Born in Chains (Men in Chains) by Caris Roane Page A

some of my stuff brought here from India?”
    He stood up and pulled his cell out of his pocket. He made a phone call then glanced at Lily. “From the campsite?”
    She nodded. “Everything.” Then, “Please.”
    After he gave his instructions, he said, “You’ll have your things in about half an hour. In the meantime—”
    “Food,” she said. “I can see how this is going to unfold for us and I’m starved. How about you? Oh, wait, you already had your meal.” Her sarcasm dripped.
    He returned her glare but he didn’t rise to the bait. He searched her gaze because he couldn’t believe she’d just been in a shoot-out but seemed so calm.
    He touched the chain at his neck and frowned at her. What he sensed was something like a profound determination to see her mission through, no matter what. For this split second, despite his general dislike of humans, he almost respected her.
    Maybe he didn’t understand her motivations, maybe she had some serious debts to pay, he didn’t know, but she’d shown cool under pressure, she’d gotten them both out of an impossible situation alive, and instead of falling apart, she pressed on, asking only for food.
    He led the way to the kitchen. Some of his staff had been by while they’d taken their jaunt to La Nuit. He had cheese, fruit, and bread in the fridge, so he pulled them out and set them on the counter.
    Lily took up a bar stool and started to eat.
    She didn’t say anything, she didn’t look at him, she just scowled at something unseen and chomped on slices of apple.
    *   *   *
    Lily ate in silence. She felt no particular need to make small talk with a vampire. Anyway, she doubted Adrien would want to talk and she sure as hell didn’t feel like it.
    She’d almost died tonight but felt strangely disconnected from that fact except for one thing, of course: her son.
    The moment those two vampires had come into the room, guns in hand, she knew exactly what she meant to do and had positioned her hand on Adrien’s Glock, all the while feigning a full-blown freak-out.
    She’d been right that her squeals and sobs would distract the men, including Adrien, long enough to fire a few shots. Adrien turning her into the wall had been the perfect maneuver since she could fire through his coat without alerting either of the assailants.
    She glanced at him now. He cut a slab of cheese, laid it on a slice of French bread, and shoved the whole thing in his mouth. She was still surprised to see a vampire eating regular food. His gaze skated past her, into the living room. He appeared to be thinking hard, maybe about their next move.
    “Wait a minute, why did you turn your back to the room?”
    He glanced at her, brows lifted. “To shield you. It was an instinctive response, but useless. Given the nature of the blood-chains, if I’d died, you would have as well.”
    “So you didn’t turn because I had your gun?”
    He shook his head. “I didn’t know you’d taken it.”
    “Huh.” She bit off another piece of apple and popped it in her mouth.
    Josh liked apples and hated pears, couldn’t stand the grainy feel of them in his mouth. Two years had passed. What had he eaten in that time? What had he been doing? Had he been cared for well enough? Kiernan had said that Josh had a caregiver, a human woman, so apparently he’d wanted Josh in one piece, but why? Of all the children in their neighborhood who had been killed that night, why had her son been spared, and provided with a caregiver?
    This was the big question she’d been unable to answer. She was almost positive that taking Josh hadn’t been random. She felt the purposefulness of it in every cell of her body.
    Adrien reached forward and grabbed her wrist. “What are you thinking about? Right now? You feel sad to me.”
    She released a heavy sigh and pulled her arm away from him. “That my son liked apples.”
    “I’m sorry that your family died.”
    She glanced up at him, chewing slowly. “It doesn’t