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“It’s fucking freezing.”
A low rumble of annoyance rose in his throat. Instead of arguing, he stripped off his shirt, dropping it onto a dry rock before moving toward the river. He knelt down, splashing the icy water onto his chest and arms, cleaning the days of dirt off himself.
Was it cold? Absolutely. But he wasn’t asking her to soak in it, just to get the dried blood off her throat. Just so he could stop thinking about the fact that she’d nearly died, and he slaughtered an innocent man to keep that from happening.
More innocent blood on his hands… as if there weren’t already enough.
He would not have Anna’s blood on his hands, too.
He sighed. Hayden knew he was being unreasonable. He was running on fumes, not sleeping a wink and spending his entire night—and morning—obsessing over those same five minutes in the warehouse. They played over and over again in his mind, only sometimes, they ended with much more of Anna’s blood being spilled, those thoughts haunting him the most. Those thoughts reminding him of what could come next if they couldn’t work together on a real plan.
“I apologize, Anna. It would help me feel better if you washed the blood off, but it’s your body and you can do what you want with it.” Even if that meant keeping the dried blood there that reminded him she’d almost died. Right in front of him…
A warm hand fell over his bare shoulder, snapping him out of his thoughts. He turned his face toward her, seeing her standing there in her pants and a thin black wrap she wore around her breasts. Her eyes had dark circles beneath them, pink around her irises. Perhaps Anna had slept about as well as he had last night.
“I appreciate the apology, but I was just enjoying the show.” She winked. “I want this blood off my neck just as much as you do.”
She knelt beside him, keeping a hand on him for balance, and leaned over the water, scooping some up and beginning to scrub at the skin on her neck.
“Let me see,” he murmured. It was a good time to look at the wound, ensure it wasn’t too deep or at risk of getting infected.
She turned toward him, lifting her head up so he could see her neck more clearly. The wound was a small nick, nothing more. While it may have caused a fair amount of bleeding, it was surface-level. Anna would be fine.
He lifted his hand, feathered his fingers over the small cut that had tormented him all night long. Her breath hitched at his touch, his eyes catching on the quick rise and fall of her chest with each breath.
Their eyes met, and for a moment, all he could think of was how close he’d come to losing her. How he still might, if he didn’t play his cards right. He thought of her small hand on his shoulder, his calloused fingers on her smooth neck, the way she’d knelt before him the night before, seeking to… comfort him? Was that her true intention? It certainly seemed like it, now that he’d cooled down and made it through the majority of his mind’s turmoil.
“Is… is it okay?” she asked, voice husky.
He cleared his throat. “I think you’ll live.” That was supposed to lighten the mood but… maybe not.
He stood, stepping back while she continued washing herself in the cold water, and watched from the bank as she did.
Anna seemed a lot more… easy going with him this morning. Despite how rude he’d been, she’d been understanding. Patient. Hayden had always been the level-headed one out of his four brothers, with Derek as a close second. And yet his levelheadedness constantly seemed to offend Anna.
It was almost as if she wanted him to unravel.
Was it wrong to think that? Perhaps he’d scared her in his anger, and she was simply acting more compliant out of fear. The thought of Anna being scared of him absolutely horrified him. It also humored him a bit, as he wasn’t quite sure that Anna was afraid of anyone. Still, he needed to be sure.
“Anna, we should probably talk…” his voice trailed off as he caught sight of the UNR jacket spread out beside his shirt. The UNR jacket that had nearly gotten Anna killed.
“What about?” she called, but he barely heard her.
He fisted his hand into the jacket, holding it out to her. “This needs to go.”
She turned around, smiling, only for that smile to drop the moment she saw what he held. “No. That’s my uniform, and—”
“Your uniform nearly killed you. Nearly killed us both.”
She shook her head. “That uniform could help me—”
“This uniform is the reason an innocent man is dead.” He didn’t care what anyone else said or saw, that man was not a coldblooded killer. He did not deserve to die. His blood was on Hayden’s hands. Just like Anna’s would be if he didn’t protect her, from the world and herself. “You are either with me and the Resistance, or you’re with them. No more playing both sides, no more keeping your options open. Choose.”
Sure, it could be a good disguise. Sure, it could get them closer to their target. Sure, it could get them out of trouble down the road. But logic be damned, that jacket had to go.
“What if I choose neither?”
He huffed out a breath. “Then that still means you’re not choosing them, which means this goes.”
