Page 19

The warm summer sun heated up Anson’s skin as he sat on the picnic blanket.

The ground had already hardened despite the recent rains, though the coolness of the gentle breeze whispered of autumn yet to come.

August was coming to a close. In Anson’s opinion, there wasn’t a better time to dig deep in the dirt and hide from the heat in an underground den.

But he had few moments to dedicate to leisure time, so he wanted to spend them wisely.

When he wasn’t helping the agents track down Grimm by analyzing any data they found, he was with Nari.

He leaned back, letting the warm rays of the sun kiss his face. It was a day warm enough for shorts, but wearing anything but pants would show the ankle monitor. A small price to pay for his freedom. And he’d pay almost anything to spend time with Nari.

Her brown eyes beamed up at him as she plucked a red grape off the cluster. She plopped it into her mouth. He savored the way her lips pursed around the fruit, savored the satisfied smile she gave him.

“Do you have to go back tomorrow for more antivenom?” Anson asked. Nari had been rid of the IV drip with the antidote for a few days, but Dr. Brown insisted she still drop by for a daily injection.

Nari nodded. “At the end of the week, they’ll run a blood test and see if I’m ready for weekly shots instead of daily.”

Anson grimaced. “I wish Ariel would donate samples already. It would help you, but it would also help FUC figure out what Dr. Grimm did to her.” What else he’d done to her, that was, but he left that last part unsaid.

It was nearly too painful to think about what they already knew: his sister had lost a leg and had been completely brainwashed.

But the important thing was that she was safe now.

Nari wrapped her arm around Anson’s shoulders, sending a shiver up his spine. It was a welcome feeling. “It’s only been a couple of weeks, but Paige thinks she’s making progress. It will be slow progress, but it’s still a step in the right direction.”

“I guess that’s something.” It had taken him quite some time to change the way he thought, and he’d been far less influenced than Ariel had been.

Even so, he still had to mentally fact-check his thought process.

He still had trouble trusting others—except Nari.

He trusted her with his life. That was saying a lot. “Let’s talk about something else.”

Her soft lips pressed against his cheek before she murmured, “Why don’t we talk about how much fun I’m having on leave from work? I never thought I’d hear myself say that.”

“Why is that?” he asked, nibbling on her ear, not caring what any onlookers might think.

Nari’s brush with death made Anson realize just how precious time was.

You never knew how much you had left. He was determined to enjoy as much of life as possible, and a big part of that was spending time with Nari.

“Because I thought work was the most important thing in the world. You proved that wrong.” She giggled as Anson kissed her neck. Her sweet scent was intoxicating, honey to a bee. He wanted nothing more than to lap at her nectar.

“Did I?” he asked, nearly breathless, drawing back to gaze into her soft eyes. He loved the way she looked at him. It was a hungry look, like she hadn’t seen him in a year.

Her finger traced a curve on his bicep. The softness of her fingertips left him shuddering with pleasure. “Moments like these are way more important than work. Which is why I decided, I’m not going back to ASS HQ.”

His smile brightened. “Are you sure? You may change your mind after experiencing your first Canadian winter.” She couldn’t return to Australia while she’d been receiving treatment, but he’d worried what would happen when FUC cleared her for travel.

He’d not even broached the subject, because he’d not been sure how he’d deal with the thought of her leaving Canada… and him.

“Yes, I’m sure. It will take more than a cold winter to chase me off. Besides, Cass has sweet-talked Director Cooper into giving me a position at the Academy.”

“That’s great news.” He kissed the corner of her lips before cupping the back of her head. Nari melted in his arms like a ball of wax held too close to a flame. Anson wrapped his other arm around her, feeling the heat of her body warming him.

The softness of her lips ignited a fire within him.

It was hard to focus on anything but Nari.

He couldn’t get enough of her. Didn’t want to go back to work.

She parted her lips, welcoming him inside.

Their tongues mingled in a passionate dance.

She tasted as good as she smelled. He wished the barrier of their clothes wasn’t between them, wanting nothing more than to be skin on skin.

Maybe later they could steal off to Nari’s apartment, but for now, Anson had an appointment back at FUCN’A to help analyze some new information that came in. Too bad it couldn’t wait.

Breathless from the kiss, Anson pulled back before he spent his whole lunch break kissing. “I wish I could stay longer.” He brushed her black hair out of her face, tucking some strands behind her ear.

Nari picked up a grape and gently offered it to him. He popped it into his mouth, studying her face as if trying to memorize every feature. The soft pout of her lips, the bridge of her small nose. He adored every inch of her.

“I wish you could, too.” Her brow furrowed in concern. “Why don’t you stop by for dinner tonight? If Cass isn’t working you too hard,” she said with a chuckle.

Anson smiled back. “I would love to.”

She kissed his cheek. The softness of her rosebud lips left his skin tingling, aching for more of her touch.

She kissed his neck. A heat that had nothing to do with the warm sun sent fire across his skin.

