Page 5

“I know it sounds fucking insane. I know that, Cap. But you haven’t seen the way he looks at me.”
“I’m guessing he looks at you like a kid that can only see a blob where your face should be.”
“Don’t give me that fucking shit. That kid has it out for me.”
“Do you hear yourself? The kid has it out for you?”
“Cap…I think…I think he can read my thoughts.”
Cap stared at me for a long time, and for just a second, I thought he actually believed me. Slowly, he wrestled his hand free from mine and picked up his phone, dialing a number. “Yeah, I’m gonna need you in my office now. Bring meds…Whatever you got for delusions.”
Jerking my hand back, I stood and paced the room. He didn’t fucking believe me. Of all the people who should understand, he didn’t.
“Does this have something to do with nearly dying in that fire?” Cap questioned.
I rolled my eyes at him. “No. And before you ask, I didn’t inhale any experimental drugs either.” I spun back to him and jabbed a finger in his direction. “And if anyone should be put on drugs, it’s you. You’re the one who was crying in the fucking janitor’s closet over me.”
“Because I thought you were dead,” he barked, standing up and glaring at me. “Excuse me for having feelings for my employees.”
“Feelings?” I jerked back in surprise.
“You know what I mean. I care about you. All of you. You’re more than just…employees to me. You’re my fucking family.”
If I wasn’t so panicked about my impending doom, I might have the energy to tease him, but the fear was rising by the second. I felt like I could hardly breathe right now. Cap strode around the desk, rubbing his hand on my back.
“Hey, calm down. It’ll be okay.”
“It will not be okay. Don’t placate me! I know what you know.”
“And what do you think I know?” he asked carefully.
“That they’re always watching, always planning our deaths.”
“The baby?” he asked in confusion.
I gripped him by the collar and hauled him against me, my face just inches from his. “The kids! Every single fucking one of them. We were wrong, Cap. We trained them to be like us, but their fucking minds aren’t prepared for this. We’ve turned them into psychopaths!”
He tried to wrench his shirt free, but I wasn’t letting go. “You need to calm the fuck down.”
“I need you to fucking see that this training center for the kids was the worst fucking thing we could do. My own kid is going to murder me. I know it.”
The door swung open behind me and Hunter strolled in, uncapping a syringe as he approached. “So, what’s the delusion?”
Cap looked at him with a bored expression. “The kids are gonna kill us.”
Hunter stopped in his tracks and then recapped the syringe. “Oh, yeah, that’s definitely gonna happen.”
“What?” Cap snapped. “What the fuck is wrong with you? They’re kids!”
“Uh-huh. And when their minds were in the learning stages, we stuck knives and guns in their hands and told them to have fun. Oh, they’re definitely gonna kill us. We created a killer race.”
I nodded, jerking my thumb at Hunter. “What he said.”
“You guys are insane. They know right from wrong. They’re not going to kill us.”
“Says you,” I pointed out. “Have you seen Vittoria lately? She’s maybe a little too happy with her throwing stars. And she’s always hanging around Knight, asking him to teach her how to become an effective assassin.”
“That’s one kid!” Cap exclaimed. “And not even your kid!”