Chapter 12

"Thank you, Sergeant," Jase murmurs into the phone as I walk in on the tail end of a conversation.

My slinky robe covers my damp, bare body as I dry my hair with the soft red towel of the hotel. Jase hangs up, and his smile grows ridiculously large as he walks over to me.

"I love you," he steams out while giving me his delectably wonderful lips.

Mmm.

"I love you," I hum out while completely hypnotized by his delicious taste.

His smile grows behind our kiss, making it hard to continue.

"You know, I'm starting to wish I could read your mind, Lieutenant," I giggle out.

He smiles bigger, and his incredible lips find my forehead once more while he pulls me into his body a little tighter.

"That might not be such a good idea, Ms. Banner," he playfully retorts.

"And why's that?" I play along.

"Because you, pretty girl, blush far too easily," he seduces, and my cheeks heat up instantly as I shiver under his hot gaze. "See?" he teases while stroking my cheeks.

I grin bashfully while looking away, and then he slides the robe open with one hand. My body becomes exposed to his hungry eyes, and his wolfish grin comes to life as he takes me in.

"Damn, you're so amazing," he says with adoration seeping from his tone.

My arms slide around his neck, and his cool hands slide under the robe to pull my bare center to him.

I love his touch.

"Do you?" he snickers out while sliding his hands around me tighter.

Mm hm.

He snickers more, and then his phone buzzes in his pocket. We both release an irritated breath as he pulls it out, and he rolls his eyes while answering it.

"Ericson," he answers, agitation in his tone for the interruption.

"Sir, we've located the trail you asked us for," a man snaps out.

Great. We've been waiting for two fucking weeks on this, and now they call.

Jase laughs by mistake after overhearing my little thought, and he walks over to kiss my forehead.

"We'll be down in a minute."

"Captain Morris is on his way up to your room, Sir. He asked me to call ahead for him."

I let a laugh free this time, and Jase blushes a little as I swish away to throw on some clothes.

"Thanks," Jase sighs, and then I hear the call ending as he follows me into the room and throws on a shirt to go with his sexy, dark, low jeans.

"Like what you see?" he flirts while turning to catch my ogling eyes.

"A little," I casually counter, my shoulders going up in an indifferent shrug.

"Liar," he playfully retorts.

"You're right. I don't like, I love," I insert with intentional corniness, and he lets a goofy grin free before pulling me back into his arms and kissing me sweetly.

"I love the fact you can't keep your eyes off me," he murmurs against my lips.

I giggle lightly, and he wraps his arm around my waist while leading me to the door to welcome my uncle who has just buzzed the vexing little box.

I swear that thing goes crazy no matter what damn hotel we're in. Jase is too popular.

"You guys ready? This could get a little dangerous. We're going to be deep in Unaligned territory," my uncle nervously releases.

"I know, that's why I've called in the elite team. They'll be taking the lead, and they'll be careful not to obstruct Aria's tracks," Jase says.

You called in the elite team? What kind of lieutenant are you?

"The powerful kind," he whispers with a cute, salacious grin.

My uncle rolls his eyes, and then they walk off together while I grab my bag. I look around and see something out of place. I start to call to Jase, but he and Unc have already rounded the corner.

I turn back and go to pick up the odd looking box in the far corner of the room. I gasp a little when I see my name on it.

How did I miss this?

I smell the breeze and the scent of melted chocolate and dark cherry. Then I look to the balcony doors that I distinctly remember shutting and locking myself. Someone was in here.

I get a twisted, sick feeling in my gut, and I walk over to shut the doors once more, my eyes scouring our surroundings. I sigh out a shaky breath, and then I return to the mystery box. A note hides inside, and I open it to find out who the hell was just in our room.

Don't go on this mission. Stay.

Stay? I can't stay.

"Who are you?" I scream to the empty room.

I'm answered by silence and the walls stifling a laugh at my seemingly crazy outburst. I turn and walk out onto the balcony, and I speak to the listening ears of the wind.

"If you want me to stay, you have to tell me why. I don't trust phantoms," I gripe to the open sky towering over the ant-sized people below, and then I toss the box to the ground while shoving the note into my pocket.

I still receive no answer, and I shake my head at my foolishness for expecting one. I barge back in, lock the door, and then sprint out of the room to catch up with the others. I'm so sick of this mystery man, and I'm tired of feeling like a pawn on a chessboard.

"Hey," a voice pops out from nowhere, and I scream while jumping so high my head cracks the ceiling of the hallway.

I hear a bit of a snicker, and I turn to scowl at my brother once my feet slap the floor again.

"Damn it, Rex. You know I hate it when people do that," I scold, and he laughs a little harder before coming to pull me into his embrace.

