Page 203 of Problematic

We moved fast. My shoes slapped across marble, then tile, then a service corridor that smelled like metal polish and old blood. By the time we reached the elevator, my heart had tried to climb out of my mouth twice.

Tarek swiped his badge. The elevator opened. We stepped inside right as two guards rounded the hall.

“Hey,” one called.

The doors started to close, and I stared at the metal as the guards disappeared into tiny slits. Tarek stared at me as the elevator dropped. My knees nearly gave. I pressed my hands together, fumbling with my fingers. “Is he hurt?”

Tarek glanced at me. His face struggled between cruelty, lust, pity, and the fog my magic had poured into his skull. “Some.” He nodded.

The elevator sank. My tail tightened around my thigh, almost painfully. Tarek’s gaze dipped at the shift under my dress. I touched his cheek, because, apparently, that worked on men now, and I had decided to worry about ethics tomorrow. His eyes lifted back to mine like I had hooked him behind the ribs.

“You’re being kind,” I whispered.

“I am?”

“No one is kind to me here.”

His throat bobbed. “I can be.”

“That would help.” I let my thumb trace the edge of his jaw. “I’m scared.”

He nodded too fast. “I know.”

“I need you to keep me safe.” Gods, I hoped I wasn’t melting his brain right now. Tarek seemed . . . nice.

His aura melted against mine, all heat and obedience, the edges of his thoughts going soft. “I will.”

The elevator stopped. The doors opened on dark, damp concrete. He walked me down the hall. The first two guards saw him and relaxed. Their mistake.

“Prisoner’s mate,” Tarek said. “Scarn wants her brought through.”

One guard snorted. “For what?”

I let my chin tremble. The other guard stared at my mouth too long. I stepped half behind Tarek, letting the pathetic act wrap around me again. “I only need a minute.”

The snorting guard smirked. “A minute with him? Waste of a trip. He’s chained half to hell.”

The bond snapped with rage. Lux’s rage answered mine from somewhere ahead. My vision flashed pink. I lowered my eyes before they saw.

The second guard licked his lips. “Let her through. Scarn will enjoy it.”

“Scarn didn’t clear this,” the first guard said.

Tarek’s voice went flat. “He did.”

“No, he didn’t.”

The hallway tightened. I lifted my head. The snorting guard met my eyes as I touched his arm. I let the power out. Not all of it. I had no idea what all of it would do. It would probably, definitely, melt his brain or something, but I didn’t really want to test that theory.

Heat slipped across the space between us. His aura flared in answer, ugly orange and hungry red, swelling toward mine before folding under it. His mouth parted. His shoulders dropped. The gun in his hands lowered an inch.

His pupils swallowed the color of his eyes. The second guard’s hand twitched toward his comm. I crossed to him and placed my palm flat over his chest, right above the southern sigil stitched into his jacket. His breath caught. Then he pressed the button on his radio. “Unauthorized movement on lower holding. Repeat, unauthorized movement. Confirm location of Olivia Heart.”

My stomach fell through the floor. The guard’s eyes sharpened.

Oh no.

Oh no, no, no.