AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Eli gave him the quick and dirty explanation about Kira’s tracking device. Crew looked at her, then to Zoe, his face clouding with worry. “We need to check Leif and Abel. Simon might have put trackers in them as well.”
Hearing that was like getting ice-cold water poured on my head. I hadn’t even thought of that. If Crew was right, then Simon could be on his way to Haven right now.
“Zoe, come with me,” Crew said. “I’ll take you straight to the others.” Turning to us, he said, “Get in here. I had some folks cook up a meal for you all. I’m sure you’re starving.”
Kira put a hand to her stomach. “You could say that.” She sounded happy, but it didn’t disguise the worry in her eyes. She was just as worried about the possible tracking devices as I was.
Crew led us through the hidden entrance and down the hallway of traps and magical spells. Once we were back inside the safety of Haven, Kira and I broke off, heading toward our assigned room. Crew and Zoe sprinted down the corridors to wherever they were keeping Leif and Abel.
Kira and I stopped at the kitchens and grabbed some food, but the stress and worry had diminished our appetites. After nibbling a bit, we headed on to our room. Haven was buzzing with activity, and I couldn’t help wondering how much more chaos would erupt if they all found out Simon was on his way, following the tracking devices that might or might not be lurking inside our friends.
I gave Kira time to process as we walked. It wasn’t until we were back in the room that I realized she was crying. Kira never cried… well, almost never. Knowing her, she probably viewed it as a sign of weakness.
I took her face in my hands, gently cupping her cheeks, terrified that she had some injury I hadn’t seen. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“I didn’t do it,” she sobbed. “I never did.”
“Huh?” I frowned. “I don’t understand. What didn’t you do?”
She cried even harder and wrapped me in a hug. Putting my arms around her, I rested my cheek on her head, letting her get it out. These weren’t sobs of sadness, pain, or misery, but relief. Maybe even happiness.
After a few moments, I probed again. “Kira, what’s going on? Are you sure you’re okay?”
She nodded and pulled her head back, looking up at me with bloodshot eyes. “I’m innocent. Ididn’tkill that man when I wasa kid. I was never a murderer, or a monster, or any of those things.”
All I could do was stare at her. How had she discovered that? “Did Simon tell you that?”
Kira laughed and wiped an arm across her face to dry the tears. “Hewas the guy, Wyatt. Simon. He was my friend’s uncle. He gave me something that forced me to shift, and I almost killed him, but he managed to get away. He faked his death. That means none of it was my fault. I spent years thinking I was a monster, but that wasn’t true.”
“You were never a monster,” I said firmly. “I always knew that.”
She chuckled and shook her head, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks. “That’s great, but your faith couldn’t wipe away the guilt I’d locked up inside me all those years.”
I put my thumb under her chin and tilted her head up so she’d meet my eyes again. I smiled at her. “Even if you had made some awful mistake during your first shift and accidentally killed someone, no one would have thought you were a monster. You’ve been nothing but selfless and empathetic your whole life. All you do is try to protect people who can’t protect themselves. It’s what led you to become a Tranquility operative, and it’s why I love you. That’s the only truth you need to know.”
Before we could say more, a frantic knock sounded on our door, making both of us flinch. I opened it to find Zoe, breathing heavily as though she’d just sprinted here.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. “Is it bad?”
Zoe waved a hand, then spoke between gasps as she tried to catch her breath. “All good…no trackers on them…wanted to…tell you…before you…started banging each other or something.” She eyed our fully clothed bodies. “I guess I made it in time.”
My relief was like a stream of cool water on a burn. I let out a shaky sigh.
“Why did he only put one in me?” Kira asked.
“He probably had different plans for you,” I said. “If I had to guess, he was going to do some kind of experiment, then set you loose to lead him back here. He didn’t put trackers in the others because he had Leif fully under his control, and he was going to do the same to Abel.”
“I have no clue, Kira,” Zoe said. “I’m going to leave now.” She wagged her eyebrows up and down. “Let you guys get back to whatever it was you were getting to.”
Zoe left, and I closed the door. Kira pulled me to her and kissed me long and hard. When we were both slightly out of breath, she said. “I love you, too.”
“All I want to do is take care of you,” I said. “Speaking of, do you want me to get some more food? Are you still hungry? We didn’t eat much.”
Kira grinned, her eyes still red, but the guilt that had always swirled in her eyes was now replaced with desire. Heat flooded through me.
“I’m hungry,” she murmured. “Not for food, though.”
I grinned as my cock hardened. “Is that so?”
