His face was so swollen he could barely get the words out. Honestly, he thought, these two were seriously messed up.


    Unreal. The two of them together? Honestly, it was like fate had paired up the craziest people in the world. A perfect disaster.


    A pair of absolute troublemakers.


    Yeah, that''s right. Total trouble, both of them.


    ra stood there frozen for a few seconds. Then, like she''d just given up on pretending otherwise, she marched over, cupped his face in her hands, and kissed him-hard.


    Dn''s eyelids fluttered in surprise. The second he realized what was happening, he reached up and wrapped his hand around the back of her head, pulling her closer.


    Grayson had seen plenty of wild rtionships in his life, but this? This was something else. He''d never seen anything like it.


    Seriously, these two were nuts. Completely nuts.


    And what had he gotten for his trouble? Three ps, and for what? Nothing.


    He shrank into the corner, listening as the sound of their kissing echoed through the cave. He''d never felt so awkward in his entire life.


    No one knew how long they kissed, but when ra finally let go, she noticed the bright red handprint on Dn''s cheek and felt a wave of guilt.<fn6c9a> Find the newest release on F?nd-Novel</fn6c9a>


    "Does it hurt?"


    He shook his head, a crooked little smile tugging at his lips.


    She felt even worse. Next time, she really had to keep her hands to herself.


    She slid down, using his legs as a pillow, and closed her eyes. "When you''ve figured things out, we''ll talk. Until then, just let it go."


    No point pushing for answers now-it would just make her mad.


    Dn gently ran his fingers through her hair, saying nothing.


    Meanwhile, poor Grayson was left kneeling in the corner for what felt like hours. When he was sure the two of them were actually asleep, he tried to sneak to his feet.


    But just as he moved, Dn''s voice came quietly out of the darkness.


    "If you say a word, you won''t need your tongue anymore."


    Grayson paled and sank right back down.


    He didn''t even know why he was so scared. He wasn''t afraid of his own family, or even the toughest guys in their world. But this man? He scared him down to the bone.


    Dn nced over, finally seeming to remember Grayson was still there.


    Grayson stayed perfectly still, heart racing so hard he thought he might faint. Only when Dn finally looked away did he let out a breath, his whole back drenched in cold sweat. All he could do was pray for the sun toe up.


    But when morning finally came, ra''s first words nearly killed him.


    "You''reing with us. Don''t even think about wandering off."


    Grayson nced at Dn, who said nothing. That''s when it clicked.


    The devil himself listened to ra-totally whipped.


    He forced a smile. "Okay, ra. I''m not much of a fighter, and everyone in here knows me. They''d love to catch me and sell me out. If you protect me and get me out of here, just name your price-I''ll pay whatever you want."


    Money was the one thing he had plenty of.


    ra yawned and wandered over to the creek to wash up.


    Grayson thought about sneaking closer to say something, but the moment he stepped forward, he heard footsteps at the mouth of the cave and stopped dead.


    Dn came out too, sshing water on his face.


    ra nced up at the sky and pointed further into the woods. "Isn''t there an old, abandoned lookout around here somewhere?"


    Dn''s face changed for a second, but he covered it quickly. "Yeah."


    If she was asking about the lookout, she was definitely starting to remember this ce.


    Following her memory, ra walked ahead. When she actually saw the lookout, her steps faltered.


    A wave of memories hit her all at once.


    She looked at the new trees that had grown around it, her lips pressed tight.


    Dn came up behind her, reaching to push a branch out of her way. She smacked his hand away, hard.


    He froze, hand turning red, but didn''t move.


    She hadn''t meant to it was just reflex. Her memories of this ce weren''t good


    at all.


    Back then, she''d been so close to dying that everything around her felt like a threat. Dning up so suddenly startled her.


    She grabbed his hand and blew on it gently. "Sorry, I was just lost in thought. Are you okay?"


    His hand was still red. He curled his fingers, then rxed them slowly. "I''m fine." He stepped into the building first.


    The ce was tiny-maybe five hundred square feet—and looked like every explorer passing through had stayed a night. It was a mess, with junk and trash everywhere.


    ra''s eyesnded on a makeshift bed frame, and suddenly she remembered holding someone there.


    She rubbed her forehead and backed out of the room, stepping into the sunlight at the door. The ache in her chest eased just a little.


    Grayson was still outside, too scared to go in, frantically making eye contact with her.


    ra couldn''t help butugh. She dropped her hand. "What is it?"


    Seeing Dn hadn''te out, Grayson finally leaned in to whisper, "You should be careful. Sure, you pped me three times, but I''m not holding a grudge. I''m actually trying to help you. Don''t mess with that guy. He likes you now, but who knows how he''ll feelter? He could kill someone and not even blink. I''m not exaggerating. If you''re with him, it''s only because you don''t really know what he''s capable of."