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I scramble to my feet, but Maxx shoves me right back down. "You're not going anywhere until you tell us what you are."
I scoot back across the floor until my back bumps into the shelf. "I work at the station."
Lucille rolls her eyes as she tucks the Taser into a leather holster secured around her thigh. "Don't play dumb with us." She nudges Blaise out of the way with the tip of her knee-high boot then ambles across the room toward me. "You're too weak and reek of fear. There's no way you could be from the station."
I raise my chin and look her dead in the eye. "I'm not afraid of you," I lie.
She laughs, flipping her hair off her shoulder. "Is that so?"
I nod, but when she exchanges a malicious glance with Maxx, I gulp. They're about to do something horrible to me. I can sense it from the conniving looks on their faces and through the electrified air.
"Well, that sucks," she tells Maxx, feigning disappointment. "I was hoping for a show."
"Don't worry, babe; you'll get your show." Maxx turns to me, a sly grin creeping across his face. "I'm going to ask you one last time. What are you?"
"I'm from the station," I repeat, although my voice loses confidence.
"All right, we'll play it this way, then." He crouches down and reaches for me.
I smack his hand away and inch to the side, calculating the distance to the door. "D-don't touch me."
Fury flares in his eyes before he lunges at me, his fingers wrapping around my throat.
Suddenly, I'm back in my cell, surrounded by moonstone walls, lying on the floor with a visitor on top of me. I know the image isn't real, only a memory, but fear momentarily makes me immobile. I helplessly lie there, letting Maxx choke me while Lucille yanks up the sleeve of my shirt.
"I knew it," she says, tracing a fingertip over my number. "She's a Nameless."
"Bet those dumbasses stole her from the channels," Maxx says, his fingers digging into my throat. "We can probably get a reward if we turn her into the watchers."
Lucille wavers, staring at me with her arms folded. "You know it's dangerous to do that. They could end up imprisoning us."
"Then we'll escape," he says, putting more pressure on my throat.
"Yeah, I guess." She glances at me. "You shouldn't trust Blaise, honey. He knows better than to bring a Nameless here." She turns around. "Come on, Maxx. Let's get her out of here before he wakes up."
Maxx's gaze cuts through me. "But I want to play with her first."
"Oh, my God. Every time," she gripes. "Whatever. Just hurry up."
A wicked grin curls on Maxx's lips as he leans over me. "It might be better if you pass out." With his free hand, he undoes the button of my pants.
I try to gasp for air, but he's gripping my throat too tightly. My face is turning warm, my lungs ache for oxygen, and my eyes feel like they're bulging from the sockets. If he doesn't let go of me soon, I'm going to die.
I think about all those years I spent wanting to die but unable to give in. Even in some of the darkest moments of my life, I remained strong.
I'm stronger than this.
With all the strength I have, I bring my leg up and slam my knee between his legs. He grunts, letting go of my throat and hunching over. I seize the opportunity and raise my fist to punch him in the face like I did to the warden in my dream. But he quickly composes himself and strikes me across the face. My ears pop and my head sings, but I blink through the pain, bring my boot up, and kick him in the face. He screams out in rage and tackles me to the floor. My head knocks against a sharp object, and warm blood seeps out, coating the back of my head as the room spins around me.
"You're going to fucking pay for that," he growls in my ear, pinning my arms down against the floor and putting a knee on each side of my hips. Then his mouth comes down on mine. But before our lips connect, he flies off me, soars across the room, and collides with the wall.
Blaise stands above me, his eyes wild and completely out of control. "Are you okay?" he asks.
I bob my head up and down. "I-I think so."
He nods once, his gaze skimming over me. "I'll be right back." He storms across the room to where Maxx is struggling to get to his feet.
"No, please don't," Maxx begs, frantically glancing at Lucille, who's now lying on the floor with her Taser right beside her.
"You worthless piece of shit! How dare you touch her!" Blaise grabs Maxx by the shirt, lifts him up until his feet aren't touching the ground, and bashes his knuckles into Maxx's face.
The impact makes a sickening crack. Blood gushes out of Maxx's nose like an exploding can of paint, his eyes rolling into the back of his head, and his slackened body slumps to the floor.