"I know. I actually didn't mean to, but you seemed to have had tunnel vision."

I laugh a little, shrugging off the phantom's message, and then look back at him.

"I tend to get lost in thought. Why haven't you called?"

He frowns a little, his eyes moving to the floor.

"I thought I'd give you a couple of weeks to cool down. I knew I'd end up on your next detail, so I was hoping you'd have gone without me long enough to miss me and not be mad at me anymore."

I smirk a little, and then I lean into him.

"I'm over it," I sigh out, and I feel his warm breath on my hair as he kisses the top of my head.

"Good. I always hate it when you're mad at me."

I laugh again, and then he hands me a file to flip through.

"What's this?" I hold the file up curiously.

"You asked me to find out if Kellan Maverick was strong enough to do what we saw at the underground massacre. This is everything I could find, and as far as visions go… notta' damn thing. There's not even a shadow. But I found these pictures. I think you're right. I think he did this."

I look down at the pictures, and my hand closes over my gaping mouth as I stare at the horrific scenes I never heard accurately described. This is so much worse than anyone told tales of.

The blood stains the cities he tore apart as though it rained red for ten days straight. Bodies are just as mangled and dismembered as the horrific scene we saw in that underground hell… only worse, because there are so many more. Hundreds of thousands of people have been slaughtered in the most heinous of ways. Again, guns are strapped to sides, legs, ankles… none of them drawn. How did they keep these disasters such a secret?

"Fuck," I say in a long exhaled breath that is laced full of angst and dread.

"I know. It took some time to find out how to get these out of the vault. These records haven't been released yet, so don't let anyone catch you with them."

My eyes narrow as I close the file, and I tuck it into my bag while shaking my head.

"By anyone you mean Jase," I growl, my eyes cutting toward him to cast their uranium dipped daggers.

His lips tighten, and then he takes a deep breath.

"I just mean… look, you haven't been together long enough to tell him we broke in and stole classified documents."

"I trust him. Okay? But since you're the one who broke in and stole them, then I'll let you be the one who tells him when you trust him too," I murmur while putting my hand on his shoulder, and a breath of relief falls through his lips.

"Thank you," he sighs out.

We walk through the large doors of the hotel to make it to the gallant porch, and I see the tall, lean, sexy body of my full blood propped up against a wall as he talks to my uncle. Their whispered conversation is too far away for my hearing to pick up without straining, but I decide not to pry.

I prop up against one of the enormous columns on the porch, staring down at them from the my high perch, as the scent of sex and candy drifts to me, and the wind carries his delicious taste to my mouth.

His dark hair is short, but long enough for the wind to play with it. I'm a little envious of the wind's fingers running through the hair I want to be touching right now. His sculpted body lies hidden in the clothes I would rather see on the floor, and his incredible pale eyes glisten under the beauty of the sunlight.

"I'm going to head on and find Mel since you're going to stand here and drool," Rex gripes while walking away, but I don't take my eyes off the masterpiece in front of me.

A group of men walk out of the hotel - their militant uniforms announcing them as the elite - and I lose sight of my perfect full blood when they pass in front of him. I almost pout at their dawdling pace, but the finally move on past where he was.

He's gone though. It's just my uncle and some other man now.

Where did Jase go?

I scour the landscape, my eyes desperately searching for my full blood, but he has somehow managed to completely disappear.

Then I smell his delicious scent coming up from behind me just as cool arms wrap around my waist. His soft hair tickles against my face as he leans down to kiss my neck with those divinely soft lips, and his perfect body presses against my back.

"Looking for me?" he murmurs against my skin, the chill of his breath heating my core.

I turn around to look into those pale beauties, and my smile only grows as my cheeks redden.

Busted.

I smile as the lips felt to be made for mine pull me in and his daring tongue plays in my mouth. He draws back just enough to speak, and I almost jerk him back to me as he smirks.

"For the record, you taste better than sex and candy," he murmurs, his breath icing my lips in the most surreal way.

"Really? What do I taste like?" I seduce as my lower half throbs for him.

"Throbbing, eh?" he teases, and I roll my eyes while blushing fiercely.

He grabs my ass and jerks me to him, making my longing need that much worse, and then his lips devour mine as he pushes me against the column. His hips pin me, his erection presses hard against me, and all I want to do is jump up and wrap my legs around his waist.

His salacious grin emerges as his mind spies on my devious fantasies, and then he pulls back.

"Chocolate covered strawberries, champagne, and sweet seduction," he murmurs, and I tilt my head curiously.

"What?"

He grins bigger, his lips finding mine briefly before pulling back and taking my hand in his.

"You asked me what you tasted like," he says with a devious smirk. "Why do you think I can't seem to get enough."

