Next she put on the pants, and other than being a bit short in the length, they fit her fine. Grace had lost a lot of weight. She was afraid to know how much.
She closed her eyes and inhaled. She could smellhis b th Shea. Could feel her wrapped around her just like her clothing was. If Rio worked for the organization that was currently protecting Shea, then Grace should be able to talk to her, right?
Then she could put at least one worry to rest. Whether she should be wary of Rio and his team or whether they were really the good guys here.
For the time being, if they weren’t the good guys, she was at least being treated far better than she’d been with the last people who’d held her captive. So far…
She poked around in the bathroom until she found deodorant, a toothbrush and a brush for her hair. It was bedraggled from the night before when she’d washed it and gone straight to bed.
She settled on the bed and set to work on detangling the mass of hair. Cross-legged on the mattress, she didn’t overlook the normalcy of doing something so mundane as brushing her hair. Any other time she would have overlooked it, been in a hurry, not dwelled on something so everyday. Now, she was grateful for it.
Closing her eyes, she stroked the brush through the strands and tried to center her scattered emotions. She thought of Shea, focused intensely on the familiar path, but each time she reached for it, blackness swelled in her mind. Her despair heightened with each failed attempt to reconnect to her sister.
I’m so sorry, Shea. This is my fault. I shut you out. But I need you now.
Her hand slowed in its downward progression through her hair, and tears were hot at the edges of her eyes. She inhaled sharply through her nose and blinked them back. After several steadying breaths, she lifted her head, only to find Rio standing in the doorway, his gaze trained on her.
“Feeling better?” he asked.
She nodded slowly and retraced the same path with the brush, enjoying the soothing rhythm against her scalp.
“You seem upset.”
She sighed, put the brush down and flipped her hair back over her shoulder. She let her hands rest on her crossed ankles and threaded her fingers nervously.
“I need to talk to Shea. I can’t connect mentally with her, so I need for you to call her. You said she’s with people you work with, right? I want to talk to her.”
Rio leaned against the doorframe, cocked his head to the side and studied her a long moment. Then he smiled slightly, his eyes gleaming with amusement. That smile made her uncomfortable. Like he had secret knowledge she wasn’t aware of. She fidgeted under his scrutiny but refused to back down.
“You don’t trust me, do you?”
It was on the tip of her tongue to hurriedly deny any such thing, but she wasn’t going to lie. Instead she leveled a stare at him. “I haven’t made up my mind yet. The jury’s still out. But being able to speak to my sister would go a long way in allaying my concerns.”
The crooked grin got bigger. “Some might say you’re in no position to be bargaining.”
Her cheeks grew warm but she wouldn’t allow herself to lose this silent war of wills with the stare-down. She wouldn’t beg. She’d begged until she was hoarse. Had begged for mercy. For freedom. Her pleas had fallen on deaf ears. Never would she do it again.
“I need to speak to her,” she said in a controlled voice. “If I’m not a prisoner, surely I rate this simple consideration.”
Rio arched a brow. “Prisoner? Honey, I carried you all over the Rocky Mountains on my back. If you were a prisoner, I’d have made you walk it your damn self.”
“I did walk!” she said indignantsaist mely. “I made it by myself. Without your help. Maybe not at first, but I made it in the end.”
Rio’s face softened but his eyes were still bright with amusement. “That you did, Grace.” He ambled forward then perched on the corner of the bed, turning so he could look at her. “I can’t guarantee that I can get you Shea. I can try. You have to understand that she is in as much danger as you are.”
Grace frowned as worry slid down her spine. “I have to talk to her, Rio. She won’t understand why I haven’t reached out to her. She’s probably frantic. I need to know she’s okay but I also need to let her know I’m okay.”
Rio glanced at her, his expression mild but his eyes sharp. He seemed to be contemplating the matter, and she hadn’t realized how close she was to doing what she’d sworn she wouldn’t. She bit her lips to call back the plea. Damned if she’d beg for anything ever again.
“I can try,” he finally said. “I’m not at all certain where Shea is. But I can place a call to Sam to see what I can do. There are conditions, however.”
She raised an eyebrow. “What conditions?”
“I have to have your agreement to my conditions before I’ll consider placing the call.”
Frustration simmered and it took everything she had not to lash out and instead remain calm and centered as she stared back at him.
“What conditions?” she said from behind clenched teeth.
He shook his head. “I’m holding all the cards here, Grace. I’m not trying to be an ass**le, but it’s imperative if I’m going to keep you safe that you agree to my conditions regardless of whether you find them unreasonable or not.”
She honest to God wanted to hit him. Her fingers curled into a tight fist, and she had to clamp her other hand around it to keep from flying into a rage. She was tired of feeling helpless. Tired of being subjected to the whims and subjugation of others.