Read Rules of Survival (Entangled Embrace) for Free Online Page B

did you want to go back and try to reason with them?”
    “Away is good, but away where ?” A spark of hope ignited in the pit of my stomach as I remembered how curious he’d been about the contents of the letter. “Someplace warm and dry? Because I’m about to ice over here… And does this mean you believe me?”
    His expression faltered, then hardened. “I believe something isn’t right, but I don’t know what yet.”
    I had an overwhelming urge to hit him—or kiss him. I wasn’t sure which. With lips like those, a girl would have to be dead not to notice. Mortal danger or not. “Did you miss those men storming the hotel? I’m telling you. They work for the guy you’re trying to hand me over to. This Jaffe person. He was involved with what happened to my mom—and now he wants me.”
    “How do you know for sure? Because I have a feeling most people who have met you get the urge to kill you at one point or another.”
    I glared at him. “Now who’s being mean?”
    He sighed, but didn’t apologize. Instead, he squared his shoulders and puffed out his chest. “I won’t let anything happen to you, okay?”
    Seriously? He was going to play the hero here? “Until you fork me over to die, you mean?”
    “For what it’s worth, I don’t think you’re guilty of murder—and I think the police will see that.”
    “But you’re not handing me over to the police, remember?”
    “That’s true, but I swear I won’t do anything unless I’m positive you’ll be safe.” He bent down a bit so that we were eye to eye. “You can trust me, Kayla.”
    I thought about it for a moment. Without the key to the shackles, we were stuck with each other for now. At least until we could get the damn cuffs off. I needed to deal with this one step at a time. First and most important at the moment—warmth. Further planning would be pointless if I froze to death or ended up dying of pneumonia.
    Next would be freedom from Shaun. Then, escape. There. A plan. It wasn’t much of one, but it soothed my nerves a little.
    I held up my left hand. The now constant shivers racing along my skin made my spiffy new metal accessory jingle. “It’s not like I have much of a choice, is it? We need to find some dry clothes.”
    “We need to find a phone. Call Patrick.”
    “What good will calling him be if we’re frozen solid?” I countered. Really. This guy’s priorities were way off. His survival instinct? Zippo.
    “He was meeting with someone from Jaffe’s camp,” Shaun said stubbornly. “To see if they knew anything about the guys from last night. We should call him first , then find dry clothes.”
    “That’s stupid!” I snapped, grabbing a fistful of my soaked T-shirt. “The fact that it’s less than forty degrees and we’re dripping wet is the priority . Clothes first , then a call.” And as an afterthought, I added, “And, naturally, if they say they weren’t trying to kill me, we’ll just take them on their word?”
    “Suck it up. I know what I’m doing here,” he said with a sneer. “And it’s not that cold out.”
    “Says the guy who’s shivering like a leaf in a tornado!”
    He ignored me. “Pat has the best bullshit meter I’ve ever seen. If they’re lying, he’ll know .”
    I was about to make a snide comment, a phrase that no doubt would have dazzled him silent, but something occurred me. Or rather, the lack of something. “ Ohmygod .”
    Shaun was immediately alert, scanning the area for trouble. He reminded me of a cartoon dog I’d seen once. He was cuter though. Slightly. “What? What is it?”
    “The hotel. My bag…” I’d been through some sticky situations. There were plenty of times I had to up and leave a place in the middle of eating, sleeping—once even during a shower—and I’d never lost the bag. My entire life was in there. Irreplaceable items. Pictures, trinkets…a lifetime of memories. “My keys…”
    He watched me for a moment before holding out his jacket. “Check