I giggle a little too loud, and my blushing hue returns as our fingers lace together. He opens the car door for me and releases my hand with some reluctance once I sit down. In a blink, he's sitting down behind the wheel, his crisp blue shirt made with fabric so soft the clouds are jealous.

"I love the way you think about me," he murmurs softly while kissing the back of my hand, and then he pushes the button to make the engine purr.

"Good, because I can't seem to stop," I mumble aloud, my eyes trying not to look directly at him as I over share.

I see his grin growing out of the corner of my eye, and then he hammers it into first gear while skidding off the asphalt and sloshing onto the dirt road that is still slightly muddy.

His hand holds mine once we reach the straight away and he has no more gears to shift. I smile as I lean against him, my lips kissing his arm through the sleeve of his shirt as I revel in the chill of his body.

He seems so lost in thought as his thumb strolls across the ends of my fingers, and his eyes stay intensely focused on the road ahead. There's a glistening in his pale blues that intrigues me, and a small, one-sided smirk plays on the corner of his mouth that makes me have to voice my curiosity.

"I wish I could read your mind right now. I'd love to know what that look is about," I murmur softly while snuggling into him a little better.

I feel his cool breath against my hair as he kisses my head, and then I feel his smile getting bigger as he leans back.

"I'm glad you can't read my mind, baby," he says so quietly that it's almost a whisper.

"Why's that?"

"Because I'm thinking things I shouldn't be thinking this early on in our relationship. There's still quite a bit I need to tell you before my mind goes where it's going right now."

I grin while very trying very hard not to let myself think about what he might be thinking about, and he lets out a chuckle.

"So, what things do you need to tell me?" I chirp, my smile only growing as I snuggle into the man I love.

He lets out a deep breath, and then he pulls my hand up to his lips. I smile as he kisses it, and then he turns the music up instead of spilling whatever it is he has to tell me.

"I want to tell you, but not here, not now. I just want to enjoy this. I like the way we are right now."

I love the way we are right now.

"Good," he adds, his smile returning to banish some of the unexplainable worry he had.

Then the song fades into static when we distance ourselves too far from the city. He turns it down, and he has a devilish little grin appear. I start to question it when he starts humming. Immediately my face turns red when I hear him humming the tune to my wire cutting song. I didn't even think about that.

"Crap," I gripe as I think back to how loud I had sung it in my head that day.

He starts snickering, his chuckles interrupting his humming, and I roll my eyes.

Damn mind reader.

"These treads are wrong," I murmur almost to myself as I feel the tire treads through the dried mud.

"Why?" Jase asks while joining me in my crouched position.

I dust my hands off, my eyes staying on the odd trail, as I stand back up.

"Because the Unaligned use a deeper tread for thick mud. This swampy region almost requires them. The crew we're chasing are from this area originally. There's no way they would be here with this smaller tread. It slows the vehicle, and it leaves the potential for getting stuck, which is what happened over there," I murmur while pointing to a large rut.

Jase walks over to investigate, kneeling in front of the mess of prints. There are footprints all around it where very large men got out and pushed the car free.

"These don't even look like professionals. I think Abby messed up somewhere along the way. Are you sure this is the trail she found?" I huff while turning around.

"Positive," a captain asserts.

"Then she was wrong," I say distractedly, trying to figure out how someone as seasoned as Abby was able to miss this.

"How well do you know Abby?" Jase murmurs as he walks back toward me.

"Not too well. She trained in the eastern region of the United. I've only ever met her in passing a time or two. I'm not even all that well versed with her tracking exploits to be honest."

He sighs out and then walks back toward the cars. Something feels wrong. No matter how Abby was trained, she should have caught onto this. This is far too easy to catch. Unless…

"Unless she set us up." Jase's eyes grow wide as he finishes the thought he was listening in on, and then he whirls around to yell, "It's a trap. Get out of here now!"

He starts sprinting toward me but bullets begin raining down on us, blocking him from me, as the hidden army descends upon us.

"Aria!" he yells as a grenade lands beside me, but I use my gift to force it airborne before it explodes.

More bullets pelt against our ambushing ground, and we're all forced to dive and take cover. Jase fires rapidly in the direction of the fight, but I can't fucking see a damn thing.

My uncle grabs a grenade launcher, and suddenly he's firing massive uranium filled grenades toward the multitudes of unseen attackers. Jase is pinned down behind the lead vehicles now, and I'm on my own behind a hummer.

The grenades that are coming at us don't look right. They're solid chrome. There are no symbols the Unaligned so proudly mark all their weapons with. Who the hell is this?

"Damn it, Aria, get down!" Jase screams just as a bullet grazes my side.

Fuck that hurts.

