Chapter 3. #2
Reuben is already there, waiting at the door with four other men I don’t recognize and when they all turn to me, there’s suddenly an itchy anxiety in my chest.
I’d thrown one of Christian’s black hoodies over a grey sweatshirt, in an attempt to chase the August-end cold away, and after much deliberation I finally decided on a pair of his grey boots and baggy black pants. It’s a style I’d seen Christian wear before… but now I’m not so confident.
Reuben watches me curiously and with a smile on his lips as he steps forward. He’s abandoned his turtleneck for something more casual—a buttoned blue shirt, comfortable blue jeans and white sneakers—but the last few buttons of his shirt are undone and a grey vest clings to the skin of his torso.
For the first time, I’m noticing the piercing at the tip of his ear. When he steps close to me, something about the way his body blocks me in and the way his eyes lock with mine… it makes me watch him with new suspicion.
“You didn’t run.” His voice is sugary, said under his breath as though he meant it for himself, and I huff through my nose without a response.
Don’t tempt me please, there’s still time.
The smile that breaks his face is as though he can hear my thoughts, and his eyes light up in a way that makes me feel strangely conscious.
He’s so close that I can smell the cologne that sticks to him, a warm, rich scent—I think, coffee?
Mixed with something else I don’t yet recognize. Something pleasant.
I’m not sure if he stepped this close to try and intimidate me, but whatever the case I don’t step back. I meet his eyes squarely and a strange heat comes to his eyes when I do, one that he shackles as he steps away.
“Meet the team.”
Here we go.
“Tobias, Gabriel and Xavier,” Reuben introduces them with lightning speed, and though my nerves are spiking beneath my skin, I keep my expression neutral.
I nod once, “Christian.”
They’re lined up beside each other, so it’s easy to tell who is who.
Tobias is the tallest with curious brown eyes, curly hair and a square face with stubble lining his jaw and above his lips.
He twirls a blade naturally between his fingers in one hand, as though he barely needs to think about it, before giving me a single nod of acknowledgement.
I can only nod back, grateful enough that I don’t have to say anything more.
A quiet one. Perfect.
The man beside him watches me between narrowed eyes and I can already sense we’re going to have a problem.
He’s shorter than the first guy by two inches most, and his face is heart-shaped with pretty brown eyes and low-cut hair.
He has the same stubble creeping around his jaw but tattoos are reaching across his neck from beneath his shirt, making him seem more massive than he is.
Xavier, the last one, is different from the rest. His eyes are almond-shaped and his lips are thin, but his pale skin is flawless and his hair is wavy as it falls across his shoulders. His eyes are piercing like Reuben’s but his face is prettier. Softer.
Yet my instincts are telling me it’s in my best interest not to fuck around.
“Tobias is my second,” Reuben explains as though he’s firing off rapid shots and doesn’t want to waste time. “When I’m absent, he’s the one whose orders you follow without question.”
Understood.
“Gabriel is our unofficial doctor. The moment he dies, we all die, and Xavier came to us.” Reuben tilts his head to one side. “He has the skills, and he’s an excellent shooter.”
They stare at me expectantly and my brain glitches.
Christian was good at a lot of things, he had a legacy across the continent… but I’m not going to stand here and boast about things I might suck ass at. It’d be like digging my grave before I’ve even started.
“Christian,” I repeat with a deadpan voice.
“Estoy segura de que el encajará perfectamente,” Tobias tells Reuben in a language I don’t recognize and Reuben grins.
If they’ve switched to another language already it’s safe to say that three minutes in I’ve already botched the meet and greet.
An unfamiliar man with a rugged look and beefy build steps up, in front of a silver jeep in the driveway.
“To the airport, sir?” he asks as he opens the door to the front passenger seat for Reuben, who tilts his head to one side with a disinterested hum. When he looks back to glance at me, I swear I see a flash of mischief in his eyes.
“No, I’ve changed my mind,” his smile sends a shiver of dread up my neck as he steps into the vehicle. “Call Aster. Tell him we’re driving to Seattle.”
The door closes, the dark window obscuring him from view and Xavier, the man closest to me, groans softly under his breath.
“If he hears you, you’re dead.” Tobias puts a hand on his shoulder in warning, squeezing his words through a forced smile. “Remember to smile.”
“I blame the newbie,” Gabriel glowers at me, but I can only watch him expressionlessly.
I have no idea what he’s talking about.
“Leave him be, Gibs.” Tobias opens the car door to pull the seat forward and slide into the back while Xavier nudges me to follow.
