“And now you’re asking about him. ” He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest and staring back at her with a glint of anger.
“I was merely curious. The two of you are rarely seen apart now. ”
“You don’t want to know about Cabal, Scheme,” he half-snarled. “His hatred for your father is deeper than most Breeds’. He would break your neck before I could stop him. ”
“What difference, him or another?” She rose from the table, lifted her plate and cup and carried them to the sink. “Forget I asked. ”
“Are you ready tell me why your father wanted you dead?”
She had known that question would return.
“I assume he believes I’m betraying him. It’s normally the only reason he goes to such extremes. ”
She slipped the knife she had managed to slide her fingers over into the hand she had placed behind her back as they talked.
“He didn’t entrust me with as much information as the Breeds assume he did. I was a very small cog in the whole organization. But I know enough to make him uncomfortable with a few things that have happened lately. ”
“Such as?”
She shrugged, forcing a mocking smile to her lips. “Various plans he had made with the pure blood societies, a few reports he gets on missions going out from Sanctuary. Nothing too incriminating, but as I said, uncomfortable. ”
And he could tell she was lying. She could see it in his eyes.
“This isn’t helping you. ” His golden eyes were narrowed on her and filled with suspicion as he rose to his feet.
Scheme tucked the knife into the band of her pants before pushing her hands into the pockets. He barely glanced at the movement as he rose from his chair and collected his own dishes before moving to the sink.
Dammit, she needed him to sit back down.
“I believe I told you I didn’t need your help. ” But she did. She needed his help, his heat, his honest passion for her. And it was destroying her.
She retrieved the coffee she’d set on the counter and moved back to the table. Seconds later he did the same.
She had to escape and contact Jonas as soon as possible. She had to get away from Tanner before he stole her soul. She was desperate, suddenly more terrified of herself and her own emotions than she was of the risk she was preparing to take.
She needed that electronic remote she knew Tanner carried. It had to be the way out of there. She had checked every corner, every crack and crevice. There had to be a hidden doorway that remote worked.
He continued to stare back at her, the brilliancy of the green-flecked gold eyes almost mesmerizing. The Bengal was perhaps the most dangerous of the Breeds created, which was one of the reasons so few were designed. They were naturally, deceptively lazy, appearing to heel easily. The tiger genetics had taken decades to manipulate, and the scientists had learned early that the animal, as well as the Breed, wasn’t always dependable. The moment you thought you had tamed one, he struck. That made them a threat.
“Do you know why I was appointed head of the Public Relations Department of Sanctuary?” he asked then.
She rolled her eyes. “You were appointed as head of Public Relations because you have the looks of a fallen angel and the social graces to match. You’re considered the epitome of what the Breeds truly are: playful, caring and as threatening as a lap cat purring for attention. ”
His lips curled into an amused smile as he propped his arms on the table and leaned forward once again.
“That’s the reason we leaked to the public,” he said softly. “I took the job because of those things, as well as the fact that my sense of smell is so highly developed that I can walk into the room and give the crowd what they need to hear. What they need to reassure themselves. I can smell more than a lie, Scheme. I can smell the slightest deception. I know you’re still lying to me. ”
She stared back at him silently, cursing her own weakness. She wasn’t lying, exactly. She just wasn’t being totally honest.
“Do you think I’m really going to give you enough to let you hang me?” And that was total honesty.
He stared back at her intently, so intently that Scheme wondered if he could see into her soul.
“I wouldn’t hang you. Trust me, Scheme. Let me help you,” he told her, and her heart believed. Her mind screamed out in warning. She had heard those words before, from Chaz. He had sworn he would protect her. Sworn he loved her. Sworn she was his life, his love and all things in between, and God help her but he had nearly destroyed everything she was instead.
She had to get out of there and get hold of Jonas. It was imperative, because her need to trust Tanner was overruling her need for caution. She rose to her feet, doing nothing to hide her nervousness, hoping, praying that the scent of her arousal and her nerves would overwhelm the scent of the knife at her back.
“You’re very confident of yourself. ” Her voice shook as she moved around the table.