Jase winces, his eyes desperate to find a way too me, but there aren't any options. I try to force my sleepy gift free, and a few laughable pebbles sling across the ground to represent my pathetic attempt.

That's fucking embarrassing.

Jase's eyes look different. It looks like he's about to do something, but suddenly shit starts turning to ash all over.

Thank God for Savage Unc.

I look over to see Uncle Grayson's eyes dilated, and I'm thankful his savage is more controlled around full bloods than my brother's. Jase dives and rolls in my direction, but he's pinned down behind another one of our vehicles as they fire even more rapidly in our direction.

Suddenly, the ground splits and jagged rocks emerge to form an instant cliff, cutting me off completely from the others.

"Aria!" Jase and Rex both scream.

"I'm fine. They have a gifted. They probably have more! Watch your backs," I blare through the stone wall.

I look around for an escape, but someone has surrounded me with this stony trap, leaving only the swamp in sight. I fire blindly toward the invisible attackers who are cloaked by the deep swamp, but I can't see if I'm hitting anyone or not. The overgrown natural veil is too thickly covered, making it the perfect place for a guarded attack by a group of sniveling cowards.

Damn, I wish I could fucking use my gift.

I try again, and this time I'm able to launch a pile of idle grenades into the swampy area, their pins all falling out in unison and plopping against the stagnant puddles of mud.

Sure, no one gets to see that shit.

The deafening boom rattles throughout the swampy area, and I hear some celebrating for my small accomplishment. I try to see, now that I've set the marsh on fire, and then I smell the methane swishing through before the fire blows up even hotter, another boom erupting.

Fucking shit!

The force comes out so hot and heavy that it throws my body into the massive rock someone forced up as my cage, and I drop to the ground as blood falls from my mouth. I feel my wounds healing, and then I start running while the bullets come in a little scarcer. I see a gap, and I slide through it, hoping for open ground, but I'm greeted by a man holding a gun.

I scream as the uranium burns through my veins with one, two, three bangs .

Damn it.

"Aria!" Jase screams when he hears my mind's distress.

I thought he couldn't hear me if he couldn't see me. Shit.

Tears start to drip when I hear him yelp out after most likely being shot.

"No!"

I try to crawl away from my attacker, but I'm forced to scream again as more shots of uranium slice through my back, finding my organs, and pushing the blood out in heaps. I turn in time to see the tattoo peeking out from under his shirt sleeve on his wrist. The scorpion.

Fires blaze up and over the rock, but they miss the man. It's that same fire, that same beautiful, hypnotizing fire from the day of the jets. The fires come again, but they miss him, unable to find him, blinded by the cliffs that have been made.

I feel too dizzy to stand as my blood pours out more, and then I feel my weak, fragile body being thrown over a shoulder, the scorpion tattoo staring me in the face as his wrist swishes back and forth on the arm not strapping me down.

More men ash to death as Uncle Grayson goes phase two, things starts moving faster as Aunt Angelica panics, and then cries erupt as my brother's sane mind disappears and his savage takes over to destroy the minds of the rest. It's too late though.

Everything becomes a distant blur as the rock wall moves out of our way, and I feel the wind against my back. He's moving too damn fast, and they'll never catch up with our attackers still holding them back.

I love you, Jase.

"Arrrriiiiiaaa!" his yelling, frenzied voice yells back in response, but it become a dull, distant echo almost too quick as my eyes falter, slowly giving up hope.

Within a near blink, we're already miles and miles away, the swamplands gone. This guy shouldn't be so fast. He's faster than me, faster than Jase, faster than my damn mom.

My blood has left a trail, but it'll be too dark for someone not as good as me to follow it. I smell sweat, blood, and a mingling of random scents as we quickly approach someone… or a group.

"That's her?" some girl scoffs. "That was too easy."

Wouldn't be if I was fully functional, bitch.

"The others?" a man asks.

"They'll escape. They had three or four go savage, and they were all level sevens. Our men never stood a chance against them, but we acquired the target, so mission accomplished," the man holding me says in his baritone, scratchy voice.

Please be safe, Jase.

Throw her in the car. She's bleeding all over the damn ground, and that'll draw attention to our trail," that same girl says in disgust.

A low humming sound rattles in my ears, almost like the secret music electricity plays to the attentive listener. It grows louder, but it seems to be evading the ears of my captors.

I feel my body loosely dangling over this beast's shoulder as we near the cars. Then I feel the hum growing louder to a static crackle. I look up just in time to see streaks of purple crashing down, and the woman I hadn't seen until just now screams out as she drops to the ground while convulsing.

