Chapter 35
When they return to the bunker, Riley makes quick work of unloading all of Liz’s bags, only allowing her to carry the lightest one.
When the doors to the elevator open, they walk in the room to see four people all hunched around the table, talking over each other, papers scattered about, and the smell of Chinese food drifting to them.
Liz freezes at the sight of the general there, her blood running cold.
Riley follows her gaze and places his hand on her back. She looks up at him in response and picks up her bags, storming to her room. Riley’s not far behind, pulling his mask off and tossing it onto the couch as he walks by. He meets her in her room and adds his bags to the pile on her bed.
“Thank you for everything today. Even if it was just to get Dmitri’s attention. I had a really nice time,” Liz says as she pushes a bag out of the way so she can sit on the bed.
“Good. We’re going to be doing that a lot if we want him to come after you,” Riley says as he reaches for one of the bags. “Want some help unpacking?” he asks as he starts to pull things out, not waiting for her response.
She looks over at him pulling clothes out of the bag, eyes going wide before she jumps up reaching for it. “No, I got it,” she says, a little too quick.
“Oh you definitely bought something you don’t want us to see,” he laughs, peeking at the bags, wondering what one holds the mystery thing.
She follows his eyes to the bags, quickly realizing what he’s going to do.
She jumps up, grabbing at the bag Riley is reaching for, knocking another bag off the bed in the process.
The overstuffed paper bag goes tumbling off the bed, contents spilling onto the floor at their feet.
She looks down in horror at the little bundle of lace she was trying so hard to hide.
He smiles wide, bending down and grabbing it. He holds it up and whistles. “Hot date you didn’t tell me about?” Riley says, trying to hide the anger that flashes across his face at the thought of her wearing all those straps and lace for someone else.
Liz reaches over and snatches it out of his hands and throws it onto the bed. “Don’t be a jerk… If you must know, I thought, maybe, it would make me feel better about myself.”
“You don’t like what you look like?” he asks, trying not to picture her in the tiny strappy outfit.
“I don’t know… It’s not so much my body, the whole big tits, small waist, nice ass thing is amazing, but now I’m covered in all these new scars… I just… I can’t stand to look at myself anymore,” she tells him, picking up the rest of the pile from the floor.
“I get it, I felt the same way after I got out, why do you think i'm covered in tattoos? Not that your feelings should be based on any man's opinion, but you have to know that any man would kill to be with you,” he says, stepping closer to her. “I’ve almost killed a few recruits for how they talked after seeing you in the halls. Hell, I’ve almost killed Mikey for looking at you the way he has and he's like a brother to me.”
“Don’t say shit like that,” Liz says, gently pushing him away. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but I don’t want you to be nice just to make me feel better. I just need to learn to be okay with the changes.”
“Believe it or not, you’re beautiful, princess. No scars on your body are going to change that.” He steps back over to her.
Liz takes the last step into him, their bodies touching.
He wraps his arms around her. She pushes herself onto her tiptoes, determined to finish what they started at the lake.
She stops for a brief second, trying to gather the strength to do it, telling herself he wants it too, when the door flies open and Mikey strides in.
They both quickly take a step back, looking at Mikey with nothing but contempt.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Riley snaps at him.
“Sorry, am I interrupting something?” Mikey says laughing, quickly shutting up when he sees the look on Liz’s face. “Everyone is waiting for you two to go over plans. The general was about to come in here himself. I’ll tell them you’re almost done fucking.”
Liz grabs a pillow off her bed and throws it at his head, but Mikey is too quick, catching it and throwing it back onto her bed.
“Can I help you kill him?” Liz asks Riley.
Mikey just chuckles and walks away. She can still hear him laughing when the phone in her pocket buzzes, pulling it out, she opens it and reads:
What did Cinderella do when she got to the ball?
She gagged.
Liz just stares at her phone, unable to believe the audacity that man has. She tucks the phone back in her pocket, already thinking of what she’s going to respond with. She looks at Riley and he gives her a sad smile, dreading this just as much as she is.
She grabs Riley's hand and they head to the door to get this meeting over with.