Chapter 15
15
Lyla nibbled on some of the hors d’oeuvres that Huggie had put out for the party. She was thrilled to find chocolate-covered strawberries on a tray at a long table covered in snacks and goodies. Various people she noticed during her stay at the hospital mingled in groups around the cafeteria, some enjoying the food as well. Lyla got a few chuckles over the tux on her IV bag. She just shrugged her shoulders. She was stuck with the dextrose drip again for who knew how long. Might as well make the best of it. Although she noticed she was feeling better quicker than when she’d first been brought into the hospital. Maybe her situation had improved.
Huggie went all out with the decorations. Lyla was pleased to see the cafeteria transformed. Colorful streamers and balloons were taped up in bundles around the room. It felt like a high school dance. Not that Lyla had gone to many, but she saw them in TV shows. This is just how she imagined they’d be in real life.
She flattened out the front of the hand-me-down dress her mother got her from one of her older cousins. Lyla could not believe she found one in her favorite color: pink. Her parents couldn’t afford the nicest things, but they always found the most thoughtful of items. Like the dress she now wore. She adjusted one of the spaghetti straps before taking a cup of punch from Char. The tiny pink pouch with drawstrings, which she’d made, swung on her wrist with the motion. Her tiny pebble rested safely inside.
As if noting Lyla’s gaze kept going to the door, Char reminded her, “She’ll be here soon. Lynn and her mom were helping her get ready.” Char didn’t have to say who she was referring to. The whole hospital seemed to know Gabby and Lyla were an item. Not that they did anything to hide it.
Lyla’s breath caught in her throat as she glanced at the door as Gabby entered. A stunning black dress stretched across her curvy frame. The plunge neckline showed off her ample breasts, the very ones Lyla had explored with her tongue last night.
Gabby twirled after entering the room, showing off the backless dress. Her wings seemed a part of the outfit, covering what the dress didn’t of Gabby’s back. They shimmered in the colorful lights, reflecting hues of green, blue, and purple.
The miniature tux on the IV bag fluttered as Lyla ran toward Gabby, her pink heels clacking on the floor. She threw her arms around Gabby, careful to not pull the IV line out of her hand. “You look beautiful.” She pressed her lips to Gabby’s, melting into her body. The world around them dissolved. Lyla’s heartbeat quickened, thrumming a hypnotic rhythm in her ear. Her stomach twisted in knots, but in a good way. Her core heated. The world felt right when their bodies touched. Their passion made her soul sing.
Gabby cupped the back of Lyla’s head, pulling her closer. Lyla’s tongue met Gabby’s, gently exploring her mouth. She tasted so good and sweeter than the chocolate-covered strawberries. Every part of her was the rarest nectar. Absolutely delectable. Lyla couldn’t believe it took her so long to get up the nerve to ask the woman out. Not only was she sexy but she was also a good friend. She never left Lyla feeling imperfect or forgotten. Lyla shuddered to think what would have happened had Gabby not been able to escape from Dr. Grimm.
“Look nice,” Gabby said after pulling herself away from Lyla long enough to take in her dress.
Lyla’s eyes scanned Gabby’s body, pausing briefly over her exceptional curves. Lyla knew their minds were in the same place, a very naughty one.
“You too.”
Hell, that was an understatement. The woman looked good enough to eat. If there was a closet in the cafeteria, she’d have half a mind to sneak off with Gabby and do all the sensual things she didn’t get to do the other day. Her panties dampened at the visual her brain created. Heat flooded her cheeks. She ran a finger up Gabby’s bare back.
“At least dresses are easier to fit into.” She knew Gabby stressed over finding clothes that would accommodate her wings.
“Can’t always… wear dresses.” She rolled her eyes at the thought.
“Why not? You look pretty good in them.” Lyla laced her fingers through Gabby’s. Gabby squeezed her hand, but her mind appeared elsewhere. “Are you okay?”
Gabby sighed before flicking her blue eyes from the door back to Lyla’s. “Part of me… feels safe. Another part…” Her worried eyes found the open doorway leading from the cafeteria to the hall. “Worries that… Anson or Grimm… will come.” She sighed and breathed deeply between words, working her way through the sentence like an explorer hacking their way through the jungle.
Lyla gave her a hug. “You just went through something traumatic… like yesterday. You have to be patient with yourself.”
“Two days.”
“Whatever.” Now it was Lyla’s turn to roll her eyes. “Of course you’ll worry. Who wouldn’t?” She wanted to add she worried, too, but was afraid Gabby would feel invalidated, like she was brushing off Gabby’s feelings or something. Instead, she offered a reassuring smile.
“I’m stronger, though.” Gabby’s wings flared slightly.
Lyla wondered if it was on purpose or on accident. Gabby was still learning to control her new limbs. Lyla couldn’t even imagine how challenging that must’ve been.
“It’s okay to be scared. It doesn’t mean you’re not strong.”
A wide smile brightened Gabby’s face. “Phin would say that.”
“And Phin’s a smart little boy.”
“He is.”
