Finders Keepers (17 page)

           
Zak gave a half-hearted nod of assurance which allowed Ellie to loosen the last of Taylor’s fingers.
 
She stood up on shaky legs and let Zak lead her out.

           
The common room was empty except for where Gibbs sat on the edge of the couch with his elbows on his knees, playing a game on his phone.
 
The door to Sky’s workshop was now closed.
 
Maybe he was in there working on the bomb right at this moment…because he wanted to.
 
How was she to know?
 
Lies and deception were the name of the game around here.

Gibbs looked up when Ellie approached.
 
At the snap of Gibbs’ fingers, Zak immediately disappeared.
 
“The raids,” he said, explaining the reason for the lack of occupants in the room.
 
With a bitter smile, he flipped his phone around, flashing her the latest text on his phone.
 
“Time to beat is five minutes and thirteen seconds.
 
Held by
Zanzer
—he’s the one with the…well you’d probably know him by the fact you broke his nose.”
 
He snickered.
 

Unceremoniously, Gibbs reached out and tugged on the edge of her sweatshirt to indicate she should sit down on the couch next to him.
 
She did.
 
She wished she could claim her silent acquiescence was part of a new brilliant escape plan, but her brain felt numb.
 
Sky’s betrayal still felt sharp and shoved deep in her gut.
 
But it was nothing compared to Gibbs’.
 
He didn’t even have the decency to act as though he cared enough to be angry with her.
 

           
Gibbs leaned back and looked Ellie over.
 
“I suppose Sarah revealed the error of your actions and told you the truth about Lola and Sky?
 
It was a noble but extremely stupid thing to follow her back down once you’d already escaped.
 
Now I don’t think I can let you out of my sight again.”
 
There was no empathy in his voice.
 
Ellie cradled her hand and didn’t reply.
   

           
“Don’t look so sad, Eliza.
 
It’s his silky mane of hair—makes all the girls swoon.”
 
His voice was so nasty it could have dripped venom.
 

           
Ellie turned to look him directly in the face.
 
“I get it, all right?
 
I’m the world’s biggest idiot.
 
Look gullible up in the dictionary and you’ll find a picture of me.
 
Why did I ever think there was a shred of good in any of you?
 
I just want to go home, sleep in my own bed, and pretend I never met you.”
 
You.
 
She'd meant to say
any
of you.
 

           
 
“You have to understand, Ellie, it’s not that goblins can be cruel.
 
We are cruel.
 
We steal and cheat and lie and then laugh about it.
 
Every last one of us.
 
That’s why you should have listened when you were warned to stay away.”

“But you saved my life when you could have left me to die.
 
You even promised Sky to leave me alone.
 
Someone as bad as you claim to be wouldn’t have done that.”
 
She leaned toward him, challenging him.
 
Daring him to tell her once in for all that he didn’t care about her.
 

           
Gibbs’ eyes were a bright sparkly, apple green like his mother’s and once she looked into them, her gaze was completely caught in his.
 
The intensity in his eyes when he looked at her had a way of holding her breath hostage.
 
He stopped playing with his phone and picked up her hand with surprising gentleness.
 
He studied the cut for a moment, and then stood up and strode over to a cabinet near the
tv
.
 
He rummaged through it for a minute and then produced a gauze bandage.
 
Returning to her, he crouched down in front of her knees and began to wrap her hand.
 

“What you don’t seem to be able to disconnect are the rules of your society from mine.
 
You are fair and equal and accountable and it is all imposed and regulated by law enforcement.
 
We are much more like the predators of the wild.
 
The strong survive and the weak are eliminated.
 
There is no equality and the rules are not created, they are learned by natural consequences.
 
Lola needed to test Sky's intentions toward you and also assert her dominance.
 
My actions are always based on similar instincts, nothing else.
 
You think I saved your life for your sake?
 
I need Sky, and to control him, I have to have possession of you.”
 
Softly he said, “I don’t care about you, angel.
 
You’re just a means to an end."
 
       

Ellie’s lips parted, but no words came out.
 
He’d said it.
 
The instant pressure on her chest snuffed out the air in her lungs.
 
She swallowed hard, refusing to cry in front of him.
 
“But isn’t all of this about revenge for your father?”
 
Her voice was higher pitched than it should have been and she struggled to remain in control.
 
“Revenge isn’t in the nature of animals.”

           
"It’s not really about revenge.”
 
He returned to his task and carefully tied the bandage.
 
“It’s about power.
 
But if it makes you feel better, Sky was just trying to protect you.
 
He’s really a good guy.”

           
And there it was again.
 
