threw them into that van. I could have been blown to bits right along with those pricks. How dare you?” She glared at him. “You think you’re the only one having a bad day? I just wanted to come to Homeland to have some fun, meet New Species and teach some classes. That was my only agenda. Now I’m locked in a room with a paranoid idiot.”

The silence was absolute. She replayed what she’d just said to him and closed her eyes. Shit. Get hold of yourself, damn it. I’m falling apart faster than a recruit on day one of training.

He released the chair, gripped her rib cage and yanked her right out of her seat. Her feet didn’t touch as he walked across the room and dropped her ass-first on the table. He grabbed the chain linking her handcuffed wrists in front of her body and forcibly raised her arms by jerking them up. He sidestepped the table and she fell back as he hauled her along the surface, only stopping when she was stretched out flat atop it.

“Fight your way up,” he snarled, bending enough to get in her face again. “I dare you. Show me how skilled a crime lab technician is at hand-to-hand combat.”

She lay still. He hadn’t hurt her. She might have a bruise or two on her ass from the hard surface when he’d dropped her but that was the extent of it. The tabletop was cold. He kept a fisted hold on the chain to keep her arms restrained above her head. It was imperative that she defuse the edgy situation. She could use her legs by bending them up and kicking out at him, try to knock him back, but it would only prove that she wasn’t who she claimed.

“I’m sorry I called you an idiot. I was just really upset that you accused me of such a horrible thing. I risked my life out there. It wasn’t staged.”

He reached down and grabbed the front of his pants. Kat had forgotten that she only wore a pair of panties and a bra until that moment. Real fear shot through her that he’d sexually assault her. He was a big bastard, really strong, and probably weighed double what she did. She was tough but doubted she could fight him off for long. Every muscle went rigid in preparation to at least try. He didn’t expose his dick but instead tore the drawstring tie from the sweatpants.

She slightly relaxed until he began to secure her to something above her head. She twisted enough to look up and saw the bolted-in ring then peered at his face.

“What are you doing?”

“Making sure you stay exactly where I want you.”

She felt exposed, stretched out practically naked on her back. “I want to sit in the chair.”

“I want the truth.” He straightened and took a step back.

Kat tugged on the handcuffs but the thick cord held. She glanced at the sides of the table but couldn’t roll over without falling against the chairs on the left or into him on the right.

“Who are you really? Let’s stop playing this game. Your ID was good but my officers are better. Someone fucked up when they created your history. Our security check only tracked you back three years then you end. There’s nothing on you.”