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He flinched again, but didn’t release her Didn’t even look at her

"You traitor! You bastard! Let go of me!"

She’d lifted her knee for another backward kick when he obeyed, releasing her She collapsed forith a yelp

Scarlet scurried away, clenching her jaw Her knees throbbed and she had to use the wall to pull herself back to standing She swung around to face him Her sto and disgust and fury

"What?" she yelled "What do you want?"

Wolf scrubbed the spit from his chin with his wrist "I had to see you"

"Why? So you could gloat over what a fool you made me out to be? How easy it was to convince h her "I can’t believe I let you touchher hands down her arms to dispel the memory "Go away! Just leave ain for a long ti away, Scarlet crossed her ar

"I lied to you about a lot of things," he finally said

She snorted

"But I ht spots on the wall

"I never wanted to lie to you, or frighten you, or … and I tried, in the train…"

"Don’t you dare" She faced hi out and ain "Don’t you even think about bringing that up, or trying to justify what you did to randmother!"

"Scarlet--" He took a step toward her but she threw her hands up and backed away until her calves collided with the mattress

"Don’t come near me I don’t want to see you I don’t want to listen to you I would rather die than ever be touched by you again"

She saw a gulp straining against his throat Hurt flashed across his face but it only served to lance toward the door and Scarlet followed the look, noting that her usual guard aiting outside, watching them as if they were a popular drama on the netscreens Her stomach twisted

"I’ back to her His voice had lost the edge of regret and was all business and cruelty again "Because I didn’t cohtened "I don’t care what you--"

He was at her in a single stride, his hands buried in her hair, pressing her against the wall His ry scream She tried to shove hiainst the iron bars on the door

Her eyes ide as she felt his tongue and in a flash of rebellion she thought to bite hi s pressed into her rip softened, cradling her head His scars were a blur in her vision She couldn’t find her breath

And then he murmured, so quiet she could barely catch the words even as they stea," he said "The world won’t be safe tonight"

Wolf focused on his own fingers as they took a red curl between thenation returning, Scarlet swiped him away and darted beneath his arm She fled to the corner of the roo her ainst the wall for balance

She waited, her entire body aflame, until Wolf slinked out of the roouard snickered "I suppose we all have our thing," he said, and then their footsteps padded down the corridor

Slun object into her palm

A small ID chip winked up at her

BOOK

Four

"The better to eat you with,to be fine, you know"