My body aches as I pull myself off him, adjusting his jacket over my body and trying to bask in its warmth, but it’s got nothing on a good bed and his body wrapped around mine. I could have slept in the hard bed with the blankets from hell, but something told me that sleeping against Cruz’s shoulder with a bar pressed against my head was my best option.
Cruz begins to stir, and I keep extra still, wanting him to get all the sleep he possibly can. I kept him up late last night, much later than necessary as I feared closing my eyes. I demanded story after story until neither of us could force our eyes open a second longer.
A throat clears from above us and my head jerks up, my eyes widening in surprise. Cruz wakes, and before I can even make out the face of the man standing before us, we’re both on our feet, ready for a threat.
We find Tobias King standing before us, and we both sag in relief, but that doesn’t mean we’re out of trouble yet—he looks pissed. His eyes—that are just like his son’s—rake over Cruz and the guilty expression that crosses Cruz’s perfect face almost has me ready to lash out at Tobias. How dare he make Cruz feel like shit for spending the night with me. He was my savior last night and he should be rewarded. In fact, the second I get out of here, I’ll be sure to do just that.
“Out,” Tobias demands, his cold, hard stare falling against Cruz and silently suggesting that if he doesn’t make it quick, he’ll regret it.
Cruz glances back at me and the conflict in his eyes is nearly enough to bring me to my knees. He wants to stay. He wants to be the person by my side, holding my hand and telling me that it’s all going to be okay. But he can’t go against a direct order from a superior—a head of Dynasty for that matter.
“Just go,” I tell him, wishing desperately that I could drop to my knees and beg him to stay. “I’ll be fine.”
“You sure?” he insists, not moving an inch until I give him an encouraging smile, silently telling him that I’m perfectly fine despite the turmoil and fear I feel inside. Reluctance spreads over his face, but without another word, he turns back to Tobias and steps up in front of him. “If anything happens to her in there …”
“She’ll be safe,” Tobias demands, his voice low as his eyes narrow on his son’s best friend, clearly not enjoying his audacity to speak out of line, and probably thinking up a million ways that he could be punished for it.
Cruz just grunts and steps around Tobias before walking back down the hallway and glancing over his shoulder, keeping his blank stare on me, and taking my heart right along with him.
He’s gone within seconds, and as soon as I can, I slice my gaze to Tobias. I know I’m supposed to trust him, he’s one of the good ones, but in a position like this and a world that is full of corruption, I don’t know who the hell I can trust. Carver is proof of that.
Tobias steps closer to the cell door and slips a key into the lock. My whole body shivers at the sound of the door sliding open as I’m thrown back in time to a different cell, standing half-naked before strange men, but I don’t let it show as I keep my hard stare on Tobias. Even if he claims to be one of the good ones, he still left me down here, didn’t come to offer me dinner, a warm bed, or company.
This man was supposed to be my father’s closest friend, and this is the way he treats his daughter. I’m not going to lie, I’m not impressed. If all the guys’ parents are like this, it’s no wonder they’re so much happier when they’re all gone.
Tobias’ gaze sweeps down my body, taking in my lack of clothing and pressing his lips into an unapproving tight line as he scans over the front of my panties. “Here, put these on,” he says, thrusting a pair of distressed jeans and a black tank my way. “These belong to Hunter’s younger cousin, but they should fit you just fine.”
My brows shoot up as I stare at the clothes. “He has a cousin who lives around here?”
“Plenty,” Tobias says as though it’s not even close to being a big deal. How the hell didn’t I know this? “He has two younger siblings at home. Caitlin and Cody, they just turned six at the beginning of the year.”
My mind reels as I take the clothes. Tobias discreetly turns around to offer me some privacy, but it’s not as though he hasn’t already seen what’s on offer. “Do any of the other guys have any siblings that I need to know about?”