He’s told her no before. He told her about me.
“Yes. I am, and she’s the girl that just ripped the fucking army in half. She’s also standing right there listening to every word you’re saying,” he almost chuckles out while his eyes point to me.
She swallows hard when her full blood eyes meet mine, and she scoots over from the close proximity.
“Are you two together?” she whispers, and he smiles because he knows how acute my hearing is.
“No, but you still should keep your distance,” he whispers back, and then he smirks smugly before returning to his conversation with another guy.
I roll my eyes, and then I feel a cold touch strolling up my back. I turn to see Brazen’s soft eyes bearing concern rather than fear. I hug him instantly, and he gently returns the embrace.
“I’m so sorry I hurt you,” I murmur with tears filling up in my eyes.
“I’m fine. I was more worried about you. I thought you were going to die. You’re still bruised,” he murmurs softly while examining my face.
“I’m fine. I just need a little more blood,” I murmur softly. “I can still feel the burn of the uranium in my blood preventing me from healing on my own.”
He walks over to a cooler, and then returns with two packs of blood. I would prefer to heal off of Hale’s blood, but I suppose this will have to do since he still looks like he’s not wavering on his stance. Alex is still sitting beside him, and she’s laughing at everything he says.
“The infected were too easy to kill,” a guy murmurs.
“How the hell would you know? The girl killed them all,” another follows, and I shiver slightly.
They were easy to kill. One shot of uranium bullets was enough to bring them to a fold. It shouldn’t have been that easy.
I sip on the cold pack of diluted blood, and Brazen’s lips stroll over my shoulder just as Hale’s eyes find me again. He rolls his eyes, and then stands to join a new crowd of men.
“Brazen, I need to tell you something,” I mumble.
“You can tell me anything,” he coos as his hand trails up and down my back.
“I know this is going to hurt, but I’m back with Hale. I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want you upset and distracted. I still care about you, and I never want to see anything happen to you,” I quickly babble out.
“I know you care about me, and I know you’re with him,” he murmurs against the top of my head as his body nears even more. “That doesn’t mean I’m going to stop. It sure as hell didn’t stop him.”
I turn to face him, and I can feel the stupefied stare on my face.
“How do you know?”
“I’m a little insulted, Araya,” he chuckles out. “I’m one of the best detectives in the United. I’ve known since day one. Every time I talk to you too long or touch you, your eyes dart to him with worry etched in them. If you’re touching him when I walk up, you drop your contact immediately. Not to mention, you always smell like him. The list goes on and on. I’m not an idiot. I just don’t give a fuck if he’s with you or not. Eventually he’ll fuck up, and I’ll be here to show you how much better I am for you. He may understand your species better, but I understand you better,” he seduces, and I exhale a breath of relief.
“I wish I had known you knew sooner,” I grouse. “Now I feel stupid.”
He snickers lightly, and then his hand grazes mine.
“You don’t care about him, or you wouldn’t have tried so hard to keep it from me.”
I stare at Hale with his back turned to me, and I then I take a deep breath before facing the pale eyes I’m about to hurt.
“I do care about him. I’ve just been a shitty girlfriend,” I grumble, and then I kiss Brazen on the cheek as a farewell offering before walking toward Hale.
He doesn’t turn to face me until the eyes of his group acknowledge I’m almost right behind him. He smiles softly when he sees me, but he doesn’t break character when he refrains from touching me.
“I see you finally got some more blood. I struggled getting you to heal,” he says so gently, as if I’m some fragile piece of glass.
“I heard,” I mumble, and then I look down shamefully at the ground.
“You don’t remember? I was worried about that,” he sighs.
