The Instruments of Darkness Show Us Truths
Kerr’s hormone regulator released a steady stream of cortisol, rousing her awake. Wincing at the brightness of the light filtering through her curtains, Kerr’s Opti adjusted to her pupil dilation. A stream of characters passed over her eyes.
System diagnostic:
Hormones: pg/mL
Organic Damage repair completed:
Reticular Activating System…Complete
Frontal Lobe…………………Complete
Motor Cortex…………...…….Complete
Memory cortex………………...ongoing
Elapsed time since initial damage: 10h37min
Replay missing time? Y/N
Focussing past the information projected across her cornea, Kerr found flawless sienna skin without a crease of worry, lips full and slightly parted. Lusa. The whisper of her breath in sleep. She looked practically harmless.
But this was her bed. Kerr’s heart skipped. If that had happened, she needed to know how immediately.
Kerr returned to her Opti and selected Y.
She flinched at the projection of a steel door slamming into her face.
Then, the squelching of bodies, screams of alarm and the sounds of Lusa’s exertion through it all.
The flush of heat to her core that, while not unpleasant, needed to be tucked away until she could figure out what had happened.
If only the door hadn’t blocked her view.
Falling forward, she made out Servo and Cog from the sliver of space under the door.
Then, Cinder. The conversation she had overheard came back to her.
Cinder was planning on selling out the Chargers to the Styx.
They would get a pool of experts in repairing and repurposing old tech in exchange for a latest gen DocPod.
Anyone who objected would be trafficked.
And Cinder had already paid the Styx to remove her and Chalice.
Kerr bit back a yelp when Cog disarmed Lusa. She had to remind herself that everything was alright. Lusa was here, safe. Then she heard the shot. Cog’s head exploded. Lusa kicked off of Cog’s falling corpse and tore open Servo’s throat. How had he missed? And at such close range?
Cinder ran off.
Lusa could have gone after him, finished the job, but she raced to take care of her instead.
Kerr’s heart was suddenly too big for her ribcage.
Sniffing, she blinked away the tear obscuring the playback.
Why was Lusa wasting time on her when Dimitri had confirmed that her sister and Chalice were trapped in the vault? It didn’t make sense.
Then she mumbled something about love. God, that was embarrassing. The man she had rescued. One ally, at least. She doubted Cinder had anyone besides Servo and Cog, but if Chalice didn’t show up soon, people would start to turn.
Sitting unsteadily on the motorcycle, her vision wobbled. Apparently, the part of her brain that told her not to stare had been damaged. Her Opti had recorded an incredible shot of Lusa’s arse when she climbed onto the seat in front of her. Kerr decided to save that clip for later.
She was giggling. Then Lusa tensed, but Kerr couldn’t see what had happened.
She parked and Kerr fell off the bike into her arms. Lusa ordered people about – her people.
And they did what she said. Lusa had simply taken charge and the world around her agreed that, yes, of course she should be in charge.
Kerr reminded herself not to fall in love.
But that was where the recording stopped and none of it explained how Lusa had ended up in her bed. Kerr took a deep breath, careful to avoid making too much noise. She didn’t want to wake Lusa.
Falling across her face, Kerr desperately wanted to reach out and brush the raven black sheaf of hair away. And then kiss those beautiful lips. The memory of how they’d felt crushing against hers caused her breath to hitch. She needed to stop or the sound of her heart racing would wake her.
Allowing herself to look down, Kerr found she was fully clothed. Both of them were. Relief felt like disappointment. She needed to stop indulging in these thoughts. Even ignoring all of the horrible things they’d done to each other, she would leave soon and never come back.
But instead of dissuading her, it felt like motivation to imbibe.
Why not spend what limited time they had fucking like there was no tomorrow?
Free from obligations and expectations? You already did that in the closet of a sex shop and she said you couldn’t do it again, Kerr reminded herself.
But it had also been way hotter than an illicit quickie had any right to be.
Kerr debated whether she should take care of herself in the shower when Lusa’s eyes fluttered open. And then sprang wide in surprise.
“Fuck, you’re awake! How are you awake?” Lusa scrambled backward toward the wall.
