Chapter 19

NINETEEN

The menwho caught me shove me to my knees in the middle of what would be this outpost's living room.

There's a fire in the fireplace and four more in places that no fire should ever be. But they're contained… and it means the space isn't freezing.

I already know that Kimba didn't head back downstairs and hope that Shock and Risk could deal with the problem I've gotten myself into.

I didn't actually expect her to.

I feel her irritation and assume she found Kilo. I feel her relief, followed by a brief shock, but not sadness, just determination—someone's dead, and I don't think she meant for them to be.

That tells me Kilo's in good enough shape to squeeze a trigger.

The two of them are going to need surprise on their side.

Four guns are trained on me from a safe distance away. Four men watch me, warily.

One of them stares at me as he speaks into a comm. "We got him. Yeah. The freak you told us about with the eyes."

The freak with the eyes.I laugh at that description.

The man's pulse jumps at the sound.

"Should we blindfold him?"

I don't hear the response, but I see the disappointment.

He won't hold eye contact with me.

Good.

The blindfold wouldn't have changed anything for me. It would simply have set him at ease.

There's a screech behind me, and a door opens from a room they built when they butchered the original floor plan.

I thought I'd be surprised when I finally figured out who was behind this, but I just feel foolish for writing him off so early.

"It's such a pity that shot didn't kill you this afternoon. I didn't think you'd wear body armor for a social call, more the fool me."

I watch Roiban in the reflection of the windows. "Somehow, I thought you were above getting your hands dirty like this."

"Oh I am. You've dragged me down to your level." He chuckles. "I had to bring my own power with me to camp out in your backyard. It's disgraceful."

"You should have told me you wanted to move in. I could have warned against it."

He goes to the kitchen, and I see the glow of a small generator that explains the light when he opens the refrigerator.

He doesn't say another word as he makes himself a drink.

The other four men keep all of their attention on me, but I don't take mine away from Roiban.

"Why are you so desperate to drop that bomb?" I ask.

"Because Earth is a scourge and the longer we leave ourselves open to them… the more our society will plunge into darkness."

I wonder if that's the line he uses to recruit.

All four of the men with us look like they've heard it before.

Roiban keeps his distance, walking behind the men with their guns trained on me. "Where is that sweet little dancer of yours? Do we need to collect her from your home? Or were you stupid enough to bring her with you."

Like the others, he doesn't meet my eyes. He looks at the pale green liquor in his glass, swirling it and watching the blintz berries bobble about.

"Honestly, I'd written you off as a loss. I was going to deal with Ganfrey and then it would just be you and that spineless Luthiel standing in my way. Then it would be so easy to get rid of the monsters you've all been so protective of."

"A statement like that would get your teeth knocked in if you said it to any of the brotherhood."

"And yet, here you are and all of mine are still in place."

"Untie me. See how long that lasts."

He snorts and sips at his drink. "How did you do it, by the way?"

"How did I do what?"

"How did you train them to hunt my men down?"

Mymen.

"You're running the Company?"

He grimaces. "I loathe that disgusting word. They want to be here and they can't even choose a word from our language? No. I'm not running anything for those Earthly spies. I'm taking advantage of their idiocy. But you still haven't answered my question. How did you do it?"

"I didn't." I look at the flurries starting to swirl out the windows, trying to find Kimba in the reflections. She's close. "No one controls them. They're not pets."

He stares at me, eyes narrowing just a little bit. "You're not lying."

"No, I'm not."

Roiban goes a little pale, tipping the entirety of his glass back and throwing it into the fire. "Well, that is terrifying. Isn't it?"

I don't like what I see.

I do like that I can see it from all the way back here.

"If I sent you in there to deal with it… how long will your ‘you can't see me' thing work?"

Kilo shrugs. "As soon as they register me as a threat… I could probably kill two of them before they realized what was going on."

If direct action voids his "ignore me" privileges, we're going to have to hide him as long as possible.

I watch as the man from my parking garage speaks to D.

They know each other. D's calm. He's not happy. But he doesn't feel the threat is imminent.

I don't like being here when he's there.

"I think we're going to need to stall until the other two get here." Handing Kilo my gun, I say, "Stay close, but don't let them know you're here until you have to."

"What are you—"

He doesn't finish his sentence. He bites back a hissed version of my name as I step out into the firelight with my hands raised. I can still see him in my periphery, but he's haloed in a strange aura.

I ignore that. I can't afford to give him away. If we make it out of here, I'll ask later.

"I heard you were looking for me."

All four guns turn toward me for a split second and then—as the men process me as ‘not a threat'—they go back to D.

"Nadine," the man says with an ugly smile.

"That's not my name."

