run.
Cain calmly smashed his fist into the man’s face before he unlocked and entered the cell.
83
Zannie Adams
Riana blinked in surprise. “That was unnecessarily violent. He wasn’t doing anything unusual.”
Cain’s lip curled up in a snarl but he didn’t say anything as he walked over to the sink to clean up.
His softer, more tender mood from this morning had clearly vanished completely.
He was back to being stoic and grumpy.
Riana wasn’t surprised—Cain would never be a soft man—but she was a little disappointed. At times, she thought he was starting to open up to her more. That he was starting to think of her as a real companion, as a partner.
But she was continually reminded that he kept far more from her than he shared.
And didn’t treat her like a lover or even a friend—at least not all of the time.
He was a very confusing man. And she wondered if he’d be so tight-lipped in different circumstances.
She was pretty sure he liked her, cared for her at least to a certain extent. After that day a month ago when she’d almost been raped, she’d come to understand that much.
He needed her. If not to survive, then at least to soften the stark, bleak lines of his life here.
But she wanted him to like her for real, to need her simply for who she was.
Not just because she was the only one he had.
When he’d washed up, he went back to his device, and she lay on the bed as she always did and watched.
He worked for about an hour, until Riana started getting drowsy. She was about to drift off to sleep when she noticed something odd about Cain’s manner.
He’d sat back on his heels and was just staring at the crude, ungainly machine.
Sometimes he did that when he was trying to decide what kind of part he needed or when he was trying to work through how to design a certain section of it.
84
Hold
But he never sat back like this for so long. And he never had this particular expression on his face. He didn’t look thoughtful or frustrated or impatient.
He looked watchful again—like he had earlier on his run. He looked quiet and almost wary.
Suddenly, Riana wondered if he was done.
She turned her gaze to the device but it didn’t look significantly different from how it had before. He’d added a lot of new parts over the last two months, but they had all been small and hadn’t made a significant difference in the appearance.
If it was done, though, why didn’t he turn it on and test it out?
Maybe it couldn’t perform its function in this cell. Maybe he didn’t want any other prisoners to see what he’d made.
Or maybe he didn’t want her to know he was done.
As if in response to that thought, Cain glanced back at where she was sprawled out.
She gave him a groggy smile and half closed her eyes. This seemed to reassure him because he turned back to stare at his machine.
Her suspicions roused even further at this sign that he wanted to keep her unaware of whatever was going on here, Riana’s gut churned and her heart started to hammer.
He hadn’t responded a month ago when she’d begged him not to leave her when he managed to escape. At the time, she hadn’t been surprised or particularly worried. She hadn’t really expected an answer to her plea.
But now she started to wonder if that should have been a warning.
He wouldn’t leave her out of viciousness or cruelty. But maybe his escape plan would only work for one.
Maybe that was why he’d never let himself get truly close to her.
Because he’d always known he was going to have to leave her behind.
Cain stared at the machine for a long time while Riana pretended to doze.
85
Zannie Adams
But she was brutally on edge and, even though her eyes were closed, she knew when he stood up.
She could sense him looking at her for a several seconds and she wondered if he knew she wasn’t asleep. He didn’t say anything, though. And soon she heard him moving in the cell. She heard a scraping sound and knew exactly what it
Cain calmly smashed his fist into the man’s face before he unlocked and entered the cell.
83
Zannie Adams
Riana blinked in surprise. “That was unnecessarily violent. He wasn’t doing anything unusual.”
Cain’s lip curled up in a snarl but he didn’t say anything as he walked over to the sink to clean up.
His softer, more tender mood from this morning had clearly vanished completely.
He was back to being stoic and grumpy.
Riana wasn’t surprised—Cain would never be a soft man—but she was a little disappointed. At times, she thought he was starting to open up to her more. That he was starting to think of her as a real companion, as a partner.
But she was continually reminded that he kept far more from her than he shared.
And didn’t treat her like a lover or even a friend—at least not all of the time.
He was a very confusing man. And she wondered if he’d be so tight-lipped in different circumstances.
She was pretty sure he liked her, cared for her at least to a certain extent. After that day a month ago when she’d almost been raped, she’d come to understand that much.
He needed her. If not to survive, then at least to soften the stark, bleak lines of his life here.
But she wanted him to like her for real, to need her simply for who she was.
Not just because she was the only one he had.
When he’d washed up, he went back to his device, and she lay on the bed as she always did and watched.
He worked for about an hour, until Riana started getting drowsy. She was about to drift off to sleep when she noticed something odd about Cain’s manner.
He’d sat back on his heels and was just staring at the crude, ungainly machine.
Sometimes he did that when he was trying to decide what kind of part he needed or when he was trying to work through how to design a certain section of it.
84
Hold
But he never sat back like this for so long. And he never had this particular expression on his face. He didn’t look thoughtful or frustrated or impatient.
He looked watchful again—like he had earlier on his run. He looked quiet and almost wary.
Suddenly, Riana wondered if he was done.
She turned her gaze to the device but it didn’t look significantly different from how it had before. He’d added a lot of new parts over the last two months, but they had all been small and hadn’t made a significant difference in the appearance.
If it was done, though, why didn’t he turn it on and test it out?
Maybe it couldn’t perform its function in this cell. Maybe he didn’t want any other prisoners to see what he’d made.
Or maybe he didn’t want her to know he was done.
As if in response to that thought, Cain glanced back at where she was sprawled out.
She gave him a groggy smile and half closed her eyes. This seemed to reassure him because he turned back to stare at his machine.
Her suspicions roused even further at this sign that he wanted to keep her unaware of whatever was going on here, Riana’s gut churned and her heart started to hammer.
He hadn’t responded a month ago when she’d begged him not to leave her when he managed to escape. At the time, she hadn’t been surprised or particularly worried. She hadn’t really expected an answer to her plea.
But now she started to wonder if that should have been a warning.
He wouldn’t leave her out of viciousness or cruelty. But maybe his escape plan would only work for one.
Maybe that was why he’d never let himself get truly close to her.
Because he’d always known he was going to have to leave her behind.
Cain stared at the machine for a long time while Riana pretended to doze.
85
Zannie Adams
But she was brutally on edge and, even though her eyes were closed, she knew when he stood up.
She could sense him looking at her for a several seconds and she wondered if he knew she wasn’t asleep. He didn’t say anything, though. And soon she heard him moving in the cell. She heard a scraping sound and knew exactly what it
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