Annoying laughter filled her ears—his laughter. “The same way I knew the moment I got you pregnant. And I am a dog, it only makes sense.”
She got up and rushed to the bathroom mirror to look at herself. Reid filled the space behind her. “No way.”
“I promise, I’m not lying this time.”
His words sobered her. “Good to know. So you’re leaving?”
He let her slip by him and move back to the table to sit down. “Yes.”
“When?” Did she want to know?
“Today.”
***
REID WOULD’VE SLICEDoff his own hands to touch her but held himself back. Every minute of every day that he followed and watched her, he wanted to touch her. Knowing that he couldn’t made it all that much harder. He sat heavily opposite her, soaking up her presence while he could.
She lifted her sad eyes to him. It took him aback and he lifted his lips into a weak smile. “Don’t be sad. You’re too beautiful when you’re sad.”
“Where are you going?” Even her voice had grown sad.
“A place called Ghost. A space station where a lot of Cyborgs frequent.”
“And it’s off-world, off Earth then? Obviously... what am I saying?”
“Yes. As far from Earth as one can go.” He pulled at his collar and cracked his neck, watching Clara look out the window and off at nothing. “As far from here as anyone could get...”
Several excruciatingly long minutes went by for him as Clara stared off, the only tell she gave him was the crinkle of her brow. Reid ran his hand over the back of his neck.
When she shifted and looked at him again, a building pressure lifted from his chest.
“What happened to Santino?”
He leaned back, surprised. “So he’s what your thinking about when you stare off into space?”
“How else would I think about someone who scares me?” Clara frowned.
“Think about me! Me!” Reid slammed his hand on the table, making it shake. “When someone scares you. Tellme, and I’ll fix it!” He clenched his teeth, searching for calm. “Santino’s gone.” And if he had any say—and he did—he would be gone for good.
“Did you kill him?”
“No.”
Clara ran her hands over her face, reddening her skin. He wanted to reach across the short distance between them and take her hands away, to clear the wariness in her eyes, to bury his nose behind her ear and into her hair, but he didn’t dare; couldn’t imagine going back to exile after he had spoken to her again. If touching her sent him back to the yard, he’d ball up his fists and keep his hands to himself.
“Want me to?”
“I thought you may already have...” she shivered. “Nothing has happened since I’ve been here, nothing,” she breathed deeply, “but you.”
“I didn’t kill him but I made sure the rest of his life will be everything but easy. I—”
“—I don’t want to know!” she squeaked out, stopping him. “Save it for a bad day!”
His lips twitched back up into a grin. “So, today isn’t bad?”
“Not yet! I don’t know...”
Her mouth opened and closed again, again and again. He liked it when she flustered.
