49
GAbrIEL
My control snapped—I was done staring down barrels.
I was done with this stupid game, and I was very, very done with her thinking I was out to get her.
In one fluid movement, I twisted her wrist behind her and yanked her into my chest. I heard Seven sigh in exasperation, but then my senses were filled with Emersyn as her huff of irritation coasted across my lips.
“There it is,” she breathed scornfully. “The violence you all have. I was waiting for it—” A flash of pain on her face made me realize I’d involuntarily tightened my grip in anger.
“Gabriel,” Seven snapped.
“Yeah, Gabriel—” Emersyn taunted. “Do you want to hurt me? Do you want to show me who’s in control?” She pressed closer. “Do it—I dare you to finally take what’s fucking yours.”
I pulled the gun from her grip and released her wrist, but neither of us stepped back. The inches of space between us smoldered with tension, and the violence in her eyes pulled me in—intoxicating and primal.
“That’s where you’re mistaken,” I growled softly. “I don’t want to hurt you, little storm. The violence isn’t for you. It’s for everyone who’s ever fucking put their hands on you. For every scar, and for every drop of your blood those monsters have spilled. That’s who I want to hurt, Emersyn.”
The shock on her face was enough to dissipate the rage and violence that warred for space in my chest. Her eyes were as haunted as mine probably were, and each heartbeat felt like a thousand lifetimes.
I wanted to burn the world for her. I wanted to show her she didn’t have to be so goddamn alone.
That there were people who wanted her found, wanted her safe.
The emotion in my chest seized, and I lurched away so she couldn’t see the truth that threatened to spill.
“Make your choice now,” I demanded, my back to her.
“What?” She asked skeptically. “What choice?”
I looked over my shoulder. “The entrance is just there,” I gestured at the nearest corner. “You can cross the line without us and take your chances—alone—or, you can come with us.”
“This is a joke, right?” Emersyn scoffed.
I shook my head. “No. But, just know, whether you choose to come with us or not, I told you what would happen to anyone who touched you.”
“Because I’m yours? Some choice.”
My frustration flared again. “Have we crossed that line?” I demanded.
Emersyn scowled, but shook her head. Seven cleared his throat and we both looked over.
“I hate to rush things, but might I draw attention to the fact that we are being watched—” Our eyes flickered up to the drone above us. Most of the drones had been too high to notice, but this one had dropped to hover closer, intent on capturing the action.
“I think we should wrap this up,” Seven said.
Emersyn ran her hands through her hair. I could sense her frustration as I gave her a moment. I checked how much ammo I had left—it wasn’t much.
“I have three rounds left,” Seven answered my unspoken question.
“Alright, I’m hoping Angel took care of the problem we ran into.”
“Do you trust him?” Seven asked.
I grunted something noncommittal.
Emersyn looked between us and then threw up her hands and stormed past.
“Fine, let’s go.”
Seven’s face brightened. “Atta girl.”
Crossing over the threshold of the maze was rather anticlimactic. A loud buzzer sounded across the area, but only Brooks was there to greet us and he didn’t exactly look happy we won. Another scan of the area showed no signs of Angel, which I found slightly concerning.
“Mahoney was called away,” Brooks said shortly. “You’re allowed to keep the Hurricane overnight as your prize. However, she will be collected in the morning.”
“We can return her to the Menagerie,” I stated.
“She’s not going back to the Menagerie,” Brooks replied.
“What does that mean?”
“Mahoney is hosting a birthday party for one of the brothers tomorrow and he requires the Hurricane’s presence.”
Before I could protest, Emersyn surprisingly spoke up. She’d gone eerily still next to me.
“Which brother?” Her words were clipped like each one cost her something big. Brooks turned his attention to her. It was filled with contempt, but he still answered.
“Octavius.”
Emersyn’s breath caught and stuttered. Brooks didn’t seem to notice, but I sure did. I grabbed Emersyn’s arm and steered her back to the manor because she seemed incapable of anything after hearing that name. She didn’t protest, and the three of us walked unmolested to our quarters.
I walked into our room and it immediately felt too small.
The scent of mud, wet humans and blood quickly choked the space.
Emersyn’s arms were wrapped around herself and I could see the goosebumps, but her eyes were clear and she didn’t look as dazed as she had moments earlier.
Something still bothered her though—something that had to do with Octavius.
“Shower is through there,” Seven nodded at the door to the bathroom. “The door locks and towels are on the shelf. We won’t bother you.”
Emersyn looked like she absolutely didn’t believe him, but she nodded and disappeared into the bathroom. Seven pulled his gun from his belt and put it on the table. We were both hyper-aware of what was happening behind the bathroom door. The water switched on.
“You should have seen her,” Seven said quietly, awe in his voice. “The girl has training—lots of it.”
I grunted in reply. I’d already deduced as much.
My shoulder throbbed something awful now that the adrenaline was fading.
I cut around the piece of metal in my shoulder and yanked it out with a grimace.
I tore another strip off my shirt and wrapped it just until I could wash it in the shower. It would definitely need stitches.
“I mean, the way she stayed with me when we were clearing the maze,” Seven continued. “It was second nature. Not to mention her accuracy with the gun—”
“Yeah, how’d that come about?” I asked. “You armed her?”
“Well,” Seven rubbed the back of his neck and dry mud crumbled away. “I kind of got hung up a bit and she had an opportunity to shoot me—”
“What?” My teeth ground together as my jaw tightened.
“Yeah, but she obviously didn't do it,” Seven chuckled. “God, it was spectacular.”
I nodded and fiddled with my belt. The buckle was caked with so much mud it was nearly impossible to undo. I gave up and leaned heavily against the counter in the kitchenette.
“So, Octavius is coming,” Seven said.
I turned on the sink. “Sounds like it.”
I scrubbed my forearms, but there was so much mud I only succeeded in making a mess. Seven sighed and leaned around to shut the water off.
“That’s not helping,” he grumbled. “What are we going to do? Do you think Mahoney is going to give her to Octavius this weekend?”
“What? Like some sort of fucked up birthday gift?”
“Well, yeah—” Seven said.
“It’s possible.”
Seven leaned against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest as he glared across the room. I knew he was looking at the tablet on the wall.
“Rune will break through.”
“I know,” he sighed. “He’s just taking his sweet ass time about it.”
Neither one of us wanted to think about what could be happening back home. Like the possibility of the mole having figured out where we were, and sabotaging Rune. We were relying on him for exfil, but as our time ran out, it was beginning to look like we needed a secondary plan.
“It’ll be a week tomorrow,” Seven muttered.
“If Rune doesn’t reach out by then, we will make a move,” I admitted. “We’ll have to.”
“A move?” Seven looked at me dryly, amusement in his eyes. “Like what? Steal a plane? We’re on a fucking island—” He saw the look on my face and barked out a laugh. “Oh my god, you want to steal a jet. Okay, I’ll start Googling how to fly. I knew I should have gotten my pilot’s license.”
“What are you good for again?” I asked dryly.
He bumped my shoulder playfully. “Moral support.”
I hummed skeptically and his grin widened. “My killer personality?”
I couldn’t help the twitch of a grin and scrunched my nose.
“Aw, come on, it has to be how funny I am then.”
“You do provide comedy, that’s for sure,” I chuckled.
Something loosened in my chest and while I couldn’t exactly relax, the tension from the earlier engagement was gone. Seven shook his head with a grin and gently shoved my shoulder.
“Whatever. Now, get out of the kitchen so I can make our girl some food.”