Just when she was sure he was more loathsome than her lecherous choir director, he surprised her with his alter-ego.
 
He raised his head and their faces were mere inches apart.
 
Involuntarily, her eyes dropped to his lips.
 
She had a very strong sense that kissing him right now would do more for knowing where they stood than anything else.
 

Ellie didn’t inhale until he rocked back on his heels and away from her.
 
And then when she did it was sharper than she intended because a sudden crash startled her.
 
She jumped into Gibbs’ arms which startled him almost as much as her, and they toppled backward onto the hard floor, her body landing directly on top of his.

The sound of the crash came from Sky’s now open doorway.
 
A large metal toolbox full of all sorts of odds and ends screws, bolts, and other parts fell from the edge of the table and now lay scattered across the floor of the workshop.
 
Sky stood in the midst of it glaring at her and Gibbs.
 
His body was tensed tighter than a new slinky and he scowled.
 
Ellie, whose chin rested on Gibbs’ chest, lowered her own eyebrows and scowled right back.
 
Her hand felt hotter than it had just moments before.
 
Maybe Gibbs was right about Sky doing, or rather not doing, what he did to protect her.
 
But she wasn’t quite ready to forgive him for calling her Taylor’s sidekick.
 
Or conveniently forgetting to tell her about Lola.

           
Dropping her gaze from Sky, she propped herself up on Gibbs’ chest, so she could look down into his face.
 
She made no move to remove her body from where it pinned his.
 
The corners of his mouth twitched and he stayed put even though he could have easily overpowered her.
 
Holy smokes he’s cute.
 
And that mouth
…
 
As best she could, she ignored the heat that came from being this close to Gibbs and put her thoughts back into order.
  
“You don’t need us.
 
Just let us go.”

           
“I might be willing to make a deal.”

           
Tearing her eyes and thoughts from his lips, she said, “Terms and conditions?”

           
“I may not need you, but you are so far wrapped up in this, you are just as dangerous not involved as you are involved.
 
I need to keep an eye on you, therefore, until this is over, I propose I become your boyfriend aboveground.
 
That includes the Harvest Dance."

Every minute she was with him intoxicated her.
 
There was every reason under the sun not to trust him, to run as far away from his as possible, and yet she kept being drawn in.
 
She couldn’t let him come aboveground and be that close to her.
 
It would be impossible to pretend to love him and not be in love with him.

 
No chance.
 
No way.
 
Not on this green earth
.

Sky came tearing out of the other room looking as if his head would explode.
 
Ellie instantly reconsidered.
 
How else could she find out what was going on?
 
Sky was perfectly content to leave her out of the loop when he thought she was safe.
 
“And boyfriend privileges include what?” she said.
 
She swallowed.
 
Don’t get sucked in.
 
None of it will be real.
 
But her heart was already beating hard in her chest.

           
Gibbs arched an eyebrow and grinned that same self-satisfied smirk he’d shown her during their games of twenty questions—the one that told her he could read her like an open book and that he knew her thoughts at this exact moment.
 
His eyes lingered on her lips.
 
“That's entirely up to you."

           
It sounded as if Sky were actually choking on rage, and Ellie winced, slightly panged with guilt.
 
She had to focus.
 
Her eyes narrowed.
 
“And you’ll let Taylor and I go?
 
What about Sarah?”
 

           
Gibbs moved his hands under his head and shrugged.
 
The feel of his muscles moving underneath her caused her to shiver.
 

“Sure, I don’t need her and I think she’s learned her lesson.
 
It’s more of pain than not to keep her locked up.”

           
Ellie tried to imagine what her friends, what her parents, would say about Gibbs.
 
Aside from his overbearing arrogance and sarcasm, he was pretty easy on the eyes.
 
All right, extremely easy on the eyes.
 
Who was she kidding?
 
He was drop dead gorgeous.
 
It would probably shock the whole school
.
 
Which could be fun
.
 
It’d get Manny’s attention
.
 
It was certainly getting Sky’s.
 
She knew she was picking at straws, rather shallow ones at that, to convince herself that this was the right thing to do, not just what she wanted.
 
She pushed her bangs to the side and chewed on her lip.
 
Then, abruptly, Ellie slid off of Gibbs.
 
“No exploding bombs or hurting people while the deal is on.
 
I won’t be involved, even by association.”
 

           
A soft growl bubbled up from Gibb’s throat.
 
He actually looked offended.
 
"You're in the middle of war of which you know nothing."
 
His eyes sparked.
 
After an intense moment of glaring at her, he said, “I can’t make any promises, but I’ll try my best.”