Blaise steps back, lowering his blood-drenched hand to his side.
My eyes widen at the sheer brutality and force of Blaise's punch. First, he kicks a hole through the trunk, and now, he bashes a guy's face in without breaking a sweat. Just how strong is he?
I stagger to my feet, cupping the back of my head. "Is he ...? Is he dead?"
Blaise blinks at me dazedly, the rage in his eyes fading. "No. His nose is broken, and he probably has a concussion." He looks down at Maxx, his jaw clenching as he balls his hands into fists. "I should probably kill him, though."
It makes me wonder how many people he has killed before. Should I be worried? Half of me is, while the other half of me feels safer because of it. If the world is even half as scary as the channels or what just happened, I'm glad to have Blaise protecting me.
"They wanted to turn me into the watchers." My legs wobble as I step toward him. "They said ... whoa ..." I sway to the side as lightheadedness overcomes me.
Warm arms wrap around me and stop me from falling. "Let's get you to Mable. She's the doctor here. I want to make sure you don't have a concussion." He scoops me up in his arms. "Then let's get the hell out of here before word spreads about you."
I nod, completely agreeing.
After getting a glimpse of what Lucille and Maxx wanted to do to me, I understand way too well that watchers, wardens, and visitors aren't the only ones who pose a threat to the Nameless. That some humans are just as evil.
Chapter Fourteen
Secrets
Blaise quickly carries me up the hallway to Mable's room. He kicks the door with his boot, refusing to put me down, even though I tell him I'm okay to walk.
Mable swings open the door. "What on earth are you banging on my door ...?" She trails off, her eyes widening at the sight of me. "What happened to her?"
"Maxx and Lucille happened to her," Blaise grunts, shoving his way inside. "I think she's okay, but I want to make sure she doesn't have a concussion or need stitches. She hit her head pretty hard on the corner of the shelf."
Mable curses, closing the door. "I knew those two were trouble. Ever since they took off to the city, they have all these warped ideas in their heads."
"What kind of warped ideas?" Blaise asks,
carefully setting me down on a crate.
"They think the watchers are handing out bounties for escaped Nameless," she replies, collecting a leather bag from off the shelf. "And maybe they are, but that doesn't mean we need to go turning any of them in. We're human, not watchers or wardens. We need to remain humane to our own kind. That's what the posts are supposed to be about."
Wait ... Does she know I am Nameless?
She must read the uneasiness on my face because she says, "You have that way about you, like you're terrified by everything yet curious. Anyone who's met a Nameless can probably tell you're one of them. But there's not a whole lot of people who have, so you should be okay."
"Not after Maxx and Lucille wake up and tell everyone who will listen to them." He meticulously eyes me over. "I want you to stay here and let Mable check you over. Don't leave this room until I get back." He turns around, but then pauses. "Allura, I'm sorry I let this happen to you."
"It's not your ..." I start, but he strides out of the room before I can finish.
Mable sighs, locks the door, and comes over beside me, carrying the bag. "That boy can be so intense sometimes." She kneels down in front of me. "I'd hate to ever get on his bad side."
I nod, thinking about Maxx and Lucille lying unconscious on the floor. "How long have you known him?"
"Who, Blaise?" she asks, and I nod. "It's been a while. He was barely a teenager when I met him, so probably six or seven years ago. I met Reece and Ryder a few years earlier before Blaise showed up at the Leviter Station. They were always getting into trouble back then. Still do." She rummages around in her bag and pulls out a flashlight. "Not everyone is cut out for what they do. You have to be willing to risk your life just to save others."
I think about how they risked their lives to save me from the channels. They were willing to die to save one person they had never met before.
"Why do they do it?"
"That's something you'll have to ask them. They don't talk about it a lot. It's a private part of their lives, I guess. Plus, they probably worry the wrong people might overhear them and use the information against them."
I scrub at a dab of blood on my pants. "I guess that makes sense."
She smiles sadly at me. "Not everyone is as bad as Maxx and Lucille, honey. I want you to understand that. But I also want you to realize that you'll probably cross paths with a lot of other people who share their beliefs. You have to be careful, have your guard up all the time." She clicks on the flashlight. "Now turn to the side so I can look at the cut on your head."
