Golden Binds

“I’ll be back in a few minutes. Stay seated, okay? I don’t want you getting up and then fainting and hitting your head.”

“Such a concerned jailor.”

He smiled. “Well, you being unconscious would kind of ruin the plans I have for you.” He moved to the door then turned back. “By the way, as much as I like my nickname, I figure that if we’re going to become lovers you should know that my real is Garret.”

He disappeared out the door before she could tell him that there was no way they were going to become lovers. Oh, fuck, who was she trying to kid? Every time he touched her, she lost her mind. She sighed and leaned her head back against the wall. She frowned as she heard scratching noises from the other side.

What was that? A rat?

She strained, listening. It didn’t surprise her this place had rats. What did surprise her was that she could hear them through the thick stone. She turned and knocked on the brick. Her eyes widened.

It sounded hollow. Holy shit.

The scratching seemed to grow more frantic as she tapped her way along the wall. A few feet along it went from hollow to thick. Okay, think Gigi. She didn’t have a lot of time before Garret came back. She might only have one shot at this. She figured they had to have a camera on her, but she just hoped she wasn’t monitored all the time. She started pressing her hand against the bricks.

“Come on, come on,” she muttered to herself. Sooner than she’d thought possible, the wall moved, and she stumbled forward, nearly losing her balance.

She felt like crying. A tunnel. There was a tunnel. The door slid shut behind her, shrouding her in darkness. She took in a breath. For a moment panic threatened to derail her. What if this tunnel led nowhere? How would she find her way out?

She whimpered. She still couldn’t see a thing. She wasn’t afraid of the dark . . . not exactly. But she couldn’t even see her hand in front of her. She had no idea what lay ahead. And she was all on her own. Maybe she would have been better off staying where she was.

Something ran over her foot, and she cried out. There was a squeaking noise from below.

Wait. That noise sounded familiar.

“Roger?” she whispered.

Squeak.

“Oh. Thank God.” She crouched and held out her hand, knowing he could see much better than she in the dark. He pressed his body against her, and she ran her hand over his back.

“Well, how did you find me, you clever rat?”

He made a happy noise. Most people thought rats were dirty and ugly, but Roger had been with her for years. He was her best friend. And, yeah, she was aware of how pathetic that sounded.

“Think you can lead me out of here?” she asked in a hushed whisper.

Her eyes were adjusting a little. But she still couldn’t make out much.

Roger squeaked, and she heard him scuffling along the floor.

“All right. Here goes nothing.”

* * *

Sawyer couldn’t believe his eyes. He rubbed them then stared down at the screen.

Nope. Still not there.

He picked up his phone and dialed Joseph as he raced out of the security room and down the stairs.

“Yeah?” his brother answered.

“She’s gone!” he roared. He brushed past Garret, who was moving down the stairs, a glass of juice in his hands.

“Hey, watch where you’re going!” Garret warned him.

“She’s gone! She’s fucking gone!” Anger and shock boiled inside him. The beast strained, so close to the surface that he had to check he wasn’t changing. He looked at his hands. No sign of fur.