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"Thanks, I needed a good laugh. I didn't kill him, though God knows I wanted to. I threatened him, told him I’d kill him if he ever touched me again. I wish I had done more. Maybe then..." Her voice trails into silence, swallowed by the ghosts of her past.
She locks eyes with me, her gaze unwavering yet void of desperation. "I need to find my sister. Will you help me?"
Her question hovers in the air, heavy with unspoken promises and concealed dangers. On its face, her request appears straightforward. But I sense an undercurrent, a hidden peril that threatens to pull me under. Despite the magnetic pull of her vulnerability, I recall a vow I never put to words: I will not succumb to the chaos of love, especially not with her—a storm with the power to shatter my defenses. Love is a gamble, a pathway to devastation. It's a price I won't pay, not even for her. For a second, I wonder what prompted all this thought about love but know better than to ignore my instincts.
She studies me, her eyes a blend of wonder and something darker—anticipation, perhaps. Her expression says she expects rejection, both of her plea and of herself. There's a raw intensity emanating from her, and I almost grin in recognition.
"Yes, we'll find your sister and we'll bring her back. That simple." The words escape me before I can rein them in. Commitment—a foreign, choking concept. I've just entangled my fate in a web I swore never to be caught in.
Hope flares in her eyes, betraying her earlier words. "They'll find us and kill us. You can't escape them, especially after abducting me like that. Viper won't let it go."
Suppressing a grin, I choose my words carefully. "I excel at what I do, and I have a feeling you're not as defenseless as you let on. We pool our resources, we'll find your sister." Why am I doing this? Aside from Sasha, I've never had a partner in anything.
She gnaws on her lower lip, mulling over my proposition. "You said I'm free to go. Maybe I should just leave." Her posture stiffens, her resolve crystalizing through whatever strange connection is forming between us—a connection I never asked for, never wanted.
"If that's your decision," I keep my tone devoid of emotion, heading toward my lab. The ache that pierces me at the thought of her leaving, I ignore. I've had enough of these celestial games. It's time to return to what matters—my work. She either contributes or she doesn't. Either way, I have things to do.
She takes her leave, traversing the garden, heading for the gate. On the monitors, I watch her walking steadily, shooting occasional glances over her shoulder. Then, a vibration syncs through my control panel, silently signaling a breach in my security. Rayne bends over, clutching her arm. A large man approaches, swiftly injecting her. Within a celestial nanosecond, I'm there, closing the gap. One quick stab to the heart and the intruder falls, lifeless. Lifting her into my arms, I rush her back to the house. I'll deal with the others later. My medical instincts momentarily trump my need for vengeance.
Stopping just inside the door, I hold her tight. "I've got you," I take her pulse. "What's going on with your arm?"
"It burns where they injected me," she squirms, her voice descending to a near whisper. "I've been drugged. Again."
"What injection?"
"Vaccination," she groans and her head drops heavy on my chest.
Another alarm buzzes on my wristband, raising my hackles. Another breach—now what? But I'm already in motion. Rayne takes precedence over any intruders.
“The bastards implanted a tracking device.” I hoist her and move swiftly toward my lab. This changes everything. I should have checked for a tracker. There's no time to lose.
6
RAYNE
Pain gnaws at me like a starving beast as the drug kicks in. Jaden’s hauling ass through the solarium, down corridors, through the library and down the elevator. My veins are on fire, every cell in my body screaming for relief. It's like I'm swimming through razor blades. I try to clutch onto the heat radiating from Jaden's chest—anything to anchor myself to reality—but it’s like trying to hold onto a bolt of lightning. Viper may torture my flesh, but my mind? That's mine. Always will be.
The cave engulfs us, a dark fortress that's beginning to feel less like a prison and more like a twisted sanctuary. Jaden drops me onto a gurney in a makeshift infirmary. The pain? Relentless. Like a drill sergeant hell-bent on breaking me.
His hands are iron clamps around my biceps, steadying, grounding. "Rayne, keep still. I need to get this chip out. We're safe—for now."
His voice, clinical and detached, clashes with the warmth that courses through me every time his skin grazes mine. Makes me question my own sanity. What's this tingle of care, of protection? Am I really starting to lose it like ES warned? I don’t even like this guy yet every time I’m near him, I’m crushing on him. I groan out something—hell if I know what.
He takes my garbled sound as consent, loading a syringe. "Local anesthetic. Probably won't kill you combined with whatever shit they gave you. But this will hurt. Keep still."
Before I can warn him that sedatives do jack for me—just wind my thoughts up tighter—he jabs the needle into my shoulder multiple times. My eyes slam shut. Maybe it's a nod or just a twitch, but he gets the message.
Gloves snap. His grip returns to my arm. "Incision time. Don't move."
Teeth grinding, eyes stinging, but I’m stone-still. I might be in hell, but I won't give him a reason to doubt me. Gives me something else to chew on, anyway.
Finally, the cold creeps in, numbing the area. I exhale, forcing my body to unclench just a bit against the gurney’s unforgiving surface. He grabs some freakish tool—looks like tweezers mated with tongs—and digs into my shoulder. But his eyes? They're not on me, they're fixed on some screen showing my insides. Real comforting.
There's a focused tension in his face, then a tight smile. "Got it."
And just like that, a weight I didn't know I was carrying lifts. Not fully, but enough for me to glimpse what relief could feel like.
"That's so cool." The throbbing in my arm subsides, its once violent screams fading into murmurs. Is it the drug he gave me? No, stop, pull your head out of that dark hole, Rayne. Why do I assume the worst of every damn person who crosses my path? Because I’ve learned not to trust anyone, least of all someone who looks like this man.
