“Not in the least,” I say with heavy distraction as I pretend to obsess over my finger. “I hate knife cuts. They’re so annoying, and now I’ll need blood because this was uranium dipped.”
His clenching jaw reveals his heavily pissed attitude when he feels as though I’ve disrespected him. I gasp as he rips free from the cuffs too fast for their blades to do any damage. They clank to the ground before crushing their blades on nothing more than air. He goes from across the room to me in less than a blink, and suddenly I’m being hurled into the wall. The cracking sound behind me rings out as the white flakes of concrete swirl around like dust motes stuck in the beams of the sun.
He punches me three times in the face before Hale can get in there, and then I see Hale flying backwards as the rapid man delivers blows to his stomach too fast to count. I fling my hand, and the man goes sailing into the wall behind him. He gasps as I hold him down using my gift, and Hale shakes his head before pulling out a gun. He shoots the man in the head and heart until the chamber on the gun clicks empty.
“What the hell?” Nicholas screams.
“I had to. He would have waited on her to let him go, and he would have escaped to do more harm. I think it’s fairly obvious he was gifted, and he sure as fuck wasn’t part of the United. It’s the law to kill any gifted hybrid straying from the United while in United territory.”
“I’m aware of why you fucking killed him, and I’m perfectly fine with it. I’m asking what the hell is that?” he screeches while pointing to the second set of blood bringers protruding from the unknown man’s gums.
“Shit,” Hale shrieks. “I don’t fucking know.”
“He’s one of them,” I almost whisper as the white takes my face.
“One of who?” Nicholas prompts.
“They didn’t have a second set of blood bringers,” Hale counters to my accusation.
“The one we encountered wasn’t fully turned. This one is. He may not have been gifted. They may just be faster than we ever thought about being. They’re still alive.”
“Fuck,” he exasperates. “I have to call Clay.”
“I’ll call the examiner. We need to get him dissected before his blood goes cold,” I murmur aloud while pulling my phone to my ear.
“I’ll do it, Araya,” Nicholas sighs. “I’m starting to feel a little helpless right now, and at least I’ll feel like I’m contributing this way.”
I smile while tucking my phone back into my pocket, and he leaves just as the men rush in with a stretcher to move the body. Once the body is gone, I press the flame button to burn the blood, and then the water falls to wash it away.
“I shouldn’t have let you come in here,” Hale grumbles.
“He was arrogant. I caught on pretty quickly, and I had my invincibility up the moment I knew I had gotten to him. I was safe and cautious. Besides, I’m no longer of any consequence to you. I’m sorry you ever felt like you were responsible for my safety. I’ll always be here for you if you need me the way you did, but other than that, I strongly believe we should be formal and nothing else.”
His eyes stain over with pain, and he takes my hand in his.
“I’m sorry about leaving while you were in the shower, but I needed to speak with Captain Hawkins about the mess. I felt bad for having abandoned the cleanup, but I was trying to get my savage subdued. I swear I injected myself three or four times with olophine.”
I pat his chest before staring into the eyes that continue to break my heart.
“You don’t owe me an apology. We’re not a couple, and you weren’t there for any other reason than what you had already gotten. Avoiding this morning’s awkwardness isn’t a crime. I was actually hoping you would leave,” I lie, and then I suck back the emotion before saying, “As for the other, I knew you weren’t out of the woods. You almost always need me after the savage appears no matter how much olophine you take. It has always been my body mixed with the medicine that brings you back. I’m sorry that’s a problem for you, and I hope you don’t have to endure sharing yourself with me in that form again. I need to go finish getting ready right now since my morning routine was interrupted. Have a safe trip back, Captain Banner.”
My tone is bittersweet, but there’s such deception in my words. It’s all I can do to not beg him just to be with me, but I deserve more than he’ll ever give me now that I know he never loved me. I deserve more than he’ll ever give me of himself, and Brazen deserves more than I can give him.
“I’ll be staying, Araya. Clay is going to want to come here since this is the last place they were spotted. He’ll have the others come to set up, and Hershian will become base until we get another lead,” he interjects just before I disappear.
“Then I hope you enjoy your stay here, Captain,” I force out with a cordial and indifferent tone while fighting the true emotion choking me - my back staying turned to him.
“I really did need to speak with Captain Hawkins. I planned to return to thank you for what you did. I know that wasn’t easy for you. I was sidetracked by the new hybrid. I wasn’t avoiding any awkwardness. I owe you a lot for bringing me back. I could have hurt so many if you hadn’t.”
I turn back to smile lightly, and then my lips tighten.
“I told you I’m always here when you need me. That’s our only tie, and I’ll never let you do anything you’ll regret. Goodbye, Captain,” I murmur softly, and then I make my escape before I fall apart in the hallway.
I hide the tears by letting my hair hang in front of my face, and I quickly dart up the stairs to my apartment. Brazen will be back tomorrow, and now Hale will be staying. Damn my luck.
