Page 7

Chapter seven

Aiden

The spacious, three-story room with massive wooden beams and rich hardwood floors—or, the Guild Hall as we call it—is bustling with wild energy.

There are over a hundred and fifty members who live in the Tower, or the bunker for a few months, and another fifty or so who live or travel elsewhere most of the time.

Every single member, save for those at the hospital or who were taken, is here.

Off to one side of the room, nearest to the many tables and benches, is a stage that we usually keep hidden behind a faux wall.

It’s open now, and the crowd gathers at its base.

Cibrina sits with me backstage, her Archive gift active as she works on my latest request. I flip the switch to turn on the lights and microphones hanging over the stage so everyone will be able to hear and see me, and then stride to centerstage.

Members quiet or shush others when they see me, some fighting a bit to get closer, while others hang back and separate themselves from the tight cluster.

I scan the crowd, making eye contact with those who want it and taking in the mood of everyone before I begin.

“Last night, we were attacked by Gifted Enterprise. The same group who fought us here some months ago and the reason why we’d moved to the bunker. They infiltrated one of our rescue missions among actual victims and then waited to attack until our event.” Murmurs rise in volume, but it quiets again when I bow my head.

“I’m sorry for failing to keep my promise of your safety at the bunker.”

Shouts burst from the crowd, swelling as one to a deafening roar.

“—not your fault!”

“—bastards used them—!”

“—don’t stop—!”

The individual words are lost to the sea of noise, but the overall emotion is a tangible thing that fills my soul to the brim with gratitude and pride.

I close my eyes, soaking it in and fortifying my resolve with their support.

I raise my head and hands, gesturing for quiet so I may continue.

“Thank you, all. I stand by my apology, but I appreciate your words. While I am glad to see so many of your faces here, six of us were taken by GE. It is going to be my mission, and the mission of this Guild, to not only get them back but to take down Gifted Enterprise once and for all.”

I give them a minute to let my words settle.

We’re not sneaking onto islands to save the prisoners and then slipping away again.

We chipped away at their feet, nibbling at their resources like it would make a difference in this war.

And that’s what this is now .

A war.

“Gifted Enterprise has been around for a long time. It is an organization that kidnaps gifted—particularly children—and murders any who stand in their way. Their goal is the brainwashing and corruption of gifted persons who they can control and use to gain more power and influence across the world.”

The sense of fear spikes, but I also see faces of determination—those who are willing and prepared to join this fight.

“What if they attack us here again?” someone calls out.

“They will,” I reply curtly and without hesitation.

“Since we are a group of people who fit exactly what they’re looking for, I have no doubt that we will be seeing them here again. And they are going to keep coming, keep searching for us if we were to hide, which is why we aren’t hiding anymore. I already have preparations being put into place here should there be an attack to give us an advantage. But that is all it will be. It will be up to the rest of us to stop them from there.”

“I can’t fight!” another person cries, and I nod.

“I won’t force anyone to join this war, but I will say this. You’re already in it. Whether you choose to chart your course or let GE decide is up to you.” I scan the group, giving them another moment to absorb my words.

“If you wish to try hiding again, then there is a long-term hotel where you can stay until it’s over. There will be no protections or safeguards there, but you should have the advantage of the enemy not knowing about it. For now, at least. But if you stay, then it’s to fight.”

My phone vibrates against my chest. “Whether it’s fighting with your fists or your gift or finding another way to help us find and take this organization down. And there will be mandatory training sessions for everyone. You should know how to defend yourself. How to create an opening that gives you a chance to escape.”

Another rush of murmuring follows.

Cibrina motions at me from the side of the stage and then points to her phone.

I take that moment to read the name of the missed call on my phone’s screen.

Fabian.

He’s one of the ones on guard at the hospital.

Goddammit.

“I’ll let you all think it over. Get some rest, and tomorrow, you can give Cibrina, Evie, or me your answer. Training sessions will be posted on the board by the end of the week. Do not miss them. Thank you,” I conclude, bowing my head one more time and exiting the stage.

“What is it?” I ask Cibrina.