My body falls with a thud against the mud, and I cry out as my gashes burn from the grit entering my gaping wounds. I look over to see the men pulling their weapons free, but that purple energy shoots out again, and it surges through the eyes of the other two men before they gargle out cries of pain. Their bodies fold, convulse, and shake like the body of a headless snake.

I try to crawl away, my tattered clothes sounding out in a ripping tear as I struggle. I want to scream for help, beg for someone to find me, but the pool of blood in my mouth only allows me a whispered gurgle.

Then I feel arms wrapping around me, scooping me up from the ground, and I fold into the bridal style carry as the steamy scent of melted chocolate and dark cherry rushes my nose.

I shouldn't feel safe right now, but I do. I shouldn't feel like clinging to this dark knight, but I do.

I look up to see a black mask covering the face of what is hopefully my rescuer. His hooded sweat jacket is zipped to his neck, and his hair is completely hidden from my groggy sight as his black hood tucks it away.

The leather gloves on his hands feel smooth against my exposed skin, and he puts me in the front seat of a car before taking the driver's seat.

"Who… are…"

That's all I can get out, but he doesn't speak right away. He cranks the car and slams it into gear while slinging dirt behind him and driving like hell away from the dying eyes of my captors.

He pulls up a pack of blood, and he rips it open with his teeth before handing it to me. I almost cry I'm so happy to see it, and my shaky hand takes it from his as I gulp down the diluted blood.

It's not human like most packaged blood though. It tastes… different. It's not like my full blood's blood, so it has to be hybrid.

I feel some of the wounds closing up, creating a more tolerable pain level, but there's still so much left to heal. It will at least give my body enough help to start healing on its on.

"Who are you?" I ask as the breaths rush my lungs.

"What part of don't go on this mission didn't you understand?" the familiar accented voice asks.

"It's you," I gasp, my body tensing up instantly as panic takes the place of hope.

"I'm not sure why you're acting so scared right now. I've done nothing but try to save your bloody life, and here you are bleeding to death because you refused to heed my warning."

"It's hard for me to trust a phantom," I growl while sliding closer to the door, carefully weighing my options of opening it and praying I'm healed enough to run.

He reaches over and pulls me back to the seat, his warm touch electrifying my skin in an unexpected way.

"You can run. I won't stop you. But you won't see what you need to if you do," he says, and now I get sick.

Can he read minds too?

He doesn't answer my inner thought, but that doesn't mean anything.

"Well, can you?" I bark.

"Can I what?" he murmurs in bemusement, his incredibly smooth voice not muffled by the mask as it should be.

"Nothing," I grumble to myself, now feeling slightly foolish. "Why do you save me and hide your face?"

"Because my identity needs to remain a secret for now… until you're ready to learn the truth."

"Are you the commander?" I scoff, and he lets a chuckle free.

"Not even close. Roll down your window, and spit your blood out. They'll need a trail to follow," he murmurs while motioning to the panel of buttons on the door.

I tilt my head curiously, and then I do as he says because it benefits me. I lean back in, but I leave the window down to offer me some fresh air as he barrels down the road to who knows where.

"Where are you taking me?"

"Somewhere safe, somewhere away from the men after you."

Thanks for the insight.

I spit out more blood, keeping the trail alive.

"Who are they? The scorpions, I mean."

"I don't know. I just know they're the ones behind this. I've been tracking them, following their damage, but I can't get close enough to find out any of the specifics. You know most of what I know, considering I gift-wrapped it for you."

I huff out, thinking back to the phone call that helped me find the girl they were draining on that video.

"They want the blood of emergents. How do you know about us?"

"It's a long story that won't benefit you. All you need to know is that these people have the numbers, the money, and the ability to do whatever they want. They've also got insiders, as you learned very well tonight."

"How did you know it was a setup? Why didn't you just tell me that?" I ask while trying to find a more comfortable position, spitting out more blood.

"That's enough of a blood trail. I can't have them find you where we're going. This is where I'll drop you when we're done," he says while rolling my window back up. Then he continues.

"I followed your trail before you did. I watched the other tracker very carefully because she seemed suspicious. That trail was originally the one I had been tracking, but it didn't feel right. The tire treads were all wrong. She didn't catch on, and that made me all the more suspicious of her.

"The ones in charge didn't find the other girl tracker qualified enough to finish the job. She wasn't upset, offended, or even the least bit concerned by their lack of confidence in her, and according to her file, she has applied for a higher rank fifteen times in the past five years. Someone trying to move up in the ranks is going to get pissed when pulled off of a big case."

He sounds like me.

"Okay, there's part of my answer. Why didn't you tell me it was a setup?"

"Because I didn't know for sure. And if you had told the others it was a trap, that girl would have been alerted. I was planning on following her, bugging her phone, and tracking her every move. Either way, now that plan is blown."

