Oath Bound
Page 80
“So, what?” She ran one hand down the length an abandoned gurney, and I wanted to tell her to stop—that there was no telling what she could catch. Then I remembered that Tower’s victims weren’t sick. They were kept unconscious for ease of handling. “They strap these poor people to the bed and drain them?” Sera looked horrified all over again now that she could see a little of what Jake Tower had started and his sister was continuing. “A little at a time, or all at once?”
“Kori didn’t mention straps, and these gurneys aren’t equipped with them. She says they keep the donors sedated via IV drip and they never take enough blood to kill. Tower was very interested in the renewable aspect of his...resources.”
“The bad guys are going green?”
“Only if the color refers to cash. They’re trying to milk every dollar they can out of each body before it finally gives out. The Towers are motivated by two things—money and power. The only things they like better than money and power are more money and more power. I think it’s some kind of chromosomal abnormality. They lack the genes for compassion and morality.”
Sera scowled and her green eyes darkened.
“What now?” I’d thought we were making progress. She was speaking to me again, and as soon as I had a moment alone with her, somewhere other than an enemy warehouse, I was prepared to declare myself an idiot and apologize for the night before. So why was she getting angrier with every word I spoke?
“Nothing.” She started across the warehouse toward the bathrooms.
“Sera, wait,” I said, and when she finally turned to face me again, her scowl had etched deep lines in her forehead. “Okay, I know you’re mad about what I said last night, and I know I deserve it—”
“I’m not mad. You were right.” Her gaze met mine with what looked like considerable effort. “I’m not in the best state of mind, and if I’d been thinking clearly, I wouldn’t have thrown myself at the first available warm body.”
“I was just the first available...” Ouch. I tried to pretend it didn’t sting to hear that mine was a bed of convenience. That any port in the storm would have done.
“Yeah.” She shrugged, but the motion looked stiff and insincere. Or was I imagining that? “So...thanks. You saved us both from a big mistake.”
A mistake? My jaw clenched. Was she throwing my own words at me out of anger, or had we really switched positions so quickly?
“Anyway, you’re off the hook,” she continued, oblivious to my confusion. “I won’t be throwing myself at you anymore. I promise.”
“Um...okay.” I hid disappointment behind what I hoped was a casual smile. “But to prove I have no hard feelings, if you change your mind and decide to throw yourself at me again, this time I promise to catch you.”
Her brows rose in surprise. “Are you flirting? Because you should know, that kind of comes off as a mixed signal, after last night.”
“Sera, I’m so sorry about last night. I had my wires totally crossed, but today they’re all straightened out. I swear.”
The crook in her eyebrow said she was intrigued, but the downward tilt of her lips said she was also feeling cautious. I’d never wanted to turn a frown upside down so badly in my life. “I’m not sure what that means, Kris.”
“That means I want to be here for you. Whatever you need.”
“Thanks, but seriously, you were right. I shouldn’t jump into anything right now. I think we’d both regret that.”
She was wrong. But... “Hot chocolate, then. With or without the Peeps. Or a shoulder to lean on. A hand to hold. An ear to bend. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Just promise you won’t dial me out next time you need something. Okay?”
Her frown finally died, but that caution still swam in her eyes. As if she wasn’t sure she could trust me.
I chuckled. “You really make a man work for it, don’t you?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Work for what?”
“A smile,” I said, and her suspicion disappeared. “All I want is a smile. And you’re really making me work for it.” Okay, a smile wasn’t all I wanted. But it’s what I wanted first. I wanted to be able to make her think, just for a minute, about something other than what she’d lost. How she’d nearly died three times since meeting me. How we were no closer to finding the man who’d stolen everything from her.
I wanted to give her something. And I would start with a smile.
“This isn’t the kind of place that inspires smiles,” she pointed out. “And this isn’t exactly a happy time. There’s a dead man in the hall.”
“I’m happy he’s not you.”
“I’m happy about that, too.” She glanced at her hands for a second, then met my gaze again, and I could see it in her eyes. I almost had her. “I’m also happy that he’s not you.”
And finally she smiled.
I felt absurdly triumphant, and I’m sure my own goofy grin reflected that. Even if neither of our smiles would last. And they couldn’t, considering where we stood.
With another glance around the warehouse, solemnity returned, and Sera was all business again.