Man, did he wish he didn’t have to go back to the Academy.

He wanted to spend the rest of the day with Nari. He sighed as she nibbled on his ear.

“I have a surprise for dessert,” she breathed into his ear. “I hope you like whipped cream.”

Anson’s heart fluttered. The afternoon couldn’t go by fast enough. He couldn’t wait for dessert.

* * *

As far as cells went, this one wasn’t so bad.

A small bookshelf with a handful of self-help books sat in front of the wall opposite the compact sleeping shelf that even had a mattress, a thin pillow, a set of sheets, and a knitted blanket.

She tried reading one of the “So You Were Experimented on by an Evil Scientist” books, but ended up throwing it across her cell.

This morning they’d delivered a couple of murder mystery books she requested after they said they were fresh out of graphic novels.

She’d rather read them than the menu of self-help books before her.

Books aside, it was by far better than the cell Ariel spent the night in a few months ago in the human county jail.

That one didn’t even have a mattress, and she’d been forced to try to sleep on a cold metal slab.

It was all for Dr. Grimm, of course. He’d asked her to get arrested on some charge that would have her released the next day, like being drunk in public.

He had wanted to know the layout of the building and how many police officers were inside at any given time.

She didn’t know why. Ariel had learned long ago not to ask questions.

Footsteps echoed down the corridor. They were soft and quick, probably belonging to a small female.

She sighed. If she had to deal with the bird who strutted around in stilettos one more time, she’d scream.

But this sound was that of soft rubber-soled shoes, probably loafers.

That redhead from ASS would never wear something so boring.

As the steps drew nearer, Ariel folded over the corner of the page of the murder mystery she was reading.

Reading the mystery beat the self-help books any day, and it beat staring at the walls.

She set the book down at the edge of the bed.

She frowned as a pair of red canvas shoes came into view.

Not loafers. She didn’t like being wrong.

In fact, she hated it. Being wrong was what got her locked up in FUCN’A in the first place.

Ariel thought that catching her brother and the ASS agent by surprise would be a hands-down victory for her; Dr. Grimm assured her that nothing could possibly go wrong.

Yet, here she sat, in a cell in the WANC building.

Albeit a nice cell, but it was a cell all the same.

If she ever got out of here, she’d try to find Anson.

So far, she’d refused to see him, knowing he’d be much more pliable if he thought she’d reformed.

Dr. Grimm originally wanted him disposed of, but Ariel knew that would be the wrong course of action.

Anson was a valuable asset, worth more alive than dead.

After convincing Dr. Grimm of that, she knew she’d have to work hard to bring her brother back to their side. The right side.

“It’s time for your therapy,” Paige, the counselor, said softly. She was in charge of rehabilitating Ariel’s mind, apparently. “We can do it here or in my office. Up to you.”

Ariel hid a cringe. Therapy was worse than torture, in her opinion.

Having to answer annoying questions and listen to Paige’s optimism about “things will be better” was nauseating.

If she had to talk about what emotion she was feeling one more time, she would lay into the counselor and let her know what a waste of time Ariel thought this all was.

All these agents trying to apprehend Dr. Grimm, like he was some common criminal, were the ones who needed the therapy.

They were incapable of seeing the genius of Dr. Grimm.

Yet she was the one forced to attend these sessions twice a week.

Paige had offered her an alternative to one-on-one therapy, but sitting in group therapy with the rescued experiments housed at FUCN’A sounded intolerable.

Ariel drew the line there. At least Paige gave her a sliver of a choice in some things, though Ariel wondered if the choice was some sort of trick.

“Office.” Ariel kept her answers brief. Dr. Grimm had taught her it was the best way to deal with the enemy and ensure she wouldn’t let anything slip.

The good doctor had spent enough time venting his frustrations about how “rough around the edges” her sibling was that she took to her lessons and had vowed to not be as messy as Anson.

Paige nodded before calling over the security guard. They thought they were playing it safe to keep a guard on hand while handling her. Little did they know how observant Ariel was. They couldn’t keep her forever. It wouldn’t be long before she was reunited with the good doctor.

Ariel leaned over, picking the FUC-issued prosthetic leg up off the floor before fastening it to her stump.

It paled in comparison to the one gifted to her by Dr. Grimm, which was supercharged with gadgets.

Too bad FUC had noticed. But it was somewhere in the building.

As soon as she found it, she’d break out of this zoo.

For now, she’d play nice captive. Ariel felt a smile break across her face.

This would be too easy. It would be like stealing cheese from a mouse.

“Ah, hmm.” Paige cleared her throat, pointing to the strange mouth guard they made Ariel wear. Ever since she’d poisoned Anson’s ASS agent with her venom, FUC wasn’t taking any chances.

“I forgot,” she lied as she strapped the device to her face. She hated the feel of her wet and clammy breath hitting her face. It was just extra incentive to get the fuck out of FUCN’A.

Soon. Her freedom would come soon. Ariel would hit these fools when they least suspected it.

The End