Page 80 of Broken Ties
For the first time, there’s something in his voice that makes me sure he’s pissed about that fact as well. Not just that our Bond is here, that we’re all being drawn into her gravitational pull, or that someone he counted on has shifted in his eyes. No, now I can hear what the loss of my friendship is doing to him at a personal level.
I’d honestly lost all hope that he was capable of feeling that.
I wait until the car is closer to us again and he’s not looking as strained before I murmur to him, “Thanks for pulling so much overtime to find the Magnifier. I know it wasn’t just the novelty of a new Gift that had you going without sleep for so long.”
He huffs at me, shaking his head like he’s disgusted, but again, there’s something else there. “A Gift that could take you out is not a Gift I want surprising us again, so don’t be too flattered. Besides, I owed you after you covered for me with Vivian.”
I scoff and shake my head. “Someone had to—Black is as subtle as a brick and North didn’t hear about it until it was too late. The last thing any of us needed was Unser going off just to stop you and Vivian from killing each other.”
It’s Nox’s turn to shake his head. “I should’ve never let North talk me out of setting my nightmares on the old bastard. His loyalty isn’t worththatmuch.”
It is and we both know it.
For the first time in months, the silence between us is comfortable. God, it’s practically amicable, even after I check my phone to find out if my Bond is home safe. My relief is palpable, especially when Gabe reports back to say that Jaxon is at the fights within his sights and North chimes in to say he’s en route now to join him. For once, everything is going according to our plans.
I’m almost stupid enough to let it go to my head.
From out of nowhere, Nox practically snarls viciously and tears his seatbelt off with a curse. Flinging his car door open he rolls out into the oncoming traffic, and I barely manage to realize that we’ve been made as I slam on the brakes. The action is to stop Nox from dying, but it saves my own life as a car on the other side of the highway is lifted into the air and thrown at our vehicle, several of my ribs breaking as the collision slams me into my seatbelt.
At least it’s not my skull.
Bullets hit the windshield in rapid fire, my eardrums in agony as the cracks bloom and spread out. I scramble to get my own seatbelt off, racing the bulletproof glass as it weakens with every impact. I finally dive out of the driver’s seat as it shatters, shards of glass raining down on me. Instinctively, my arms cover my head as I land on the asphalt, and I curse myself for not wearing my full Tac suit.
Ignoring the pain, my eyes flash white as my Gift floods my veins and a thousand voices fill my mind. Vittorio’s is easy to pick out, and I focus on those around him, hoping desperately that I’ll find the Magnifier before he finds me. Or Nox. Or, shit, one of us gets hit by one of the bullets they’re unloading on us like there’s no tomorrow.
There’s no chance of getting past the psychotic demon if his brother has let him off his leash. I should’ve taken the girl when I had my chance. Davies would’ve given me anything to get his hands on that tempting little bitch?—
My Gift seizes control of Vittorio and has the miserable asshole out cold instantly, the sound of his body dropping music to my ears. It’s also probably a figment of my imagination from this distance, but it has me smiling regardless, right up until I’ve triple-checked every Gifted here and there’s still no sign of the Magnifier.
We’ve provoked them, but this response isn’t the one we wanted.
The gunfire doesn’t falter, but when the bullets stop hitting every surface around me, I look up to find a nightmare creature absorbing their impact for me. Without pulling itself into a familiar shape, I can only guess that it’s another of Nox’s by the fact that it’s not currently tearing one of my limbs off like North’s are known to do.
Glancing around now that I’m not worried about having my skull blown apart, the nightmare creatures are weaving through the wreckage to hunt down the Resistance scouts and devour them. There’s no prolonging their deaths, no torture or taking anyone in for questioning, just efficient and methodical killing.
There’s a flash of light to my right and the telltalepopsound of a Transporter before everything goes black. The pain doesn’t stop, though, so I know exactly what’s happening. The thick, consuming cloud is impossible to see through and acts as a containment zone. It’s easy to tell when it’s fully in place because that’s when the screaming starts. The sounds of torturous death being prolonged and reveled in; a bone-chilling terror that has my heart stumbling a little, even though it’s coming from the Resistance scouts.
North Draven has arrived and brought his worst nightmares with him.
Every inchof my body aches as I walk up the stupid stairs to get to my Bond’s room. There are more students around than I’d like, but after our failed attempt to lure out the Magnifier, I only stopped in at the Training Center long enough to see a Healer and take a shower. Hell, I only had the shower because I didn’t want to show up at my Bond’s door covered in blood and grime.
I didn’t want to scare her, and I definitely didn’t want to risk her throwing me out.
My phone is buzzing insistently in my pocket, and I silence it with a curse under my breath. I don’t need to hear from North or Vivian about the reports that need to be written or the debriefs I’ve bailed on right now.
I only need my Bond.
The feeling sits like a weight on my chest, crushing my lungs until I’m practically gasping for air, but it won’t ease until I get her into my sights. I haven’t been under fire like that since I was almost taken out by the Magnifier, and I hadn’t realized how deeply that near miss affected me.
It doesn’t help that the entire building is practicallywrithingover my Bond.
I’m used to hearing bullshit about her and my Bond Group. So used to it that my mind is filtering out the gossip before I even realize what’s being said. The problem is that the closer I get to my Bond, the more insidious the rumors become, until there’s no way I can continue to just ignore them.
“Did you guys hear? The reject botched an abortion in the bathrooms.”
“I knew she was trouble.”
“That’s what you get for mixing outside of your Bonded Group.”