He rolls his eyes at me. "How kind of you to join us. At least I can count on you not doing what he's told you to do either. Check her."

The man closest to him hesitantly holsters his gun and makes his way to me. The pat down I receive is thorough, but not because he enjoys it.

I know when men want to touch me. He doesn't.

"Nothing," he says, quickly backing away and pulling his gun once more.

The man glares at me. "Pity, I thought you had a better sense of self preservation."

I go to D's side. He doesn't try to stand, so I place my hand on his shoulder and he rests his head against my hip.

"I still don't know your name," I say as I register this strange sense of peace.

It's faith. D's and mine reflecting through the bond. Faith that the brothers with us won't let this end badly. But more than that… Faith that whatever is about to happen is better, as long as we face it together.

"His name is Roiban." D says. "Not only is he the most vocal about the bomb… he's the one who made the CSS facial recognition software."

That's why the name is familiar. Luthiel mentioned him.

"It ignores me," Roiban says with a too-smug grin. "And I don't show up in any searches. It's quite helpful when you don't want to be found by a woman who can't do anything right."

"I can do quite a few things right."

Roiban sits in an ugly chair and smirks at us both. "To be completely honest, I never expected her to kill you. I expected her to try… but, well, look at you. I thought you'd protect yourself and snap her pretty little neck." He shrugs. "Either way, I would have gotten what I wanted."

"D, out of the way." I don't have to guess. He's not that creative.

"You're ineffectual. You and the rest of your mutated mercenaries." He waves a dismissive hand at the Zone out the window. "You're not protecting us. You're guarding a fence… one that has holes in it. And until we can get rid of the creatures once and for all, we won't be able to get rid of this disgraceful connection with Earth."

Roiban looks at me and lets out an exaggerated sigh. "You're only good for one thing. I hoped you might have more uses, but you're just harmless."

"You might think differently if I had a gun."

D's grip tightens on my leg and a warmth-like warning sizzles through the bond.

But I've already said it. I'm not going to back down.

"You're not a killer, sweet little Kimba." Roiban pouts at me like I'm a child. "I should have known that from the beginning. But my research had some unfortunate holes."

He studies me like he's looking for something he hasn't seen before. "We both know you wouldn't have actually hurt Jax if he hadn't put you into that broken bond blood fury, so don't pretend like you'd be able to shoot me now."

D drops his head and I can feel him grimace.

"Give me a gun and find out."

D is eerily calm in the bond. I don't know what he's thinking. I don't know if he's seen something, and I can't risk trying to find it if he has.

Roiban tips his head to the side, amused disbelief in his smile. "Why not?" He motions to one of his goons. "Give her your gun."

The other man looks at him like he's lost it, but after a moment's hesitation, he pulls the clip from his gun. There's still one in the chamber.

"Looks like your guy thinks I'll do it. He doesn't want the second one to have his name on it."

Roiban smiles so widely, it makes my jaw hurt. "Do it."

The man backs away, quickly.

The safety release issues a loud snap and I level it at him. He's wearing the same material we are. A body shot isn't going to do anything but knock him backward.

Whether I pull this trigger or not, we're not walking out of here. Might as well make it count.

Maybe I didn't want to kill the men Kilo dealt with… but they weren't actively trying to kill the man I love.

It's been so long since I've been at a shooting range, but the basics never change.

Exhale, squeeze the trigger.

Roiban takes my preparation for uncertainty. "Harmless, just like I sa—"

Roiban curses so loudly it echoes off the window

He moved at the last moment, but I still hit him.

I throw the gun to the floor, it's useless now. And Roiban is sadly still standing, only missing a chunk of his ear.

The blood flows freely and I watch him clutch at his head, struggling to staunch it.

"You little bitch!" His furious shouts make me wince. "You shot me! How fucking dare you."

It never ceases to amaze me how hypocritical murderers are.

The men with their guns move nervously, almost as if they've been told not to do more than contain us.

Roiban runs through more curses than I can translate and for a moment, D actually seems worried.

Still raving, he looks down at me, glaring darkly. "This would have been so much easier if you'd just died like you were supposed to. Now there are inquiries and questions will be asked when you disappear… but don't worry. They'll never find your bodies."

He drops his hand, and the gory remains still drip onto his shoulder.

He picks up the gun, and one of the others tries to tell him, but he tells them to fuck off, all of his anger is focused on me.

"Don't worry. I'll bury you together, in the traditional way. I can't begrudge a couple in love." He says the last word with such contempt…

A cold slither makes its way across the bond.

"At least I know how to deal with you both at once." He levels the gun at me and I wait for the click of the empty chamber.

I don't hear it.

A pale green blur knocks me off my feet.