His phone buzzes, and he narrows his eyes at me playfully before answering.
“Captain Mordel,” he murmurs very formally.
“Is everything okay up there?” Clay asks innocently.
“Yes Sir. Araya just let her gifts seep out,” he mutters misleadingly while eyeing my breasts.
I cover my mouth to stifle my laughter, and Clay grumbles under his breath.
“Tell her I said to behave, and that’s an order.”
Brazen’s laugh is far too big, and he covers his mouth with the same hand he’s holding his phone, and then he shakes his head before clearing his throat.
“Yes Sir,” he says without letting his laughter show in his tone.
I roll my eyes, and then I tie my shirt back up before slouching in the seat as he hangs up.
“You had to blame me?” I playfully retort, and he laughs all the harder.
“He likes you more than me.”
“Funny. Where are we?” I say with a mock sulking tone.
“We’re coming up on Tallingston. It’s an old abandoned United uranium factory. It’s just barely a detour from our normal route. We’ll be home late tonight.”
I smirk, and then I see the huge factory just ahead. We approach quickly to drive the dirt path in between the buildings stacked on either side. I taste too much uranium in the air, and then I feel a pressure shift. The imaginary bowling ball forms in my throat and plummets against my stomach before I throw myself on Brazen and go invincible as the explosion rattles through my ears.
I scream as the car disintegrates around us, and I lose my grip on him as I bounce to the ground. Disoriented and almost deafened, the ferocious ringing in my ears is all I can hear as it blares wildly. My heart thuds in my chest, the vicious pace rising to my ears to join the ringing.
“Araya!” Hale screams, or at least I think he screams.
I can barely hear him as he surges through the smoke. My hazy vision blurs all the more, making it seem as though he’s a staggering drunk instead of a graceful hybrid. I think I hear gunshots being fired, and more explosions, but it’s too hard to tell what’s going on right now as I stagger to my feet.
Hale’s arms embrace me to help me steady myself, and he starts inspecting me fervently to check for anything out of place. My clothes are tattered, torn, and charred from the blast. My heart sinks when I don’t see Brazen right away.
“Where is he?” I scream over the dull ringing still in my ears, and I hear a parade of gunshots more distinctly as a stray bullet rips through Hale’s arm.
He doesn’t flinch as he continues inspecting me, and I use my gift to clear the smoke from the air to reveal the cloaked snipers. Their eyes widen as I fling my arms out, and they go sailing into one of the buildings with enough force to bring it crashing down on them.
“They’re here for Whissman. Kill him,” Clay screams, and I see the prisoner running with two armed men in an attempt to escape.
I pull Hale’s gun from his waist, and I fire two bullets to take out the prisoner before firing at his accomplices. They drop to the ground in lifeless form from the perfectly executed shots, and suddenly Grayson and Angelica appear.
“Find Brazen,” I yelp to them, and they both grimace.
My heart sinks more, and I quickly run in the direction they just came. I see his legs broken and damaged from the wreck, and I gasp when I see his marred body lying in shambles as he gasps for air.
No. No. Please no.
His eyes are groggy, weak, and barely open. The blood pours from his mouth and ears. The hide on his hands, neck, arms, and so much more has been singed to the point he almost looks to have been thrown in a fire.
I start wailing immediately as I dive to his side, and I scream out to Hale.
“Get blood now.”
“There’s not any,” Clay murmurs solemnly while pointing to the SUV that once held up the rear of the convoy.
It’s obliterated, and the blood has bled into the dry grounds below. No.
