Page 88 of Terror at the Gates

The baby.

Liam.

A nervous excitement built inside me. It was confusing given Esther’s loss, but it felt wrong to only mourn when her son had lived. His light had only begun to burn, and I looked for it now because I wanted to follow it. I needed it to guide me.

I wondered who he looked like, Gabriel or Esther? Would I even be able to tell?

“Once I have Mr. De Santis settled with the baby, I’ll be back to get you, family. Don’t worry!”

She held the door open for Gabriel to exit, and then they were gone, and I was alone with Zahariev and Cassius. Without Gabriel, the only sound was a clock, reminding me how long we’d been here. Each second that ticked by brought us closer to daylight and I didn’t want to face it without Esther.

I grew more and more tense. Zahariev wasn’t helping. He was watching me. I was so used to the feel of his gaze, I could even tell when he looked away and then back. It was like he thought I was going to crack at any moment, which meant he was preparing for one of two things: He was either going to hold me back if I ran or catch me if I fell.

It was always one of two.

The clock kept ticking, and I ground my teeth harder.

We shouldn’t know each other so well.

Vulnerability is a weapon for an enemy’s arsenal, my mother used to say, and I’d handed mine over without a second thought.

I ground my teeth harder.

And that fucking clock…

I was out of my chair before I realized what I was doing. I climbed on the couch and ripped it from the wall, flinging it to the ground with all the strength I could muster. Jumpingdown, I strolled over to where it lay and stomped on it again and again and again.

No one held me back.

No one caught me.

Each time the plastic crunched beneath my boot, a little more fight left me.

When it was gone I took a few deep breaths and returned to my seat.

“You know,” Cassius said, “you could have just asked one of us to take the battery out.”

I didn’t look at him as I stuck out my arm and flipped him off.

“Your girl’s a fucking menace,” Cassius said.

“I’m not his girl,” I snapped. “And you’re the fucking menace.”

Cassius’s lips twitched. I wanted to claw his eyes out.

He downed what was left of his coffee. “I’m going to go smoke.”

“What kind of monster smokes before meeting a baby?” I asked.

“Any normal person would need a fucking cigarette after dealing with you,” said Cassius. “Why do you think Zahariev smokes so much?”

“Cassius,” Zahariev snapped. “Take a walk.”

“On it, boss,” he said, offering a mock salute.

When he was gone, I spoke.

“If you haven’t introduced him to Hassenaah, maybe you should. They can bond over how much they hate me.”