Lyla gently took Gabby’s hand and planted a kiss on it. “And every ASS agent is watching Anson like…well, a hawk. He’s not going to try anything. And now that they know about Dr. Grimm, I bet he won’t be on the run for long.”
Gabby shrugged. Her face said she wasn’t convinced.
Lyla wished there was something she could do to make Gabby feel better. She hated feeling so helpless. Then she remembered her pebble. It had become like a safety blanket for her, giving her courage when she needed it most.
“I have something that will help.” Lyla slid the pink drawstrings from around her wrist and handed the small pouch to Gabby. “My lucky pebble is inside. It sounds dumb, but it helped me get through some really hard times. I want you to have it.”
Gabby’s eyes glistened as she took the pouch. “I couldn’t…”
“I want you to have it. Plus crows like pebbles, don’t they?”
“Yes, but… it’s yours.”
“And now it’s yours.” Lyla smiled. She’d never put much stock into lucky charms until she needed that pebble. It felt right to give it to Gabby. Lyla glanced to the busy dance floor. “What do you say we pretend, just for tonight, that we are two normal people who’ve never heard of Sandy or Dr. Grimm? They don’t deserve to take up our headspace. Not tonight… not ever.”
Gabby nodded, sliding the drawstring pouch with the pebble around her wrist. “Let’s dance!”
Anson struggled to get his pant leg over the ankle monitor FUC and ASS forced him to wear. Though they seemed to believe his story, they didn’t fully trust him. Who could blame them? He’d broken into WANC and birdnapped a patient.
The thought of going back to Dr. Grimm for help was tempting. But the more he thought of it, the less sense it made. The whole time he worked for that psycho, he hardly got a glimpse of his sister. If he wanted her back, he’d have to play FUC and ASS’s game. He hated following the rules. Shortcuts were always more fun. That’s why he embedded the tracker in Gabby. He needed to keep an eye on Dr. Grimm’s prize. Plus being a shrew shifter meant he could do a lot of things very quickly. Did his sensitive whiskers or his speed make it easier for him to find whatever Dr. Grimm needed? He wasn’t sure. He just knew he was good at it. His mind went back to his sister, Ariel. Too bad he couldn’t find her on his own. If he had foreseen Ariel being captured, Anson would’ve put a tracker in her as well.
He jumped as a knock sounded on his hotel room door, breaking through his thoughts. He put his eye up to the peephole. “Shit.”
A slim woman in jeans and a plain T-shirt stood at the door, looking like a statue placed in the middle of the hall. Though she wasn’t tall, she stood straight and rigid, seemingly taking up all the space the corridor had to offer. This lady was like a bad penny. She attended every interrogation, standing in the corner watching him with her eagle eyes. What she saw when she looked at him, Anson didn’t know. With a huff, he opened the door. She wouldn’t leave until she got what she came for.
“Agent Lee. What can I?—”
She barged in without letting him finish. Agent Lee pushed her long, silky black hair over her shoulder to keep it out of her face. She narrowed her brown eyes at him. “The other agents may trust you, but I sure as hell don’t.”
“It’s not like I can go anywhere.” Anson pointed to the ankle with the device locked around it. “The monitor sends you my position every five minutes. If I shift, this thing will notify you immediately.” He hated suspicious people. He found them annoying. Especially the ones who thought they knew everything. This agent knew nothing about him, though her piercing gaze said otherwise.
Agent Lee pulled something out of her pocket. Anson jumped, assuming it was a weapon. Maybe she was an assassin sent by Dr. Grimm. He wouldn’t doubt it. Dude had no morals.
“Relax.” She crouched down, lifting his pant leg to inspect the device. After a few clicks, it fell to the ground. “Unless you want every FUC and ASS agent to pounce on you in the next ten minutes, I suggest we leave.”
He stared at her. She was super hot, but was she just as psycho, too? And what kind of an ASS agent would free him like this? “I don’t understand.”
“You can stand here like the coward you are, or you can help me find Dr. Grimm.”
“Coward?” He raised an eyebrow at her. Working next to that psycho to try to save his sister made him anything but in his opinion.
“You should have told the authorities about Dr. Grimm.” Nari crossed her arms, narrowing her brown eyes to slits.
“Well, it’s not that easy. He said if I involved any FUC or ASS agents, he’d mutate my sister so badly, I wouldn’t be able to recognize her.” Saying it aloud stung. The thought kept him awake at night, wondering if the worst had already been done to her. He pressed the sadness down into his core, ignoring it. He couldn’t help his sister if he fell apart.
A somber look crossed Nari’s face. Was that maybe even a shred of compassion? As quickly as it came, the look vanished. She cocked her head sideways, taking him in. “Are you going to help me or not?”
“Why?” He stared at the ankle monitor on the ground.
“Because we’re all given the choice to do things the right way or the quick way. Make your choice. I’m leaving.” Without another word ASS Agent—former ASS Agent, apparently—Lee opened the door, leaving him to his thoughts.
He had no time to think. He didn’t like being on the run, but he liked worrying about what Dr. Grimm could be doing to his sister even less. He’d witnessed enough of the creep's twisted experiments to know what the freak was capable of. Without another thought, Anson grabbed his wallet and followed Nari Lee.
The End