Page 18

Nari glanced out of her hospital room window in the WANC building.

Rain streaked down the window in miniature rivers.

It had been two days since their unexpected run-in with Ariel.

Sadness and anger mingled in her chest at the thought.

Anson had been wrong about Grimm personally coming for him, though the scientist found the next best way to destroy him—weaponizing and brainwashing his sister.

The very person Anson had sold his soul to save.

The vileness of it churned Nari’s stomach.

Not nearly as much as the thought of what had been done to Ariel, though.

The woman was completely brainwashed, refusing to see Anson at all.

And that was only the start of it. Upon apprehending her, FUC had discovered that she had a prosthetic leg.

When asked how she’d lost her leg, she’d maintained that it hadn’t been lost; it had been donated.

The word brought fresh nausea to Nari’s stomach. Donated. As though Ariel had happily given her appendage to the evil doctor to indulge his scientific curiosity.

A knock sounded at the open door. Nari turned her head to see Dr. Brown smiling, her dark brown hair pulled back into a low bun.

“Let’s see what your levels are today,” she said, crossing the room to pull Nari’s chart with the latest bloodwork results.

They had been giving her a constant drip of antivenom in her IV to prevent her from becoming paralyzed again—and possibly even dying.

Dr. Brown had been vigilant about monitoring how much of the venom remained in her bloodstream.

Unfortunately, Dr. Brown’s frown said it all.

“It’s still in my blood.” It wasn’t a question. After this long in a hospital bed, Nari had felt her spirits dropping. Would this be her life forever? Should she go ahead and send in her ASS badge and resign herself to being a ward of FUCN’A?

“It’s still in you, yes.” Dr. Brown nodded, though her brown eyes softened after taking in Nari’s expression.

As if knowing what she was thinking, Dr. Brown offered, “But the levels are lower than yesterday, and any improvement, even if slow, is better than the alternative. Even with the anti-venom being created with the weaker samples.”

The weaker samples being those donated from Anson.

FUC assumed Dr. Grimm had done something to make Ariel’s more potent, but without samples from her, they had no way of knowing what it was he’d done.

“Is Paige making any progress with getting Ariel to cooperate?” She’d put her foot down on forcing Ariel to donate venom samples, advocating instead for treating Ariel as a victim and focusing on building trust so they could rehabilitate her.

Considering that the FUCN’A counselor was an expert in treating patients who experienced trauma—and had herself been a former captive of an evil scientist—Nari trusted Paige’s opinion on the matter.

“No.” Dr. Brown sighed. “We’ll have to just keep going with the treatment course we have at our disposal.” Meaning, Anson’s venom would have to do.

Nari nodded her thanks to Dr. Brown, who exited the room quietly, leaving Nari once again alone, feeling like a caged bird, stuck in her room.

Her mind wandered back to Anson. FUCN’A had allowed him to spend most of his time at her bedside, since he’d decided to finally fully cooperate with the investigation of Dr. Grimm.

She knew he struggled with trusting the FUC agents, but he said he’d do whatever he needed to if it meant helping Ariel, stopping the evil doctor, and getting to be near Nari.

The last thought warmed her. She was lucky to have a man like Anson wanting to keep her company.

They spent so much time talking, but he also made sure that she rested, since sleep helped her body fight off the venom.

She loved that if she dozed off during a movie, she could wake up and he’d fill her in on everything she’d missed.

She’d never met someone so devoted to those he cared about, and the fact that she was one of those people meant the world to her.

She hoped she could prove to him that she would do the same.

Where was he now, though? She’d figured he’d be back from his meeting with Agents Stone and Sparks already.

What if something went wrong? What if they’d decided that they would arrest him for his involvement?

He’d been under duress while working with Grimm, but that didn’t excuse the work he did with the man.

For all Nari cared about him, she couldn’t make excuses for him.

What would happen would, and she’d have to deal with that one way or another, even though spending another hour without Anson felt unbearable.

A rhythmic stomp at the doorway brought her attention back to the hallway. Anson stood in his best chinos, brimming ear to ear with a wide smile. It faltered when his eyes settled on the IV. “The antidote still hasn’t worked yet?”

“It’s working,” she assured him. “But we’re in a ‘slow and steady wins the race’ situation.”

He crossed the room to her bedside. Her skin tingled as he brushed a strand of hair out of her face.

She ached for his hands on her body, his mouth on her lips, but she wanted to take things slow.

Not because she didn’t trust him, but because he needed time.

Time to heal. Dr. Grimm had dumped a terrible surprise into his lap.

Nari reached for his hand, brushing at his fingertips before gripping his wrist and tugging him into her arms. He sat on the edge of the bed, leaning into Nari’s chest. They wrapped their arms around each other—careful to not pull out the IV line—cradling each other for what felt like hours. The warmth of his body was a comfort.

“So, what did Agents Sparks and Stone say?” she asked, wondering how the interview went. It had to be somewhat good news if Anson was in her room and not incarcerated.

“FUC has made an official decision about me.”

“And?” she asked, hardly able to stand the anticipation.

“I’m on probation and have community service to complete, provided I continue to assist them as they track down Dr. Grimm.” There was a fire in his green eyes at the mention of helping to bring down Grimm.