She clicks the stage sound and lights off, then shows me a text on her phone.

Fabian: Reid is gone.

Cursing, I check my phone and see the same message.

“I’m going back.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“Make sure Evie knows we’ll be gone again, but we’ll be sending Fabian here.”

Cibrina nods.

“I’ll meet you at the car.”

I pop my head into each of the rooms with one of us in it on my way to Reid’s room at the end.

Silas swears everything has been quiet since Cassandra returned from healing the others and is now asleep herself.

Jack and Kellan have no news to report, which leaves me with the final room.

Fabian is sitting in the spare chair of the room, his feet up on the bed while he sucks Jell-O from his overturned spoon.

He glances at the door when Cibrina and I walk in, then slowly drags his feet down to drop onto the floor.

“Oh. Hey.”

If it were anyone else to casually say that after losing a valuable resource on their watch, I might lose my temper.

But this is Fabian, and expecting anything other than sloth-like relaxation and his compulsive need to constantly be eating something is a waste of energy.

I follow his spoon back to the cup that he continues to eat, even after our arrival.

Again, nothing to lose my head over.

He follows my stare and lifts the cup.

“What? This? He said I could have it. I wouldn’t have taken it from him without his permission.”

Patience, I remind myself like a mantra.

“Fabian,” Cibrina says, her tone professional as always.

“What happened?”

“He left. ”

My eye twitches involuntarily.

“Yes, you mentioned that.” I’m grateful that Cibrina decided to come with me.

I’m already riding the razor’s edge of my temper since all of this began, starting with the sight of Gordon on my camera, and it hasn’t had a chance to come down since.

I doubt it will until at least Raegan and Dane wake up to tell me for themselves that they’re okay.

“Can you go back to when he woke up? At what time, and then what happened?” she continues, guiding him through the information we need.

Fabian scrapes the bottom of the plastic cup and sucks his spoon clean.

He sets it on the tray that hangs over the bed, swapping it out for a wrapped chocolate chip cookie.

“Sure. It wasn’t too long ago, maybe an hour, when he woke up. I wasn’t expecting him up so soon after Sondra healed him, so it startled me a bit, y’know?”

Plastic crinkles while he talks until he finally pulls the cookie free.

“He was startled too, I think, because he started freaking out about where he was. I told him it was the hospital, but he didn’t seem to believe me. I told him we really were, and I asked him if he was hungry. I asked if I could have his meal and snacks if he wasn’t, and he said to have at it. So, I did. Then he disappeared.”

Silence.

Or, as close to that as we can get while he chews his cookie.

I draw a long, deep breath, fixing my tie and tugging the wrinkles from my suit jacket to give myself more time to calm down.

“Did he happen to mention where he was going?”

Fabian shakes his head.

“No, I’m telling you. He just vanished without a word.” He pauses, then angles his head in thought.

“Did he think we were on one of the GE islands?”

That’s a very good possibility.

Although he knows Fabian, and Fabian wasn’t concerned about them being there.

Then again, Fabian never seems concerned about anything.

So, that may not have meant as much.

“I don’t think any of us know what’s going on in his mind,” I muse tiredly.

Months, he’s been with us, and none of us knew that he was the son of the head of GE.

He’s Raegan’s half-brother.

It explains his interest in her.

Did he really think he’d been captured, or is there another reason he left?

Does he think he’s not safe with us anymore, either, now that we know the truth?

Or did he go after Tinsley on his own?

“Since he’s gone and likely not coming back to this room, head back to the Guild to help Evie with its protections.”

“Yes, sir,” he says with a nod, rising and leaving the room to do as I asked without delay.

At least in following instructions he can move faster.

Sighing, I turn to Cibrina.

“We’ll have to get him discharged somehow without him here for a final doctor’s approval. As far as they’re aware, he’s still injured and in bed.” I look up and frown at the camera in the corner.

“And there’s footage of him teleporting that needs to be removed.”

Fucking hospitals.

Reasons again to avoid them at all costs when it comes to gifted.

“I’ll take care of it. Go visit Raegan, and I’ll let you know when it’s done.”

“Cibrina…”

She smiles with soft understanding.

