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I sighed. “I know we can’t, but I really wish we could. I think I’d sleep better knowing this place was just ashes.”
Hera moved close enough to lean against my side.“We’ll figure out a way to safely document it all, then we can make sure it can’t ever hurt anyone again.”
I nodded and took her hand in mine, needing to feel the warmth of her skin. It wasn’t nearly enough, though. The thoughts of the nights alone while she’d been gone hit me, made me realize it had been far too long since I’d gotten to touch her.
Still, I kept my mind on the task and pulled her in through the door we’d placed where Hera had blasted through the wall. Having outside access on the ground floor made sense.
I held her hand tightly, not sure if I was reassuring her or myself—probably a bit of both. The North Tower had been hell for us both.
“Lilianna has full access to the elevator, the floor she lives on and both the top and bottom floors. I had Wade lock access to all other areas of the tower,” I explained.
“Did that annoy her?”She had to take her hand from mine to sign and I immediately missed the touch.
“I don’t think she cares. Course, I’d bet if she wanted access, she could get it. She’s still got a few of her‘toys’there.”I didn’t bother to hide my feelings about her or her powers. “She’s going to be a problem.”
“She’s Kit’s daughter.”Hera shrugged as if that explained everything. It sort of did. As Kit’s daughter, it wasn’t as if we could just throw her out.“Besides, she’s a wendigo. There isn’t a lot to be done about one.”
“I don’t like it,” I muttered. “Kit is one thing—he’s earned my trust. She’s twisted, though.”
“She was raised here—she’s never known anything else.”
“So was I.”I didn’t like to think about my time there, about growing up in that hell, but that didn’t change it had formed me too. I might have been twisted, but not in the same way. Lilianna didn’t seem to give a damn about anything or anyone else. She spent almost all her time locked up in the North Tower with her toys. No wonder people didn’t trust her.
Still, Hera’s frown reminded me that she was right, too. Lilianna might be a problem, but it wasn’t one we could find a solution to right now.
“We’ll leave it alone for now,” I said.
She turned toward me, her eyebrows furrowed. I normally liked to circle around topics until we figured something out, beating at it until the answer became clear.
I gestured toward her face. “I don’t like arguing with you when you’re this tired. If we’re going to fight, it’s no fun if you’re not at your best. Besides, I didn’t meet you here to talk about Lilianna.”
“What are we here for?”
I opened my mouth then snapped it shut. After a moment, when she just stared at me, I sighed. “You were gone for a week, Hera.”
“Yes, I know.”
I didn’t go on for a moment, annoyed that she didn’t get it.
Her eyes widened.“Did you set up a meeting just so you got to see me?”
“You’ve been running yourself down lately, and I’m busy, too. We’ve got plans tonight, so I didn’t think I’d get any time alone with you if I didn’t do something drastic.”
I wouldn’t have been surprised to have her angry that I’d wasted her time, that I’d scheduled a meeting just because I missed her. She was busy enough already, and maybe it was selfish to force another thing on her to-do list for today. Instead, however, Hera gave me a smile that completely melted me.
Which was strange. I’d grown up at Larkwood, raised—if you could even call it that—by scientists and guards in the North Tower. The only way I’d survived had been to harden myself, to remove every last bit of softness from me. That was the shit that got a person killed here.
Then I’d met Hera, then she’d somehow worked her way beneath the defenses I’d built around myself. It had annoyed me at first, especially as I stopped being able to ignore her, but that hadn’t changed the course.
In fact, I couldn’t picture me acting this way—especially with the slight warmth of my cheeks that made me think I was blushing—before I’d met her. She’d given me a place to be this person.
Hera slid her arms around me and pressed her forehead to my chest. I gave in to the touch, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her tighter against me.
My little trip down memory lane took me back to meeting her, to seeing her that night when she’d changed and nearly died. Maybe it was missing her that had me speaking softly. “You asked me before why I saved you, and I didn’t have an answer. Fuck, I don’t know if I have one now, not a good one, but I can at least say I did it because I couldn’t not do it. The moment I heard your siren’s scream, the moment I laid eyes on you, something pulled me closer. I couldn’t walk away, couldn’t imagine seeing the light go out in your eyes. You changed everything for me that night.”
She pulled back enough to look up at me, letting me see her hazel eyes. I ran my fingers through her hair, then cupped the back of her neck. The fact she let me touch her with my hands, even knowing how much damage they had done, always astounded me.
She went up to her tiptoes, leaning against me, and claimed my lips in a soft kiss. I groaned, then returned the kiss, tightening my arms around her to pull her closer, to trap her against me.