“Have they discovered anything at the car shop relating to Grimm?” After Nari was taken in for medical attention, Agents Stone and Sparks, with a team of agents, went on to hit up the suspected car repair shops as planned, but last she’d heard, they were still sorting through all the potential evidence.

Anson shook his head. “They do think Grimm was at one of the locations temporarily, but forensics is still working on it.”

Nari bit her lip. Grimm was still in the wind. She was so angry she wanted to scream. They could have saved more shifters and humans from his twisted experiments had they been able to capture him. “At least we do have Ariel.” Though that hardly felt like a victory.

His face darkened as his eyes fell back on her IV. “I’m sorry she’s refusing to help.” Nari watched the storm of emotions brewing behind his troubled eyes.

“It’s not your fault.” She did her best to comfort him. “Remember who is really to blame: Dr. Grimm. Not you. And not Ariel, either.”

“Then why does it feel like it is?” Dropping his eyes, Anson stared at the floor. He began fidgeting with his fingers.

“Because that’s what psychological manipulation is all about.”

“How can you just not be mad at her at all?” Anson asked.

“I’d be lying if I said it was all hunky-dory,” Nari admitted.

“But I’m working on it with Paige. On forgiveness and understanding victimology.

On understanding that Ariel was not in her right mind when she attacked us, and the only way for her to get back to being in her right mind is through rehabilitation.

Me holding a grudge or insisting on making her pay would get in the way of that. ”

Anson opened his mouth, perhaps to argue, but a pair of women stood in the doorway.

The one with thick, brown hair tapped on the doorway.

The large permanent wings behind her—courtesy of Dr. Grimm—folded tight to give her space as she walked through the doorway.

Once inside, she relaxed the wings, the light from above glistening in the sleek black feathers from the motion.

She narrowed her blue eyes on Anson as the woman with bright pink hair reached over to grab the other’s hand.

Nari recognized them from the investigation: Gabby and Lyla.

“Come in,” Nari said, giving her best welcoming smile.

She knew Gabby had a complicated history with Anson, since Gimm had dispatched him to recapture her.

Twice. The first time he succeeded, leaving Gabby with the wings that wouldn’t shift away.

The second time he tried to collect her, that was when FUC intervened, apprehending Anson.

“I h-heard… trying to…” She paused, closing her eyes.

While Gabby’s aphasia had improved after cognitive therapy, she still had difficulties talking.

“Help find Gr-grimm,” Gabby continued, keeping her blue eyes on Anson’s shirt as if too afraid to make eye contact.

She eventually looked up, though her pale face blanched when her eyes met his.

“I am. I have a lot to make up for,” he said in nearly a whisper.

Gabby sighed as Lyla put a protective arm around her.

Gabby scrunched up her face in determination as she continued.

“I had to…f-face you. That way…he…does n-not win.” She closed her eyes, probably to better focus.

“Grimm. Took much…from me. Us.” Gabby moved her hand in a circle to show she meant Anson and Lyla, too.

“No one d-deserves…him to ruin…our lives forever.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your sister. You went…f-for me…to…to get her back. Grimm used you.” She glanced to Lyla as if silently asking her to continue.

With a nod, sending the pink feathers in her hair fluttering, Lyla said, “Grimm already was manipulating your sister to his side. He probably never intended to give her back to you. Gabby told me as much as she could about Grimm, having unfortunately spent a lot of time with him.”

“M-more than I care to admit,” Gabby said with a sigh. For a moment, a faraway look crossed her face as she probably remembered something terrible. Lyla put an arm around Gabby’s shoulder. Gabby looked to her and nodded with a soft smile.

Lyla continued. “Anson, you are nothing like Grimm and should stop beating yourself up over it.”

Gabby looked to Anson, and her determined, steely gaze held on to Anson’s. She and Lyla must have spent a lot of time rehearsing what Gabby wanted to say.

“But —” Anson started.

Layla cut him off. “I also was a rescued experiment. If we don’t let go of what happened and find a way to move on, we let people like Grimm win. He already controlled you for who knows how long. How long are you going to let him have that power over you?”

Gabby nodded, her face relaxed as a solemn expression washed over it.

“I am done… letting him…have p-power on…over me. That’s why…

I am here. Talking.” She looked Anson up and down, her blue eyes inspecting him.

After a moment, she smiled. “Take care, Anson.” She turned to Nari. “Feel better, Agent Lee.”

“I will. You two take care, too.”

The women nodded and smiled before walking away, their fingers laced together.

Nari was glad to see they were doing well.

Hopefully Anson would take what they’d said to heart.

But she supposed that was for him to figure out.

If anyone was able to help him with that, it was the FUC employees at the WANC building.

They were trained to help rehabilitate survivors who fell captive to madmen like Grimm.

Nari was certain they were also trained to help someone like Anson, a man caught in the crosshairs of evil.

Though he didn’t have physical scars, she saw the psychological ones.

“We will find Grimm. And I’ll do my best to help you process what you’ve been through. Everyone at WANC will.” It wasn’t much, but she could offer hope. She reached out her arm, inviting him over.

“I would like that.” A dark look crossed Anson’s face, as though he was remembering all the other things that still stood in their way of riding off into the sunset. “I just want this all to be over.” He looked as exhausted as she felt.

Nari rubbed his shoulder. “It will be. Soon.” It better be. She would do all she could to take Grimm down. The safety of everyone depended on it.