“It’s my pleasure, as always, Aiden.”

The woman deserves…

whatever she wants. I have no idea what that is because the only woman I’ve ever paid that much attention to is Raegan.

Maybe I can ask her to find out what Cibrina wants most. I doubt she’d admit that to me.

Once she leaves to work miracles, I return to Raegan’s room, knocking softly to let Jack know it’s me and then entering.

I frown when I only see Raegan in bed with no sign of Jack.

The door clicks shut behind me, and I slip my hand into my other sleeve to grasp my nearest metal to prepare for an attack.

“It’s me,” Jackson says coolly, and I drop my hand.

“Guarding the door, like you asked.”

I nod, suddenly bone-tired as the weight of the last day, no, week if I include the party’s most recent preparations, finally sinks in.

My eyes catch on movement in front of him, where he’s folding together a paper animal.

“Go get yourself something to eat or take a bathroom break. I’d like a moment alone, if you don’t mind.”

Jack pauses, his stare penetrating mine.

I hold it, unyielding, for seconds, maybe a minute, before he finally smiles.

“I’ll grab us some snacks.”

“Sure.” I could personally care less about snacks right now, but my stomach growls angrily at being forgotten and the promise of food.

I wait until he’s gone, and then I turn to look at Raegan.

She’s still fast asleep like when I left her, but her position has changed.

One arm is thrown over her head, and the other folded across her abdomen.

The low beep and chugging of the IV is a steady background noise.

More paper animals of every color litter the flat surfaces in the room, even over the keyboard of the nurses’ computer.

Raegan is surrounded by a mini paper zoo.

Taking a seat in the stiff, overstuffed chair by her bedside, I lean back and cross my ankle over my knee, clasping my hands together.

Even in the odd position she’s splayed in, she looks comfortable.

Her face sinks into the pillow I brought from the Loft, and her body is wrapped and bundled in the sheets and blankets I pulled from my room as well.

She may be in a paper zoo, but she’s still surrounded, first and foremost, by me.

As she should be.

Everything about her in her sleep is soft.

The curves of her body.

Her hair. Her lips. Her expression.

It invites me in, drawing me inadvertently closer until I’m leaning in.

My lips hover over hers.

My hands twitch with the need to touch her.

It would take nothing to act on it, to close the distance between us.

But acting on what I desire to do rather than what I should do is a slippery slope from which I won’t be able to come back.

I withdraw, dropping back into the chair with my mood souring.

It’s almost comical how I’d described how soft she looks while I’m the epitome of hard, immovable lines.

Just like the metal I command, I’m meant to defend and protect.

Cut and attack. I don’t know soft .

And here I am, craving it like a fool who wishes for the moon.

Raegan shifts in her sleep, and her hand falls over the edge right in front of me .

This time, I take the offering—I stroke the back of her hand with my thumb.

“You know I’m terrible with what to say when it comes to you. But I’ll do my best.” I slip my other hand under hers, capturing it before I continue.

“I’m sorry for what happened with your father. I sought him out, and I brought the danger to you and the Guild in my obsession with proving something to you.”

“Nnngh…” Her hand spasms. “Aiden?” she asks at the end of a low groan.

“Are you awake?” After Cassandra’s healing, I thought it wouldn’t be until tonight at the earliest that she’d wake.

Her lips stretch into a smile even though her eyes remain shut.

“I think I’d wake from death if I heard you say sorry.”

Huffing, I lightly tighten my grip on her hand.

“Very funny.”

She peeks an eye open, looking at me with that smile.

“You look grumpy.”

I frown at her assessment.

“I’m not.”

“He says grumpily.”

“I think I’ll call the nurse in to have her check your pain medication dosage. It may be too high.”

She moans sleepily, the sound doing nothing good for me here, and snuggles her face deeper into the pillow.

“Leave me alone.” I think she’s fallen asleep again when she startles and pops her head up.

“Where’s Dane?”

“He’s here in another room. But he’s safe.”

“I want to see him,” she demands, sleep still coating her throat so it comes out cute rather than intimidating.

