28. Quaid
CHAPTER 28
QUAID
H er hair is pinned up, exposing her delicate neck. I slide my gaze along the long lines to the curve at her shoulder. There’s a slight flush to her cheeks. Is that because of the sun or that idiot River? I scowl at the thought of him. I don’t care what Jax or Beckett say. I don’t hate everybody on sight. Just him. Look at Greer. She’s irritating and na?ve as hell, but I like her. With everything thrown at her, she could have easily fallen apart, but instead, she’s here, learning to navigate our world. River’s hiding behind that arrogant mask of his.
Her eyes meet mine and narrow, and I toss her a challenging look of my own. She’s feisty, and it fuels the fire in my blood. For some reason, I particularly annoy her. Good. That means I push her out of her comfort zone. Her lips press tightly together. Oops, guess I’ve been staring at her for a while. I tense, waiting for her to blast me, but instead, she turns away. Wait, what?!
Frowning, I tilt my head to look closer. There’s a lot of thinking going on behind those forest green eyes of hers today. I’d ask if she was okay, but she refuses to let us help her, preferring to run to River.
“Everyone, line up!” I order, raising my voice over the chatter. “Today, we’re going to learn some self-defense techniques. Before we begin, I want everyone to remember that we’re only using these tactics to help us escape. Not fight. Got it?”
The young man with electrokinesis frowns but says nothing. He came in a week ago and hasn’t settled down yet. I doubt he ever will. If he could control his anger, he’d make a damn fine soldier. Add in the power to manipulate the movement of energy, including the electricity he wields so easily, and he’d be an outstanding one. Maybe I should at least talk to him about joining us.
While it’s top of mind, I sweep down the line, mentally tagging everyone I think would be ideal. Our time with the Army is coming to an end. We can’t serve the needs of the government and protect the rights of those like us without conflict, but we need others who are willing to stand beside us.
The older gentleman is fast thinking and capable. The dark-haired girl, too. In fact, almost all of the six who evaded my capture yesterday would likely fit the mold. Except for Greer. I thought the loss of Lionel would fill her with the determination to fight against Raven, but instead, her main focus is a new life. A twinge of envy slides through me, but I shove it down. Normal life isn’t for me.
“Greer,” I call out, making her jump. “I need a volunteer.” With a slight curl of my lips, I can practically hear her grind her teeth in response.
She flashes me an innocent smile, then turns toward the others. “Anyone else want to volunteer? I’m too nervous.”
My lips flatten. Sneaky. I open my mouth to order her, but the girl with the dark hair strides forward, and I resign myself to working with her.
“Thank you for volunteering, Talia,” I tell her, and everyone chuckles, including Greer. “Okay, let’s get started. I’ll put you in a variety of holds. You do everything you can to get out of them. If you escape, you get a point. If you don’t, I’ll teach you, and everyone else, several ways to get out of the hold.”
Coming up behind Talia, I wrap my arms around her neck in a rear chokehold. “Go!”
Talia immediately drops her chin against her chest to create a bit of space between her neck and my forearm. Then, she goes on the attack. Reaching for my eyes, ears, or whatever she can grab. Once I’m distracted, she twists her head to the side, slides out of my hold and drops into a squat. Kicking back, she immediately connects with my knee, then jumps up and starts running.
I let out a piercing whistle to halt her sprint. “Good job! Now, let’s go over some more options and a list of things that you shouldn’t do. For example… the squat wasn’t wrong, but you should avoid anything that takes you close to the ground. Losing your balance could cost you your life.”
For the next thirty minutes, I put Talia in different holds. She does well. I’ll definitely ask her to join us. Fast thinker and light on her feet. Plus, I believe she has the ability to control air and wind. Very useful.
“Okay, let’s break up into pairs,” I tell them, gesturing to the area around us. “One person will practice the holds, and the other will try to escape. In fifteen minutes, we’ll trade off.”
The young electro immediately walks up to Greer, and I see her smile in return. She points to an area in the gym, and they walk over to the spot. Interestingly, she takes on my role and puts him into a chokehold first. I watch him easily get out of it by following the techniques I taught them. Forcing my gaze to leave her, I walk around and slowly correct a hold or escape as needed. The whole time, my attention constantly drifts back to Greer and electricity boy.
David, that’s his name, I mentally snap, irritated at my lack of detail.
Finally, I get around to where they’re practicing and stop to watch them. All the laughing and joking ceases when they realize I’m watching. With a cough, David gestures for Greer to turn around so he can put her in a hold. She reluctantly presents her back to him.
