Chapter 30
THIRTY
Bri
Tai is up and around like nothing happened.
However, I am not so convinced he’s completely okay.
I watch him out of the corner of my eye while he moves around the pantry grabbing supplies.
It was really scary finding him unconscious on the ground.
He catches me staring at him and flashes me a brilliant smile.
“I’m okay, really,” he says reassuringly.
“I know. I’m just trying to figure out if you got an upgrade from the shock. You don’t happen to have X-ray vision, do you? Lightning hands?” I keep my tone light to hide how worried I was.
“Come to think of it.” He points a finger toward the hallway, but nothing happens. “Damn. Maybe next time?”
“Should I go find a pair of those cuffs?” I ask. “We could try again.”
“And what exactly would you want to do with them?” he asks and pauses, clearly waiting for a response.
“You sure you want to talk about this now?” I say, impressed with myself that I can stay on task. We still need to escape, and Tai is over here talking handcuffs.
“You’re right,” Tai says. “If my mental math is correct, they should be finishing their ‘purification’ any time now.”
The annoyingly familiar cockiness is back. It usually gets under my skin, except now it’s a relief because he sounds like himself again.
“So, what do you propose?” I ask, hoping he’s got some grand plan in place. I certainly don’t.
“I don’t have superpowers, but I’ve got this.” He pulls out the blaster.
“We aren’t blasting our way out of this. They are weird, but we aren’t killing anyone.” I don’t need murder on my conscience the rest of my life.
“Who said anything about killing? All I need to do is wave it around and everyone will back off.” He models the movement, waving the blaster over his head, he looks silly, not menacing.
“It was implied. Plus, you seem a little too eager to whip it out,” I say.
He shrugs and tucks the blaster back into his belt.
“You’re already dressed like them. I’ll grab a robe and we can pass ourselves off and make a run for it,” Tai suggests.
“There is no way you’ll pass for a brethren. You’re eighteen feet tall.”
“Seven,” he says, correcting me.
An idea pops into my head.
The robe should work for me. I’m only slightly taller than the brethren. But there is no point in trying to make Tai look like anything other than a Tilak.
“I’ve got it. I’ll be the brethren and transport the prisoner. We get to the top and get the fuck out of Dodge. And don’t you dare ask me what Dodge is. It’s just…Dodge.”
The look on his face tells me he likes the plan. All the worry and concern from before is gone. Now he’s ready to start a war.
“Fine.” He says something under his breath about always having to do things the hard way. The crooked smile gives him away even though he’s pretending to be annoyed.
He shoves a final handful of dried meat into the pack and cinches it closed.
“Once we get to the surface, I think we should find ‘the Others.’ They can’t possibly be worse than the homicidal sex cult down here,” I suggest.
“Exactly,” he says. “We get out and go south.”
“Do you think they’ll help us?” I ask, optimistically, hoping for some good news.
“Not really. But I remember you saying that nothing can stop you when you really want something.”
There he goes, using my own words against me. Tai steps up to me, blocking out everything else but him.
“I should have told you I’ve been here before. I was so close to telling you the whole story when we came back from the oasis. I don’t know what stopped me. No. Wait. That’s not true. It was shame. I’m ashamed of who I was back then.”
I’m surprised by the sudden confession. I don’t fault him for not wanting to admit his past mistakes. I should be mad. I should be livid, but somehow, I feel closer to him than ever.
Maybe I’m letting him off the hook too easily, but I stand up on tiptoes and brush my lips across his. It’s my way of telling him we are okay. It’s not an apology or victory. It’s a truce. I smooth his hair back, and when he leans into my hand, I know he understands.
“Let’s get out of here before I change my mind and leave you here to deal with the brethren on your own,” he says, laughter lighting up his eyes.
“Oh, he’s got jokes! Someone must be feeling better.” I lift up my hood. “Ready to go, prisoner?” I say with a low voice, trying to imitate the brethren’s accent and tenor.
“Bri, play this by the book. None of your bullshit,” he warns.
“I resent that.” We fall back into our normal banter easily. It’s second nature at this point.
I yank his arms behind his back and push him forward and out of the pantry with a smile.
There must be something wrong with me. A normal person wouldn’t have this much fun running for their life.
We manage to get down the first hallway without rousing the guard or running into anyone. Tai whispers directions through the tunnels, leading us to the main level of the colony and closer to the surface.
A brethren scurries toward us. Putting on a show, I push Tai forward off balance. “Come on, prisoner,” I say with a comically low voice.
The brethren knocks into my shoulder in his rush to get past.
“Watch it!” he yells over his shoulder.
“What the fuck?” I whisper to Tai.
“Don’t blame the guy. He’s in a hurry. He needs to purify himself for the goddess.” He looks back at me with a crooked smile.
“You’re never going to let me live this down, are you?” I ask, pretending I am not enjoying every second of this.
Get it together, Bri. Your life is in literal danger! Now is not the time to flirt with Tai!
“Definitely not,” Tai whispers over his shoulder.
“Keep it moving, Tilak.” I continue the charade.
“Bri.” The low rumble of his warning hits me right between the legs.
Down, girl.
Tai crouches down to fit into a low stairwell I’ve never been in before. His broad shoulders nearly touch both walls, blocking out everything. I follow him up a steep incline, the air getting warmer with every step.
“Where to next?” I whisper.
“Now we blast our way out.” He laughs. “Just kidding. We’re almost there.”
I give him a little shove forward, thoroughly enjoying the roles we are playing. “No blasting,” I say, throwing cold water on his suggestion.
We keep moving forward. I hope our luck holds out a little bit longer.