"Sorry," I mumble while slumping down in my seat. "Why do this alone? Why not join the United? You're clearly qualified. You're already ahead of us in this investigation."

He glances out the window to the side, holding his silence for a second before answering me.

"It's complicated. For now, all you need to know is I'm trying to help. From now on, listen to me when I tell you something. I can't follow them around if I'm saving your ass."

He almost sounds angry with me, and it's kind of refreshing. My mother and Rex gripe at me, but they always back off before pushing me too far. Most everyone else avoids conflict with me because I avoid it with them. I just wish I knew who the hell I'm trusting right now.

He turns into a wooded area, and the car slows down as he presses a button that makes a door lift from the ground.

"Is it too late to tell you I'm not crazy about underground areas anymore?" I murmur jokingly.

He actually lets a bit of a laugh free, and then he turns his lights off as the place lights up around us. I hear the door dropping back down behind us as we drive through a lit tunnel.

"Where are we?"

"The border between the Unaligned and the United. This tunnel is how I cross between the two without anyone knowing. I'm trusting you to keep this between us, and that includes not thinking about it around your mind reading boyfriend."

Oh shit.

"How do you-"

"I know more about the company you keep than you do. I make it my business to know everyone you know because I'm trying to keep you safe."

His cryptic answers are driving me crazy right now.

"Why? Why are you trying to keep me safe?"

He turns to me as he stops, his hybrid blues holding a secret under the mask that hides his whole face. It's a simple mask, but it's made to keep me from even catching a glimpse of any of his facial structure.

"Because if I help you, you can help me."

"What does that mean?" I grumble, his vague answers annoying me all the more.

"You'll see when the time comes. Everyone has an ulterior motive for the things they do. You need to learn that now and stop being so na?ve."

He climbs out of the car, and I look to see we've left the long tunnel and turned into an underground parking area full of flashy cars.

"Na?ve?" I bark.

"Yes, na?ve. You believe everyone to be as they appear to be. People have secrets, Aria. No one is any better than you in that area. Stop assuming they don't have secrets just because they're not emergent-bred. Learn to see it and stop overlooking it when you do."

"What does that mean?" I growl while damn near hobbling behind him.

"Not important right now. You're here for a reason, and we don't have long before your friends and family find your trail and follow you to the edge of the line. Right now, you need to take my blood so you can heal the rest of the way," he says too casually.

My eyes have to be taking up most of my face right now, gaping in shocked disbelief. He didn't just say that. I have to have imagined it.

"Do… huh?" I stammer out.

He unzips his hooded sweatshirt and rolls up his black tank underneath to expose a sexy, defined hipline just above his low hanging pants.

Oh damn.

"Take my blood and heal. We've got more important things to discuss, and we can't talk with uranium eating you up inside. You can take it from an artery to speed up the process and cut down on the amount of closeness you'll need afterwards. If you want, I can blindfold you so that I can remove my mask."

I'm pretty sure that sounded much kinkier than he realizes, and if I wasn't in love with Jase, I'd definitely consider it. On the other hand... did he really just propose a blood fuck quickie? This is so frigging mind-blowing.

"I'll heal on my own. It's just a slow process."

"You've been hit with uranium. Just take my damn blood. We're wasting time, and I only had the one pack of diluted blood."

"I can't take your blood. I don't take fresh blood from someone I don't know just to heal. My body heals against uranium wounds... it just takes it a while. Packaged blood is slow to heal too, but it eventually works."

He lowers his shirt while tilting his head, and then he walks over to me, his dirty blond hair creeping out just enough to give me some piece of the puzzle to my mystery man.

He rips my shirt up, and I just let him. I don't fight him, shy away, or even question his intentions. I feel... comfortable around him, too comfortable - and safe as well.

I can feel rather than see his smirk for my lack of reaction. His eyes stare at the open skin on my side that is slowly fusing back together, and he takes in a deep breath.

"You're the only one to do this," he murmurs in disbelief.

"How do you know that?" I ask as he stands up slowly.

"Because I've done extensive research. Uranium wounds need blood for healing for everyone. The fact you can heal against uranium proves I was right about how special you really are."

His eyes stare into mine, and I feel a draw, almost as if something is pulling me to him. Oh no.

"You should still take my blood. It has to be painful," he says while motioning to my still gaping wound.

"It is, but I can deal. Taking blood from a vein means blood fucking someone, and I've only ever done that with one person. It's a little too intimate for me."

He starts laughing to the point where he doubles over to grab his knees. My cheeks heat up, and he rises while shaking his head.

"Damn. At your age you've only ever blood fucked one person? Holy shit. No wonder your gifts are so damn buried," he murmurs while turning away, and I follow him blindly down the hall to a large, wooden door. I didn't even know they made doors with wood.

