“Of course we have,” Kenyon answered.“What do you take us for?”
“I take you for a squad that has to attend this because you so fucked up the last time you went into the Pitt.”
Thatcaught my attention.The last time?
I hadn’t known they’d entered The Pitt before.The timeline fit, but the Guild liked to bury any story that didn’t paint them in a good light, which meant unless you lived through it, you weren’t likely to find much evidence of any problems.It was all word of mouth after that.
I expected Carter to snark back—he usually did—but he didn’t say a word.
When I turned toward him, I found a haunting expression on his face.It was a turbulent mixture of anger and pain, the sure sign that whatever went on in his head wasn’t good.
It made me wonder what exactly everyone else seemed to know, what I didn’t know.
And a part of me didn’t much want to find out.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Shear
Having Yun out of my sight made me uneasy.I wasn’t sure why—I rarely cared much about anyone else.
It was like having a string pulled across my bare skin, slowly and unending and impossible to ignore as it agitated the hairs, the sensation soft and almost ticklish.No matter what happened, it drew my focus back toward them, wanting to walk into the room, to go speak to them.
“She’s fine,” Carter said.
“You sure?How do we know she’s fine?”Ingram asked.
“She’s with the other guides in the private guide room.That’s the safest place for them,” Carter pressed.“Nothing is getting in there.”
“I don’t like it,” I said before I could stop myself.
Carter lifted an eyebrow.“It’s bad enough foryouto care?Well, fuck, maybe we should be worried.”
I wanted to ignore his statement, but I’d started this by stupidly opening my mouth.“People are easily swayed, especially when alone.I dislike her being with the others.”
“Who knows what they’re telling her?”Kenyon muttered.
“You can’t just lock her up,” Carter pointed out.
“Of course we can.She’s only a guide.She can’t get past locks,” I said.
Carter sighed, as though I’d missed the point.
Perhaps I had, but that didn’t make me wrong.Wecouldlock her up.We could restrict her movements so she wouldn’t go out of our sight, so she was never at risk.
Guides were protected by the Guild, but that didn’t mean they’d care if we were overly careful with her.If anything, they’d consider watching her more closely, ensuring her safety, as a positive and reasonable measure.
“You want her to run?Because that’s how you get her to run away.”Carter shook his head.“You might be great at recognizing others’ thoughts and feelings, but you sure don’t understand people that well.”
I crossed my arms, hating that he wasn’t wrong.It was true that I’d never quite figured out how minds worked.It felt like nothing more than a constant form of observation.I knew what people thought and felt in the moment, but working out why they felt that way?What they might think next?
Perhaps it was because I was a mentalist, because I’d turned into an esper younger than most.
That was what my records said, at least.The doctors I’d seen from that early age had chalked up my faulty social skills to my lack of use.I’d never had to develop them since my powers fed me that information.
Whatever the reason, it usually had me keeping my mouth shut instead of risking others realizing how little I actually understood.
We headed into the large space where the class would take place.It had a stage up front and a large projector screen, no doubt hooked to a computer with all the scary pictures of The Pitt.