I make myself comfortable by the window, putting an empty seat between Tobias and I… Gabriel slides into the seat in front of him, while Xavier straightens the seat in front of me, jumps in and closes the door.
It’s my first time being in a car with so many seats—as people that is—so when Tobias tugs at a strap by his head and pulls it over his torso to clip it into a spot in the chair, I mimic the same.
Dahlia doesn’t wave, or say goodbye as she watches us go, and I don’t look back as the car pulls out of the driveway and out onto the streets.
Still, I find myself nervous in the quiet car.
There was never a quiet car ride with Mitch or Christian around. It’s like they’d hated silence, they always found something ridiculous to talk about and even Max would pipe in now and then. Even if it was to complain about how loud they were.
Now, it’s stifling.
Now, it’s a bitter reminder of the people I lost. It makes my heart hurt again.
I can understand somewhat, why my kind chose not to lean into their emotions and nurture them like humans.
It’s easier when you don’t have to bother with things like loneliness, envy, aspiration…
grief. It hurts and disappoints and frustrates—it feels like I’m being ripped apart on the inside and there’s a black hole where all my good memories used to be.
I’m too lost in my thoughts when Xavier turns around to hug the head of his seat with a boyish grin, “Is it true that you dragged Nash’s body back to Dahlia’s place?”
I blink.
“How’d you do it?” His eyes are glittering excitedly, “Did you pay for a taxi? Did you walk all that way? Didn’t anyone see you?”
“Xavier, you’re doing the thing,” Tobias interrupts but he doesn’t take his gaze away from the window.
“What thing?”
“Being a nuisance.”
“I’m not suffering a four-hour drive in silence,” Xavier slumps down the chair with a moan as though he’d rather die and I can’t help a smile from touching my lips.
“I hijacked a car,” I reply to his earlier question, and Xavier climbs back up the chair with new excitement as I continue, “forced the driver to take me right up to Dahlia’s door.”
“You just, killed a random guy?” Xavier gives me a strange look that makes my brows furrow.
I’m a bit confused, because I’m sure I recall James doing the same. Season two episode six.
“Should I have let him go?”
“Well, no… but he’s a random guy.”
“He said he didn’t have kids.”
Xavier’s watching me again like I’ve said something strange, and it makes me do a quick review of the rules in my head to spot what I’ve done wrong.
“You asked him if he had kids before you shot him?” Tobias pitches in with new amusement.
It made me feel a little better, so yes.
But somehow, I don’t think that’s the response they’re looking for.
“So, what if he did have kids?” Reuben’s voice interjects so suddenly, my eyes snap to his.
His irises are the colour of steeped midnight in the mirror at the front of the car.
The darkness in them is piercing, but there’s a curious light in them and a small smile touches his lips as he leans on his knuckles.
“Would you have let him go if he did?” His voice has a strange way of creating shivers down my spine. Likely dread.
“No.” I reply honestly, “It would’ve created problems.”
“Why not just steal the car?” Gabriel snaps at me, obviously upset that everyone was now getting into the conversation, and I break away from Reuben’s gaze.
Because I don’t know how to drive.
“I couldn’t while bleeding out,” I say instead and Gabriel snorts.
“Why don’t I shoot you, and you try bleeding and driving, Gibs?” Tobias smiles a scary smile that Gabriel can’t see but the annoying man only huffs to look back out the window, muttering under his breath.
If I could, I would’ve dragged Nash’s body behind me and hiked all the way back to the house—that way an innocent man wouldn’t have had to die—but I was lucky to have anticipated these questions.
If I’d done that, they’d have figured out in no time that I wasn’t people.
I can still feel Reuben’s gaze burrowing into my face, but I ignore it.
“Sooooo,” Xavier grins, and I immediately get a bad feeling, “is it true you shot out Everett’s knees and stuffed a grenade in his mouth?”
I shuffle with new discomfort.
“You did what?” Tobias’ eyes narrow as he watches me.
“I heard it was iconic,” Xavier laughs. “Never seen anyone go out like that for sure.”
There’s a ball of malevolence in my chest as I turn to look out the window. I feel sorry for shutting Xavier down, but I don’t want to talk about Everett.
Ever.
The silence is staggering, but I realize too late I’ve practically opened the window for Gabriel to be an asshole.
“I heard the guy killed the whole team for chump change.”
My blood boils immediately but I keep my gaze fixed out the window.
I dislike that I can feel Reuben’s gaze on my temple.