I stagger like an idiot, letting him know the effect he has on me, and then I shake it off to bring forth my very forced, unimpressed and uninterested tone.
“My boyfriend is on detail, but he’ll be back in two days. I have an errand to run, so Sappy can show you to your room, Captain. Will you need anything else?”
He smirks lightly as if he’s indulging in a private joke, and I can only assume some dirty, twisted image has crossed his mind given my question. I do my best to keep my composure, but thankfully, he starts walking away instead of torturing me further with those captivating eyes.
“I think that will be all, Ms. Crush,” he mutters on his way out, and I’m relieved to finally expel the breath I’ve been clinging to as he walks out.
Fuck my life and all of its surprises.
I decide I’ve had all I can take for one night, and I’m ready to sleep off this horrible day. The stairs creak beneath my feet as they whisper about my wild fantasies going awry inside my fucked up head, but I ignore them as I travel back up to my apartment to change clothes. It’s been a brutal night, and I just want to sleep.
Before I reach the top, a familiar, gut wrenching sound stings my ears. The hollow sound of distant gunshots ring out through the corridor, growing louder when the doors open for officers to run out. They fade out again as the doors close behind them, and then the siren starts wailing fiercely when I turn to run back.
Really? Fucking really?
I rush down the stairs, and I check my guns to make sure my safety is off before jerking them free from their holsters. The gate to Hershian suddenly explodes free from its hinges as several men are sent flying backwards through the air - punishment for their close proximity.
“What the fuck is going on?” I screech to a man.
“They’re the blood runners, Ms. Crush.”
“Fuck.”
I start firing at the mass of men rushing in, their blood spewing free from their veins as I discharge my rounds rapidly. Grayson is suddenly at my side. He starts to use his gift, and I slap him on the back of the head before stepping in front of a shower of bullets driving toward him. They rattle off of me, leaving my shirt tattered, torn, and almost transparent.
“Don’t use your gift if you don’t have olophine!” I scold. “Don’t use it around men like this unless you’re out of ammo.”
“Why?” he yells.
I turn to shoot several before launching a grenade, and then I cover Grayson to keep the blast from slapping him. He slowly rises up, and I try to see through the clouds of smoke.
“Because men like this will stop at nothing to study you,” I mumble. “You don’t need to draw anymore attention to yourself than necessary. That’s lesson number one. Now grab a fucking vest before you get yourself killed.”
“Okay, okay,” he concedes, and then he rushes over to the armory.
“Araya,” Hale screams just as a new wave of bullets come flying at me, and he releases a breath of relief when he sees them shatter against my unyielding skin.
“You think I’d be out here without my invincibility up?” I scoff.
“I don’t think when it comes to you. You know that already.”
My eyes lose their grip on the fight when they become paralyzed by his. He grabs my side to jerk me to his body, and then his grip actually becomes painful when he throws me to the ground. A blast erupts from his hands just as I look up to see they’ve fired electrical bolts toward me.
The violently jerking strands that have been launched from the energy guns are quickly brought to a halt by Hale’s blasts. Suddenly the rest of the invaders begin bursting into ashes in front of my eyes.
Oh no.
I look to see his eyes have dilated, and I grab olophine from my pocket while rushing over to him. He rips the vial from my hand, and then he injects himself quickly as the fallen members of Hershian begin to climb back to their feet. The brevity of the attack shouldn’t have caused this much damage. The whole damn front half of the compound has been smothered by the fires caused by the explosions, and people begin scrambling to extinguish the scattered blazers still blaring.
A group of rushing rescuers run between us, and I get shuffled far away despite my clawing attempts to stay with Hale. Smoke rumbles toward us when they douse the larger fires with gallons and gallons of water, and it forces a heavy cloud that obscures all visibility. The smoky residue stings my eyes as I struggle to find Hale. My hand grazes so many chests, arms, ribs, but none of them belong to the man I know too well by feel alone. I have to know he’s not savage right now. He could kill everyone here if he doesn’t find me as soon as he wants me.
“Hale,” I screech, my voice begging him to answer me.
I can hear humans coughing when their weaker lungs can’t filter out the thick smoke. I taste the burning wood, and I hear the sniffles mingling with the scent of tears as everyone tries to wrap their heads around the attack they just endured. A hand grips mine, and I look over to see Grayson.
“I thought you said not to use our gifts. Why’d you use yours?” he growls.
“I didn’t.”