"My gifts are buried because my mom blocked them," I argue, though I shouldn't be telling him this.

"Your mom doesn't have that ability," he says too curtly, his condescension coming through very clearly.

"She does have that gift. She did the same thing to another person as well," I counter very matter-of-factly, leaving out the fact it was my brother.

"Your brother's gift wasn't blocked by your mother, It was blocked by you," he says, and I can feel a grin hiding behind that mask as he stares at my scowl.

"How do you fucking know it was my brother? You really can read minds, can't you?"

He laughs lightly while shaking his head, and then he scoops me up as we reach a large stairwell. He holds me to his body instead of making me climb the steep steps, and I just lean into him, my body willing to touch his for reasons I can't explain.

"I think your boyfriend's secret has made you paranoid. I can't read minds; I just know a lot about you. I've been watching for a while. I bugged your cars, including your rental car. I needed to know if I could trust you."

He just told me he's been spying on me, and still I'm leaning against him, trusting him, and not screaming for help. This isn't good. Not now. Not that I've found Jase.

It can't be. I'm sure I'm just a little overly emotional due to the fact I was almost killed. I'm reading too much into this.

"So... do you trust me?"

"You wouldn't be in my lair if I didn't." he murmurs very smoothly, and I almost dissolve like a fool. "You blocked your brother's power because you would do anything at all for him. You don't remember it, but you knew what he was struggling with, felt it with your empathic abilities that used to be much stronger. Later, after you hurt him, you blocked your own. I've studied your mother's blood. She's not capable of doing it."

Suddenly, I'm tense all over.

"What… how…"

"Relax. I was friends with Clay Jude. He trusted me with her blood for reasons I can't disclose right now."

Why do I trust him so implicitly?

"Why didn't you ever give me any of these details sooner? You apparently knew where I was staying. You know my number. Why wait until tonight to tell me anything?"

We reach the top of the stairs, and he very gently places me on the couch before pulling out a remote that drops several screens from the ceiling.

"For one, you weren't ready to listen. For two, you didn't trust me and you were trying to track my phones. If I had spoken for longer, you would have. Maybe in the future I can."

The screens come to life with images, and he comes to sit by me while pulling out a handheld screen full of smaller frames.

"These are the emergents they know about. I'm sure you saw their board. Here's the image you didn't get to fully see." He pulls up the clear, unobstructed footage of the underground massacre before it was a slaughterhouse.

"Just listen," he says while turning up the volume.

He messes with some dials that dulls the clatter of the very alive people who are working, breathing, and acting normal in the room. Then he zooms in on the image that barely made it onto the screen, and I can hear the voice of the doctor who is drawing blood out of the girl after her eyes have turned violet.

"Drain her until she stops bleeding, then feed her blood and drain her some more. Call me when you have enough to start the tests," the white-coat madman asserts.

"What if she uses her gift?" the mignon asks.

"Then use the magnesium on her. Her allergy to it will prove useful."

The screen goes blank, as though the footage is wiped from there on out, and he turns off the screens.

"So they are testing on my kind," I huff out.

"They're not just testing, they're looking for weaknesses too. We all have something that weakens us."

My mother is allergic to electricity. Besides uranium, there's nothing else I'm truly weakened by, and even uranium wounds heal on their own. The problem is, without my gifts being fully functional, I'm easy to restrain with almost anything. It sucks to be powerlessly powerful.

"So what now?" I ask while cringing and gripping my side.

He releases a sympathetic breath, his eyes falling to the bloody mess I'm holding.

"You really should take my blood. It's just a blood fuck for healing," he says too casually once more.

"I told you, it's too intimate for me."

"If you keep denying your hybrid needs, your powers will never surface again. You are too timid, worried, and fragile. You have a strong emergent bloodline, possibly the strongest. Then you have a strong hybrid line as well. You have to be hybrid to be hybrid . It's the way of our world. Denying your hybrid needs will hold you back."

That explains why my gifts have sucked for-damn-ever and then go crazy during a blood fuck.

"What slaughtered the people in that room? Was it Kellan Maverick?"

He sits back, his eyes shifting to the ground.

"I can assure you it wasn't. Whatever it was, it had a hell of a lot of power than he does. It's nothing to overlook. I think it was one of their experiments gone wrong. I'm pretty sure it escaped a few years ago, and I think it came back to seek revenge. Whatever it is, just pray it doesn't come for you. I don't know if I'll be able to save you from that."

I feel dizzy, and my body starts to fall when his arms wrap around me, offering me that steamy scent of melted chocolate and dark cherry up close again. His hand strokes my hair, and he scoops me up to pull me to his body.

