Chapter 12 · Tied to His Bedpost

"Give me the key, Ronin." I yanked against the cuff biting into my wrist. "Now."

The steel bed frame groaned under the force. The chain held. My temper didn't.

Ronin stood between me and the door, one hand resting near the weapon at his hip. His black uniform was torn at the shoulder from our last fight, and a thin line of blood ran down his throat. He hadn't bothered wiping it away.

"You already have a key," he said.

I lifted my bound hand. The bloodied passkey lay hidden in my palm, warm from my skin.

His eyes dropped to it.

Damn him.

"That one opens doors," I said. "Not cuffs."

"Then stop wasting your time."

"You locked down your entire quarters because I touched your console."

"You broke into my console."

"I was reclaiming what your officers stole from me."

"You were searching for your blade."

"My ancestral blade." I pulled again. Pain flashed up my arm. "The one your people took after they dragged my family out of our home."

His jaw tightened.

There. That landed.

Ronin crossed the room in three hard steps.