She peeked up at him, blinking when she saw his smile. A genuine smile of pearly whites and amusement. He wasn’t afraid. Not even a little. No, he was enjoying himself. Why?
“McKell,” she said, exasperated.
“Yes?”
“Stop time,” she whispered for his ears alone.
He did, without question. Everyone around them stilled completely. Ava stared up at him, her heart thundering in her chest. “What’s going on? Do you want to run or something?” Though she knew, deep down, running would do no good. Not now.
“Run?” He laughed, the sound like a rich soothing balm. “Why would I run? You’re trying to protect me. No one has ever tried to protect me before, and I … like it.”
That explained the smile. And warmed her from the inside out. Still. “Don’t you realize you’re in danger? I can’t open the doors we’ve passed. We’re stuck here. What if Mia—”
He reached up with his free hand and rasped his knuckles over her cheek. “I don’t think she’s leading me to my death. I smell disease here. I think she means to test my blood.”
Ava’s stomach curdled. “Disease?”
He nodded, and time kicked back into gear, Mia and the guards continuing on as if they’d never stopped. Ava remained quiet the rest of the way. Disease. Testing. What she’d wanted, but she couldn’t lose the sick feeling cramping her insides.
Finally, they reached a hallway that ended in a half circle, locked doors all around, darkened windows showcasing five different rooms.
Mia pointed, and Ava followed the line of her finger. Johnny. Shit. She’d forgotten about Johnny. Now he rested on a cot in one of the rooms, probably dying, his skin gray, peeling, his cheeks sunken, his hair clumped around him, sores open and oozing all over him.
“He doesn’t have much time left,” Mia said, grim.
“What can we do?” Ava croaked.
“We’re going to give him McKell’s blood, as we discussed.”
McKell lifted his chin, nose in the air. An emperor. “Ava mentioned the idea to me, and I said no. I still say no.”
“Once that’s done,” Mia went on as if he hadn’t spoken, “you have some questions to answer, McKell.”
“Questions, fine. Blood, no.”
He’d seemed happy with the whole thing only a few minutes before, willingly following Mia. Why the refusal now? “Please,” Ava said, staring up at him.
He must have stopped time, because suddenly the rasp of Mia’s breathing stopped, the guards ceased shifting from one foot to the other.
McKell gripped her shoulders and shook her. “You beg here the way you beg in bed? For this man?”
“Yes.”
His eyes narrowed to tiny slits, though that didn’t hide the danger that lurked there. “Why?”
“Are you jealous? Because I thought we’d gotten past that.”
“Jealous, no. You’re mine, and no one and nothing will change that. But he once taunted you, embarrassed you in front of your friends. Remember? The bar? I haven’t forgiven him for that.”
He’d loved when she protected him, and she realized she loved when he defended her. He knew what others thought of her, but he didn’t care. Wasn’t going to change his mind about her. And that … affected her.
“Thank you,” she said, fighting those stupid tears again. “Even though I understand where you’re coming from, I’m still asking you to heal him. Not because he deserves it, but because it’s the right thing to do. And because, if he gets better, we can take turns kicking him in his man junk without any feelings of guilt.”
There was a long pause, McKell studying her face every second of it. Then he nodded stiffly, and time once again propelled into motion. “I’ll do it,” he said to Mia, releasing Ava.
Mia’s smile was cold, hard, and determined. “I never doubted you. So, let’s break out the needles, dig into your vein, and then send Ava into the cell with the vial.”
Ava stiffened, suddenly speechless. The last time she’d been with Johnny, he’d eyed her like a slab of meat. He’d threatened McKell. Well, the queen had threatened McKell through him, but a threat was a threat. Yet he’d been restrained. Now he was free to prowl that cell. To attack.
McKell spoke for her. Snarled, really. “Ava is not going in there.”
“Yeah, what?” she demanded, finding her voice.
Mia anchored her hands on her hips. “Someone needs to inject Johnny or get him to drink the blood, but he attacks every doctor and agent we send in. I can’t risk anyone else becoming infected.”
“Which is why Ava is not going in there.” Another snarl from McKell.
“Johnny won’t attack Ava,” Mia said, confident.
McKell shook his head. “Don’t care.”
“Then let’s get you a cell of your own,” Mia snapped, “because having Ava feed Johnny that blood is your only ticket out of here.”
O-kay, then. “I’ll do it,” Ava said before he could reply. One, she needed no more convincing, and two, as she’d told McKell, it was the right thing to do. She didn’t want to risk anyone else, either.
He huffed and puffed for half an hour, stopping time, pleading with her, pacing, yelling denials and demands, before finally nodding again, because she refused to back down. “I’ll stop time and she may enter. If he isn’t immune to my ability—I’ve listened and eavesdropped and I know the Schön adapt—and if I’m at her side. That’s the only way I’ll allow this to happen.”
“Thanks for your permission,” Mia said dryly.
“But if anything happens to her, I will destroy you and all of AIR.”
Bless his heart. “Shut up, McKell,” she said through both a smile and a grimace. “You’re going to get yourself killed. And remember our plans for later?” Our bedtime plans, she silently added. “I kind of need you alive.”
He kissed her, hard and fast. “You belong to me, and you will take care of what’s mine. As will I.”
“Promise?” she asked, wishing she could grab on to him and never let go.
“Promise.”
“And don’t worry,” Mia said. “I won’t lock you away for threatening me and all those under my care. Threats don’t faze me. Maybe because I’m married to an alpha myself.” She beckoned one of the guards, who lifted a walkie-talkie and summoned a doctor on staff to come and take that sample of McKell’s blood.