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For the most part.
I still had days where all I wanted was to drag a piece of steel across my skin again. I wished I could tear myself open and carve out all the hurt and regret so I could get the fuck on with my life, but when you’d been immersed in pain and self-hatred for as long as I had, going down the darkest roads there were didn’t seem like such a bad thing anymore.
I studied our reluctant passenger, wondering where she had come from.
I couldn’t make out any of her features due to the lack of lighting. I’d gotten a decent look outside the truck, though. Even soaking wet and covered in mud, it was plain to see she wasn’t a run-of-the-mill straggler.
Her body trembled every few minutes. I chalked that up to her being cold. There wasn’t any fear emanating from her. She was rather subdued and quiet, given the situation.
Bella eyed her from the opposite side of the car, openly curious. Her interactions with outsiders had always been limited, and after what happened they’d become non-existent.
We could only trust those who’d proven themselves to us time and time again. The majority of them were the recruits Luce and his father had brought in single-handedly.
Anyone else was considered a threat. Even the wisp of a girl sitting beside me.
When there was a pause in the conversation Ice and Luce were having, he got my attention in the rearview.
It was too dark for me to see into his eyes clearly, but the subtle jerk of his head was enough to respond to. He was asking me for an opinion or suggestion. I lifted a shoulder in a small shrug. I didn’t have one to offer.
With a nod, his attention shifted to some focal point in his mind. I knew Luce well enough to know he was weaving together facts to try and determine who this girl was. I had no idea what we would do with her either way, but like Bella, I was curious.
If the vibe coming from Luce was anything to go off, this wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
The rain had barely let up by the time we made it back to the compound. Ice pulled the truck to the front of the building and put it in park.
“Don’t go anywhere,” I told our little hostage before getting out.
Acolytes shined a light from their guard post, giving us the ability to see ten times clearer.
“What do you want to do with her?” I asked Luce, nodding my head in the direction of the rear window.
“I want to know who she is and what she’s running away from.”
Give it to him to pick up on all the small details about her while standing in the damn rain.
“How long do you think it will take to narrow that down?”
“Not long at all. Did you see what she has on?”
“It looks like a nightgown, and then there’s the cuffs,” I replied.
“I’m going in,” Bella interjected, breaking into a jog to get away from the rain.
“We can put her in the storage room for now. Lock her up,” I suggested.
“That’ll work.”
I ran a hand down my face to clear it of water, and then turned to pull open the rear passenger door. The girl hadn’t moved. I wasn’t sure she had even lifted her head. It was hard to tell with all the hair in the way.
I was still getting a subdued vibe. She was clearly wise enough to pick her battles.
“Come on,” I spoke loudly to get her attention.
She used her shoulder to move some hair out of her face, and then turned her head to look at me. Yeah, this wasn’t someone we should have come across. I paused, losing my train of thought until she spoke up.
“Where are you taking me?” she questioned. Her voice was soft and mellow.
Instead of replying, I reached in and took hold of the cuff dangling from her wrist. There was a reason she was wearing these. I wanted her to tell me, but the chances of that were unlikely. We’d find it out soon enough.