“He’s resting, and I don’t want him to wake up until he’s gotten enough of it. Cassandra healed him, but now he needs sleep to recover.”

Raegan lowers her head, burrowing back in.

“As long as he’s okay.”

“He is,” I promise.

It’s quiet again, but I’m in no rush to push for a conversation if she needs to go back to sleep.

It makes me wonder where Jackson disappeared to and if he ran into any trouble.

I watch her like I have all the time in the world to do so.

To be content to just sit and look upon her for whatever time it takes until she wakes again.

I’m growing to hate every second she’s not within my sights.

And even then, it isn’t enough.

Charles took her from me while we were in the same room.

She wasn’t close enough to reach.

“Give me a reason I shouldn’t leash you to my side from now on,” I muse in a hushed tone, my thumb stroking the back of her hand possessively.

Raegan hums, surprising me.

“As a kink, I might be into it. If you try it in front of others, I’ll stab you.”

I freeze, stunned.

The idea takes root faster than I can grab it, and the image of her leashed and collared to me, obeying me, fills my mind’s view.

That’s…

Fuck .

I rub my hand over my mouth as a distraction for myself, then clear my throat .

The vixen smirks, clearly not asleep and fully aware of what she’s done to me.

The desire to turn her ass cheeks pink races in my chest, but I fist my hand.

She’s still recovering.

Her damned smirk widens the longer I say nothing, even though her eyes are closed.

“How are you feeling?” I ask instead, hoping to drive the conversation to something more serious to get my mind and dick back on task.

“Mm…tired as hell. My body still aches a bit…. but not too bad.”

“Go back to sleep.” I gently push hair from her face.

“Bossy…” she grumbles but does as I ask.

This time, even when I’m sure she’s asleep again, I keep my mouth closed.

Three knocks at the door bring me to my feet in an instant.

I ready a blade in my sleeve, something less conspicuous than my whip sword, then open the door far enough to see who’s on the other side.

A police officer stands in the hallway.

“Aiden Adams?”

I hate that name.

It’s a stupid last name that Dane came up with while pissed at me and setting up our fake identities.

And I’ve been stuck with it ever since.

The fact that Elias addresses me by that part of my name is one of the many reasons that man and I don’t get along.

It’s as if he’s sensed my animosity toward it and enjoys poking me with it every chance he gets .

“Yes?” I reluctantly answer.

“I need to ask you and the patient a few questions.”

Glancing over my shoulder to confirm she’s still asleep, I turn back to him.

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible. She’s sleeping now and needs her rest.”

“Well, then, we can start with you.”

I draw a calming breath.

I knew this was what would most likely happen by coming here.

Now, we have to get through it.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t understand. Has someone filed charges?”

The officer shifts on his feet.

“No…”

“Has someone filed a report? Or requested there be an investigation?”

He frowns.

“That’s difficult to say until the patients wake up.”

“Wouldn’t it make more sense to wait for them to wake up and see if they ask for the police before you think to interrogate people?”

“That’s—”

“Oh, hello, Officer!” Cibrina hurries down the hallway, her heels clicking on the linoleum floor and her legs moving as much as they can in a tight sheath dress.

She looks out of breath when she offers her smile to the police officer.

“Do you mind if you and I go somewhere private to talk for a minute?”

“Did you also bring in these patients?” he asks gruffly.

Jackson strolls down the other side of the hallway, his gaze locked on the officer.

He drags a few throwing knives from his hoodie that he somehow smuggled into the hospital.

His eyes slide to mine, and I give the barest shake of my head.

“I’m his attorney,” Cibrina replies .

The policeman nods. “Very well, then.” He gives me a look, and I have a feeling this won’t be the last I’ll see of him.

Biting back all the things I want to say, I tilt my head in acknowledgment and watch Cibrina lead him away.

Jackson stops at the doorway.

“You were gone longer than I thought you’d be.”

He smiles and shrugs.

“Cibrina asked for some assistance with cameras.” He pulls a cake pop from his kangaroo pocket and bites the top half.

“Got some snacks, too.”

Good.

Time to eat before I head back to the Tower.

Or the police station.