Chapter 6 #2
Apparently, the rest of Voodoo’s team—who she had learned now all worked for one of the best security companies in the world, Prey Security, as part of Delta Team—had stuck around.
They weren't anywhere close by, but they’d trekked deeper into the forest, further away from the nearby towns, and now she and Voodoo were heading off to meet them.
Maybe it should be daunting to know that soon she was going to be surrounded by six huge men who could do things no ordinary person could, but it wasn't. Indigo was safe in the knowledge that since they were all survivors of Dr. Gardner’s program, they had enough of a connection that she knew they would never hurt her.
Besides, they’d had ample opportunity to kill her back at the lab if that was what they’d wanted, and Voodoo had had plenty of time to kill her since.
Instead, he’d spent that time trying to save her. More than that, it seemed to be working.
While Indigo still felt sicker than she ever had before in her life, her head was clearer today, the heat under her skin not nearly so all-consuming, her wounds were still oozing pus, but they seemed a little less red and enflamed.
“Don’t think you can walk on a broken leg, honey,” Voodoo replied, and he looked down with kind eyes.
Now that it was daylight, he didn't have to wear the night vision goggles, and she felt less like she was talking to some sort of alien and more like she was interacting with a real human being.
Which was nice, it made it feel like they were on a little more of an even footing, even as she knew that wasn't really true.
Maybe she had some of the same enhancements as he did, but she didn't have his strength, his skills, or his experience.
“Pretty sure I can, and I did when I woke up and found you weren't in the cave,” she reminded him. “It doesn’t hurt. At all.”
“Just because it doesn’t hurt when you put weight on it doesn’t mean that you aren't causing more damage to it.”
“You healed it enough already that I don’t think that will be a problem.”
“I did what I could to heal it without being able to use an X-ray machine to confirm the bones are in the correct place.”
Studying him for a moment, that strong jaw, and high cheekbones, she could read the tension in him as easily as she could read her own emotions.
More than that, she felt an almost uncanny ability to just know what he was thinking.
It wasn't like she was reading his mind, kind of more like they were on the same wavelength, and as such, she was privy to certain thoughts he was having.
“Why do I get the feeling you don’t, in fact, actually need an X-ray machine to ensure the two ends of the broken bones go back together?” she asked.
Voodoo just huffed, but he started walking with her again, and she knew that she was going to have a fight to convince him that she was capable of walking for a while. Indigo wasn't being stubborn—well, maybe she was being a little stubborn—she really did think she could walk.
Knowing more guards would be out there somewhere, or if there weren't now there would be soon, made her want to put as much distance between them and the lab as possible.
Memories of what had happened in the cave were still fresh in her mind.
The feel of the penis shoving between her lips.
The taste of blood in her mouth.
The choking sensation as blood and the end of the penis went down her throat.
“You really think you can walk on it for a while? You're not just trying to be a martyr?”
The questions pulled her out of her own head, and she couldn’t help but wonder if that feeling of being on the same wavelength went both ways.
Was he privy to her thoughts and feelings?
Did he feel an echo of them like she did with his?
It was so weird, but if he’d been like this for years, then he was probably a whole lot more used to it than she was, so it probably wasn't freaking him out like it was her.
“I’m sure I can,” she said firmly. But then to be safe, added, “Maybe we can find like a large stick or something that I can use as a crutch. My leg won't hurt, but it’s not particularly strong, and I won't be able to balance on it properly.”
Nodding approvingly, like her honest assessment and answer was what he wanted to hear, Voodoo stopped and bent, lowering her to sit on a fallen tree trunk. Then he straightened and began to walk about in their immediate vicinity, searching for an appropriate branch.
“What are you, about five three?”
“Five three,” she confirmed. She had no idea what she weighed anymore though.
She’d always been skinny, her parents hadn't cared about keeping her well-fed. Foster families hadn't wanted to waste the money given to them specifically for her care on things she needed, and she’d been homeless before joining the program, so she’d lost weight recently.
“What's something you like?” Voodoo asked out of nowhere, and for a moment she startled, unsure how to answer that.
Things she liked had been few and far between.
She’d had an old teddy bear when she was young that she’d been obsessed with, but it hadn't been with her when she was taken in by CPS the first time, and when she returned home, she learned her father had burned it in a rage. She’d loved school, although she’d been bullied for being so tiny, usually dirty, and often covered in cuts and bruises.
But learning new things, realizing the world was so much bigger than she was, had been exhilarating.
When she’d moved into her first apartment on her own, she’d loved choosing each piece of furniture, indulging her desire for soft, fluffy towels, and high-quality sheets.
Being able to cook anything she wanted, never being hungry, having knick-knacks, and pointless items dotted about just because she could.
One of her biggest regrets was letting it all go when she moved in with her ex-husband.
Still, one thing filled her mind. It was silly, but if she had to pick one thing, she knew what it was.
“Bubbles,” she answered, a small smile on her lips.
“Bubbles?” Voodoo repeated as he obviously found a branch he thought could work and came back to stand in front of her.
Indigo shrugged, very aware that his life had likely been very different from hers when he’d been a kid, and that same flush of embarrassment filled her.
“They were cheap, and they’re a great way to entertain a toddler.
My mom used to buy them for me when she had a few spare dollars, and we’d sit on the front porch while she’d blow them for me, let me chase them.
They’re some of the only happy memories I have with her.
Then, when I was in foster care, most families didn't want to spend much money on me, but they didn't want to lose their fostering privileges, so a few of them would give me a tiny budget for a Christmas or birthday present. Not much you can buy with a couple of dollars, so I always chose bubbles.”
No doubt he thought it was silly, but there was something magical about bubbles.
They were so pretty, with all their shimmering colors, and the way they floated through the air, so light, and happy, and free, always made her smile.
They’d called out to the parts of her that had been beaten out of her by a life that had been nothing but cruel.
“Hey.” His thumb and forefinger grasped her chin, tilting her face up so she was meeting his gaze. “Bubbles are beautiful, just like you.”
Surprise filled her, and she blushed at the compliment, pretty sure he was just being nice because he felt sorry for her, but she liked that he wanted to try anyway.
“Here, I think this should work. But you tell me if you can't keep going,” he said, and she knew it was an order not a suggestion.
Nodding her agreement, she allowed Voodoo to grasp her elbow and pull her to her feet, then push the branch into her hands. Holding onto her as she took it and got her balance, only when he seemed certain that she wasn't going to fall over did he take a step back.
For some crazy reason, she wanted to reach for him, draw him back in.
But she didn't.
He was helping her now because they were the same, being nice to her because he was a good guy, but that was it. Never again was she going to be fooled into thinking someone could actually care about her like she had been with her ex-husband.
So as Voodoo started walking, and she worked out her rhythm as she followed along behind him, Indigo did her best to harden the part of her heart that was desperate and needy for love and affection.
Voodoo was offering her friendship, nothing more, and she had to remember that.