He places her in a rear chokehold. She dips her chin and quickly escapes. Much faster than I anticipated. Maybe there is more to her defensive skills.
Intrigued, I decide to keep watching. They go through a few more, and she easily escapes each time. At first, I think he’s letting her off the hook, but the longer I watch, the more I realize she has actual skills. Maybe Lionel taught her. That would make sense. Last hold.
David turns to face Greer, and I watch as her breathing increases. She’s nervous about this one. He raises his hands and wraps them around her neck. Greer freezes, then shakes her head. Her expression changes to fear, and her movements become desperate. Her hands come up, and she beats against David’s arms, but he remains firm.
Her eyes glaze over, and she raises her hands high, bringing them together in a circle. She looks up, and I follow, but there’s nothing above her. I move to stop the exercise, but water suddenly shoots out of the bottles next to me, and I jump back.
“Greer! Snap out of it,” I order her in a hard voice, but it doesn’t pierce the barrier of the nightmare she’s reliving. “David, let her go and back up.” I’m hoping the removal of his hands helps her return to the present.
Eyes wide, David releases Greer and steps back several feet.
I move to her side and stroke a hand down her back. “It’s okay, Greer. You’re safe. I’ve got you.” Water flies toward me, and I incinerate it with my fire. Hissing fills the air, and the faintest of smoke rises along with it. Greer pauses at the sound, then lifts her left hand and sends another stream of water at me. She’s locked in the nightmare. The energy surrounding her increases exponentially.
With a grunt, I let the water hit, then spin her around, and clasp my arms around her in a chokehold, trapping her hands inside it. “Listen to my voice. You’re safe. Release your powers.” If she doesn’t snap out of it, I’m going to have to put her to sleep.
“Please,” she whimpers. “I’ve never done anything to you. Why do you want to kill me?” Her voice trails off as her hands continue to weave intricate patterns with the water. Fists clenching, she pulls the air taut as if a rope is in her hands.
After watching her movements for a minute, I realize what she’s unconsciously doing. She’s recreating a scene. I watch every motion and slowly realize what she’s done. Damn it. I lean in close. “Greer. It’s Quaid. You’re safe. I won’t let anyone hurt you. I promise.”
“You promise?” Her voice is barely a whisper, but the fear in her tone is high.
“Nobody will hurt you,” I assure her, tempering the anger in my voice. I want to know who attacked her. No wonder she’s suppressing her power. She’s terrified of it.
She shudders and sags in my arms, and I slowly release my hold. I turn her around to make sure she’s back with us. Her green eyes stare steadily back at me, clear as crystal, then drop to the floor. I reluctantly step away.
With bright red cheeks, she turns to the class. “Sorry. I got a little carried away.”
Her chuckle is forced, but few will judge her here. We’re all in this together.
After seeing their acceptance, she walks over to David. “I’m so sorry. If I’d known that would happen, I’d have warned you.”
He flashes her a wide grin. “We all have our demons, sweet pea. Don’t worry about it.” Walking over to her, he slings an arm across her shoulders. “Do you want to try again or give it a rest?”
It takes a minute, but her chin slowly rises. “Again.” She looks at me in defiance as if expecting me to say no. But getting back on the horse is the best thing she can do, so I give her a nod of encouragement. Besides, I’m too busy reining in a storm of emotions.
My phone alerts me to the time. “Okay, one more hold, then get to your next class. That’s all for today.” I watch David gently put her in a wristlock. Good choice.
Deliberately leaving them, I stride out of the gym to text Oliver. I’ve learned a few things about our little bird today. She definitely has a trigger. More interestingly … I didn’t feel her power until she used it. Then it was like a tidal wave exploding into the room. We typically feel powers, active or not, but hers is completely dormant until it isn’t. Like a switch.
When it’s on, it’s almost sentient, searching for water. But when it only found the small amounts in the water bottles, it wasn’t appeased. She wasn’t appeased. I felt her power increase. Unconsciously, she wanted more. Tried to pull it from the very air. It’s why I put her in a hold.
Someone attacked her, choked her, and she used her powers to kill him. Although she didn’t admit it, I’m absolutely sure. Lionel never mentioned it to us. Did he know? Was he afraid we wouldn’t accept her if he told us? Or did he not know? Why the secrecy?
More unsettling was the tug I felt when she used her powers. Familiar and rare. It doesn’t make sense. Why her?