“Why do you think they left these two gurneys?” she asked, but she’d already drawn the same conclusion I had. I could see that in her eyes as she ran one thumb over a dark spot on the edge of the thin white sheet. “These two didn’t make it, right?” She looked up at me, and I could only shrug. “They poured bleach over the blood—I can smell it—but it’s still damp. We didn’t miss them by much. The cleanup crew, anyway,”
“Kori didn’t mention straps, and these gurneys aren’t equipped with them. She says they keep the donors sedated via IV drip and they never take enough blood to kill. Tower was very interested in the renewable aspect of his...resources.”
“The bad guys are going green?”
“Only if the color refers to cash. They’re trying to milk every dollar they can out of each body before it finally gives out. The Towers are motivated by two things—money and power. The only things they like better than money and power are more money and more power. I think it’s some kind of chromosomal abnormality. They lack the genes for compassion and morality.”
Sera scowled and her green eyes darkened.
“What now?” I’d thought we were making progress. She was speaking to me again, and as soon as I had a moment alone with her, somewhere other than an enemy warehouse, I was prepared to declare myself an idiot and apologize for the night before. So why was she getting angrier with every word I spoke?
“Nothing.” She started across the warehouse toward the bathrooms.
“Sera, wait,” I said, and when she finally turned to face me again, her scowl had etched deep lines in her forehead. “Okay, I know you’re mad about what I said last night, and I know I deserve it—”
“I’m not mad. You were right.” Her gaze met mine with what looked like considerable effort. “I’m not in the best state of mind, and if I’d been thinking clearly, I wouldn’t have thrown myself at the first available warm body.”
“I was just the first available...” Ouch. I tried to pretend it didn’t sting to hear that mine was a bed of convenience. That any port in the storm would have done.
“Yeah.” She shrugged, but the motion looked stiff and insincere. Or was I imagining that? “So...thanks. You saved us both from a big mistake.”
A mistake? My jaw clenched. Was she throwing my own words at me out of anger, or had we really switched positions so quickly?
“Anyway, you’re off the hook,” she continued, oblivious to my confusion. “I won’t be throwing myself at you anymore. I promise.”
“Um...okay.” I hid disappointment behind what I hoped was a casual smile. “But to prove I have no hard feelings, if you change your mind and decide to throw yourself at me again, this time I promise to catch you.”
Her brows rose in surprise. “Are you flirting? Because you should know, that kind of comes off as a mixed signal, after last night.”
“Sera, I’m so sorry about last night. I had my wires totally crossed, but today they’re all straightened out. I swear.”
The crook in her eyebrow said she was intrigued, but the downward tilt of her lips said she was also feeling cautious. I’d never wanted to turn a frown upside down so badly in my life. “I’m not sure what that means, Kris.”
“That means I want to be here for you. Whatever you need.”
“Thanks, but seriously, you were right. I shouldn’t jump into anything right now. I think we’d both regret that.”
She was wrong. But... “Hot chocolate, then. With or without the Peeps. Or a shoulder to lean on. A hand to hold. An ear to bend. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Just promise you won’t dial me out next time you need something. Okay?”
Her frown finally died, but that caution still swam in her eyes. As if she wasn’t sure she could trust me.
I chuckled. “You really make a man work for it, don’t you?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Work for what?”
“A smile,” I said, and her suspicion disappeared. “All I want is a smile. And you’re really making me work for it.” Okay, a smile wasn’t all I wanted. But it’s what I wanted first. I wanted to be able to make her think, just for a minute, about something other than what she’d lost. How she’d nearly died three times since meeting me. How we were no closer to finding the man who’d stolen everything from her.
I wanted to give her something. And I would start with a smile.
“This isn’t the kind of place that inspires smiles,” she pointed out. “And this isn’t exactly a happy time. There’s a dead man in the hall.”
“I’m happy he’s not you.”
“I’m happy about that, too.” She glanced at her hands for a second, then met my gaze again, and I could see it in her eyes. I almost had her. “I’m also happy that he’s not you.”
And finally she smiled.
I felt absurdly triumphant, and I’m sure my own goofy grin reflected that. Even if neither of our smiles would last. And they couldn’t, considering where we stood.
With another glance around the warehouse, solemnity returned, and Sera was all business again.
“Why do you think they left these two gurneys?” she asked, but she’d already drawn the same conclusion I had. I could see that in her eyes as she ran one thumb over a dark spot on the edge of the thin white sheet. “These two didn’t make it, right?” She looked up at me, and I could only shrug. “They poured bleach over the blood—I can smell it—but it’s still damp. We didn’t miss them by much. The cleanup crew, anyway,”