“It’s morning, yeah?” Kerr shifted, her underwear uncomfortably clingy now that her fantasies had been ruined. “Should I not be awake?”
“You had a concussion.” Lusa swept her hair out of her face and sat up.
“And it repaired itself, yeah?” Kerr mirrored Lusa and folded her legs under herself. “I know you don’t have an Opti, but your monocle should connect with your central processing array and give you a diagnostic.”
“No. Sorry, I thought I would be awake before you. I couldn’t fit on your sofa.” Lusa avoided her eyes.
Kerr wasn’t at all offended that she was in her bed. Nor was she in a hurry to move out of the way to let her leave.
“It’s the absolute least I could do after you rescued me.” Kerr reddened at the memory. “I swear I didn’t touch you.”
“How much do you remember?” Lusa words came too quickly. Kerr could practically see her heart hammering. What could Lusa possibly be embarrassed about?
“Not much, but my Opti recorded everything.” Kerr noticed the slight twitch of Lusa’s eyebrow. “Thank you,” she whispered. “It was really sweet.”
Lusa became defensive at once. “I’m not sweet.”
“You knew where Pinga was, yeah? You could have gone after her.” She stared Lusa down.
Lusa didn’t flinch, even in the face of overwhelming evidence.
“Instead, you murdered four people that had nothing to do with you and carried me home.” Kerr didn’t even try to hide the eye roll.
“How dare you,” she said flatly. “Can you please stop trying to pretend you don’t like me? At least, a little?”
Lusa scoffed and tried to look away, but stuck between Kerr and the wall, there wasn’t anywhere else to look. “You hate m…”
Frustration at a tipping point, Kerr sprang forward, wrapping mechanical fingers around Lusa’s neck.
“Shut up. Stop telling me I hate you.” She was well aware that she should, but she didn’t have to keep reminding her.
On top of that, she had the nerve to do the most thoughtful things anyone had ever done for her, all while looking like an angel with a gym addiction.
It was a special kind of gaslighting, and she’d had enough mind games from Chalice that she was no longer willing to play.
Lusa flicked her eyes to the arm at her throat. “You don’t, huh?” she rasped.
Annoyed, Kerr tightened her grip. Lusa’s breath hitched in the most delightful way. It was more than a constricted airway, but it wasn’t fear, or even physics.
“Wait.” Kerr relaxed, but not enough to release her. “Is this what does it for you?” An impish sparkle crossed her eye.
Lusa looked like she was about to deny it but Kerr wasn’t in the mood. She tightened her grip, forcing her to let the words fester. “The truth this time, yeah?”
Kerr’s Opti helpfully decided that she was providing first aid and flashed a running tally of Lusa’s heartbeat. 160. 167. Then it provided pupil dilation percentages. Diagnosis unclear.
Removing her hand, Lusa still refused to confirm anything. Her lower lip hung heavy and impotent to deny it either.
This is what had happened in the closet – Kerr ran roughshod over the rules of consent and Lusa had let her. Lusa liked it when someone else took control.
Whether she knew that was a different story.
But last time hadn’t ended the way Kerr had hoped, either. Lusa had told her they couldn’t do that again. Kerr needed to try something different.
Picking up Lusa’s hand, Kerr placed her fingers around her artificial forearm. “Pull my arm away if you want me to stop.”
Lusa glanced down at her arm, her fingers holding tightly. “How much can you feel?”
Kerr raised an eyebrow. A deflection, but she hadn’t pulled her arm away either. Squeezing a little tighter just to make sure, Kerr revelled in the way Lusa gasped. God, her mouth looked delicious.
Testing her luck, Kerr inched closer. “Can I kiss you?” Lusa’s eyes widened. Whether that meant Please do, or Fuck no, Kerr couldn’t tell. “Pull my arm away if you want me to stop, remember?”
Lusa nodded as much as she was able.
Kerr angled her head. The ferocity of their kisses in the closet had been earth-shattering, but it had been harder to see. Here, with the light playing across dark umber eyes, Kerr found something beyond a need to get off. There was something else here. Kerr needed to know what it was.
And whether Lusa would let her find out.