I was deliberately going for his arrogance. There was no doubt in my mind that whatever I discovered, it wouldn’t change my feelings toward Bones. Gregor didn’t know that, of course. With my open challenge, he’d have to be insecure not to agree, and he didn’t strike me as insecure.
“I wouldn’t turn you out without protection, if it came to that. I would see you safely escorted,” was his careful, measured reply. “Yes, I am confident enough to gamble. Your terms are acceptable.”
I wasn’t going to let him mince words. “Swear it on your life, Gregor, because that’s what I’ll take if you’re lying.”
“You’re threatening me?” He sounded amused. “Fine. I swear it on my life.”
I released a deep sigh. I didn’t really trust Gregor, but I had to take the chance. If I didn’t, and everyone here died, I’d never forgive myself. Lord, please let Gregor be telling the truth, and please, please, let Bones understand.
“All right. Get ready to do your stuff, because here I come.”
I snapped the cell phone shut and picked up the bottle of sleeping pills Bones had stored in case I needed to keep Gregor out. What he hadn’t guessed was that I might use them to let Gregor in.
Don had been very specific about the dosage. Four pills all at once. If I took less, they’d make me fall into normal sleep. I unscrewed the cap and popped two in my mouth, washing them down with a bottle of water. Then I grabbed a pen that had been stacked near my books. The pills metabolized quickly; I was already starting to feel dizzy. There wasn’t any paper in this cell, so I ripped out a page from one of the books and scribbled on the small blank space.
I’m coming back…
The words blurred before I was even done writing them. With my last effort, I stabbed them into place with the pen. Then my vision blackened completely.
I was running, except for once, I wasn’t being chased.
“Come closer, Catherine.”
I followed his voice and saw him ahead. Gregor was smiling a cool, expectant grin. It made me slow down the last few paces.
“Remember our deal.” I warned, feeling his power reach out with its invisible tentacles.
Gregor’s gaze glinted. “Come to me.”
For a second, I hesitated. I glanced behind my shoulder, hoping Bones would somehow appear. He didn’t, of course. He was battling for his life and the lives of those around him. Well, at least now, I could help.
I crossed the space and let Gregor enfold me in his arms. Something that might have been his lips brushed my neck, but aside from that…
“Nothing’s happening.”
I said it into his chest, him being so damn tall. That blurry dreamlike feeling didn’t cease even though the air around us seemed to electrify.
“I don’t understand,” he muttered.
“Of all the luck, now you’re having performance issues?” I hissed, growing agitated over the thought of what was happening to Bones. “Come on, Gregor. Get your Dreamsnatcher on.”
He held me tighter. “It must be you,” he whispered. “You’re blocking me.”
Shit. Dropping my defenses was about the hardest thing for me to do, especially with a stranger I didn’t trust.
“I’m trying not to.”
His eyes blazed. “Your delay could be costly.”
Damn him, he was right. I had to get into this. Fast.
I wound my arms around his neck and pulled his head down. When his mouth slanted over mine, I kissed him, slightly surprised that it felt familiar. With the distraction of him kissing me with a rough hungriness, I felt my shields waver and crack. Let go, Cat. Just ease up and relax…
A roaring pain swamped over me, like I was being pulled inside out. Amidst the white noise and confusion, I would have screamed, but I didn’t have a throat, a voice, or a body. I felt the indescribable terror of being stripped from my own skin and flung into nothingness. It was the worst feeling of falling, only at sonic speed.
When it culminated, I wasn’t reunited with my body; I was splattered back into it. The sensation of being blood, flesh, and bone again had me transfixed by the sound of my own heartbeat, a numbing cadence that was the sweetest thing I’d heard.
“Catherine.”
Only then did the rest of my senses kick into gear. Guess a molecular transport will knock the ever-living shit out of anyone unlucky enough to experience it. It occurred to me that I wasn’t standing anymore, though I was still wrapped up in Gregor’s arms. In slow motion, my mind began to take inventory. Two arms, two legs, check. Wiggle fingers and toes, check. Ribs still hurt, okay. Heart pounding like a jackhammer, right. But something was missing.