"You're still healing," he murmurs while looking at my wound in disbelief.

"I know," I mumble, my eyes feeling heavy.

"They won't find you here. I need to take you back topside for your rescuers, but I can't leave you asleep. I can't stay because they'll start tracking me immediately. I need you to take my blood and heal so I can make sure you get back safely."

His sweet accent and smooth voice is so comforting.

"Just carry me out. By the time we get back, I'll be healed enough to stand. I promise I won't let them come after you," I murmur in a yawn while trying to force myself to stay awake.

His hands grip me to him, and he stands with me in his arms while letting the scorching heat of his breath find my face.

"You're so much prettier than I expected you to be up close," he utters softly into my hair as his hard mask presses against my head.

"I can't compliment your looks because you're still hiding from me," I joke to lighten the moment.

"You'll see me soon. When you're ready," he murmurs gently while gliding down the stairs without jostling my body.

I feel the seat of the car, and the sticky blood still on the seat grabs at my remaining shards of clothing.

"How am I denying my hybrid? Just the blood fucks?" I ask as he climbs in, and he lets a bit of a laugh free.

"That's part of it," he says while cranking the car again, and I feel us moving in reverse as he studies the lot behind him. He turns the car, and suddenly we're zipping through the tunnel. "Do you ever have a moment when you feel empowered, seductive, irresistible, and completely unstoppable while on a mission to get what you want?"

My mind flashes back to the day I put that full blood boy in his place. Then I think of the night I went after Jase right in the middle of camp. And of course, our first blood fuck comes to mind.

"Yeah," I murmur thoughtfully.

"That's your hybrid telling you to let it free. If you deny it, it'll eventually take over. You have to stop thinking you're like your mother. Her human half diluted her emergent side. You have no idea what you'll be capable of once you embrace all of you and stop acting so damn reserved. If you don't, you'll lose yourself for who knows how long, and I need you lucid to help me when the time comes."

Thank God someone doesn't think I'm like my mother.

"You saved my life… again. I kind of owe you, so I'll help you if I can. By the way, were you there the day of the jets?"

He shakes his head, keeping his gaze forward.

"No. I was following a trail near a deserted base when those loud bastards zipped overhead. I knew they were going after you when I saw their direction and their symbols, so I called to warn you."

That's not what I was expecting to hear. If he wasn't there, then where did that hypnotic blaze come from? Where did it come from tonight?

"Something wrong?" he worries, his eyes being the only thing I can see holding concern.

"I don't know. There's a gifted who has used these breathtakingly incredible flames twice now, but I don't know who it is."

My mind starts falling over all the hybrids of our group, but none are level sevens outside my family, and that fire would be at least a seven. I can't think of anyone who has been with us who could hold such a secret gift. Melania perhaps? I've yet to ask what her gift is.

"Flames? Aria, I don't like the sound of that. If someone is using such a gift, and I've managed to miss it, then you need to be careful."

He sounds so sincerely worried about me. It doesn't make any sense. He even offered me blood to heal my wounds. Jase would kick his ass if he knew that, at least I hope he would want to kick his ass.

I ignore the nagging voice in my head that is trying to tell me what I don't want to hear. No. I don't have a counter. I can't have a counter. I love Jase. I just feel drawn to this stranger because he saved me.

"I'll be fine. Whoever is doing it, they're doing it to help me. I know that much, and don't say I'm na?ve."

My eyes cut toward him warningly, and a breath of laughter accidentally escapes through those lips I can't see.

"You are na?ve, so I'll just keep an eye out for our mysterious flamethrower. I'll let you know when I find out. In the meantime, you need to stop trusting everyone so much and start paying more attention."

"Give me an example," I murmur through a yawn.

"Of what?" he muses, his hand sliding behind my back to pull me into him when my eyes threaten to close.

My head finds his firm chest, and though I should be scared, I'm just comforted right now by his arms.

"Of my naivety."

His face presses to my hair, continuing to be affectionate toward me and making my worry that much fiercer. It's so odd he's acting this way, but he won't show me his face. Jase would kick his ass for this too.

"In time, you'll see, and then I'll be there to help you through it. You'll find there are some you should trust that you don't, and there are some you shouldn't trust that you do."

"Riddles. I hate riddles," I mumble, my eyes growing even heavier as the blood loss takes its weary toll on me.

I can't go to sleep. He'll need to escape, and it's too dangerous for me to be out here while unconscious. I can smell the mud and the fresh air. I never even knew we left the tunnel, but I can feel the soft earth beneath us that promises we did.

"Riddles for now," he murmurs softly, and that's all I can take.

My eyes give up their endeavor to stay open, and my weakened body gives into its exhaustion. I'm sorry.