Chapter 97
(ARLO)
A muscle jerks in Miles’ cheek. “I mean, I trust that you’ll do what is expected of you. No. I won’t trust you for real, Arlo. Not after the shit you pulled on me p>
“I have a feeling that you don’t trust people whether or not they kidnap you,” I say and he looks at me warily without arguing. “What do you think our odds of getting out alive are p>
He grimaces. “Not great. We have to try though p>
I agree pointing to the pile of clothes on the cot. “What do you want me to do p>
He hesitates for a bit then says, “Grab a coat if you can find another. We need to create two fake dummies p>
I head over to the boxes and begin to dig through the clothing. I wonder how many men have been kept prisoners in this cellar. It is an unsettling thought. Will my clothes end up being dumped alongside the ones in the boxes if Dalton kills me in cold blood p>
I watch Miles from the corner of my eye. He moves around, stabbing the air with the broken fishing rod. The way he thrusts the pole with such a brutal force intimidates me. I shiver to imagine how agonizing it will be to have that pole shoved into your eye socket or the body. I will do whatever it takes to survive. What I can’t say I look forward to however is piercing somebody’s eyeballs with a fishing rod.
I stuff an old sweater into the cavity of the coat I found. “how will this work? We aren’t exactly sure of what time they’re coming tomorrow p>
Miles pauses his fighting and glances at me “We have to be ready before daylight. We can’t afford to hesitate. You should let me know right now if stabbing Dalton will be a problem for you p>
“How many times do I need to tell you that I’m ready to do what needs to be done? I’m more than ready to stab that fucker p>
“I think I’ll handle Dalton instead.” Miles studies me keenly. “you can take on the others p>
“Excuse me,” I scowl. “Why shouldn’t I have the pleasure of murdering Dalton p>
“You’re asking why? Because you are related.” He huffs. “That isn’t the issue. What matters he that he goes down fast. There can’t be any second chances with him p>
“I have told you time and again that I’m not the weakling you think I am.” I hiss, straightening.
“I’m not saying that you are weak.” Miles shrugs. “All I’m saying is that I’m an alpha and so is he. We are evenly matched p>
I chuff. I don’t take orders from you. And aren’t they all alphas? Your logic makes no sense p>
“It’s more important that Dalton dies fast. I’d rather take charge of that.” He turns his back on me as though to show me that the subject is closed.
“This isn’t settled.” I wrinkle my brow.
“Yes, it is.” He goes back to jabbing the piece of the fishing rod in the air.
I laugh gruffly as I inch closer to him. “No, it’s not. Like I told you, Miles, I don’t take orders from you. I want to be the one to kill Dalton p>
“Lord!” he huffs as he turns to face me. His eyes are dark and angry as he moves closer to me. “if you challenge me every step of the way then we are going to die. What happened to you doing whatever is asked of you? Or was that just a line so I’d take you along with me p>
Heat rushes to my cheek because I do remember saying that to him. “I just don’t think you should be the one to kill him when he betrayed me, his blood p>
He sighs. His rigid expression softens ever so slightly. He speaks, but his voice isn’t exactly gentle. It is less harsh. I understand that you want revenge, but I just want to get out alive p>
I want to get out alive too p>
He bites his jaw as he studies me closely. “Arlo, we have a better chance at succeeding if you’d just listen and do as I say. I’m not trying to push you around. You are clever. You managed to lure me and I didn’t see it coming. I don’t doubt your strength. But this is a different situation. What we need here is brute force. There will be no do-overs. Do you understand p>
My ego tells me to not listen to him, but the sensible part of my brain knows that he is right. Miles is bigger and tougher than me. There is no denying that. I’m no hot-house flower, but I’m sure not built for brutality. He is. Compared to mine, his fists are huge. Mi. not a soft person, but compared to him, I’m softer.
“Look kid,” as if reading my mind, he grimaces. “I’m built like a tank, and you like q thoroughbred. Let me do the dirty work, okay? I know that you can handle the other two alphas. I’m confident that you can murder your cousin without any difficulty. I can’t even blame you for that. It’s even great that you are intrigued about murdering a family. Take it as a compliment that I think you have a soul, okay?
I fight my pride while holding his gaze. “Okay p>
He nods to approve. “Good p>
I go back to stuffing clothes into the coat, making it look like a dummy. The coldness biting into my skin tempts me to pull on one of the sweaters. My teeth begin to rattle and I give in then I slip on a dark blue cashmere sweater from the pile. Miles notices, but he reserves his comments.
After a few minutes, we have two dummies constructed. “Should we put them on the bed?” I ask, eyeing him.
“We’ll put them later. I think that we should do that later, right now, we should try sleeping for now p>
“Alright. So how exactly should would that work? Does that mean we sleep in shifts p>
He rubs his unshaven jaw and the tips of his fingers graze against his skin. “No, I think it’s best if we both lie on the cot at the same time p>
I squint at him suspiciously. “Why is that?” I highly doubt that he is trying to seduce me at the moment. I wonder why he wants us to share the cot.
He purses his lips and then says, “That way I can feel when you get up p>
“You mean even in your sleep you don’t trust me p>
“Can you blame me?” he rasps. “it isn’t like you exactly concealed your plans of wanting me dead p>
I smile grudgingly. “True, but I need you now p>
“Still,” he murmurs, looking at me warily. “I’d feel better knowing where you are at all times p>
“You’re one suspicious fella p>
“That I am, besides, it is the only reason that I’m alive now.” He gestures to the cot. “Get up first. I want to be on the outside p>
“Why p>
“Because I do p>
“I’m guessing it’s not so you can protect me from Dalton,” I smirk
He snorts. ” I’m not interested in protecting you, Arlo p>
“I see, but don’t you need me right now p>
“Of course, I need you now. Once we are out of this cellar, everything changes. We have a truce. For now p>