“Ahh.” What to say about shooting Tom and Carl? The truth? Fuck no, but yes but no. Her mind warred with her tongue. “Truthfully, I’m not sure.” There, it was out. “I just had one objective at the time, to kill a Ghoul Lord. I saw the danger we were in, and I overcame it however I could.”
Willow was staring at her with a wrinkle forming between her eyes, and Cyn met her gaze and waited. She rose to her feet, beside Mads. “Thank you for your honesty. I’m going to go out on a limb here, and I hope you’ll both agree with me. May I speak my opinion on what to do next?” She looked to Mads and Steve. They nodded.
“We can always disagree later,” Mads pointed out.
The moment seemed to quiver with ominous possibilities, or was that just the anxiety of the past few days bothering her? Rutger moved closer, standing as if he too could take upon him whatever was about to be said.
“Good. Cyn… and Rutger.” She smiled. “And Vargr too, I imagine, considering your close ties and the bonding between the three of you?”
Vargr stayed silent, shrugging slightly. The bandage on his arm was stark white and unmissable.
“Okay, this is what I believe is best for our Worshipper tribe. You killed a Ghoul Lord yes, Cyn, but we also saw you gun down two of our own with no respect for their humanity. The goal of finding this Big Daddy research vehicle, if that’s what it is… that’s reinstated. We’re going to find out what they did to us, and to you, although everything depends on it still being where it’s supposed to be and functional.”
Cyn nodded. “Good.”
“I think it best for the tribe that you’re sent away from us anyway.”
Ugh. Nice back-handed… insult.
“I propose we leave ASAP, as in tomorrow night. The members I want to see in this, and most are allowed to say no.” She gave Cyn a curt smile. “Are myself, Mads, Vargr, Rutger, Cyn, Kiko, and Locke. Also Maura, in the hope she will be useful in the future because she helped with the nanomachine research.”
Only if she could figure out how to alter the Lure again and fix Maura.
In the background to her whirling thoughts, Willow and Mads were directing people, ordering supplies, weapons, and asking for twenty more volunteers. Toother, the huge nanodog, arrived in the middle of this and insisted on attention from Willow by nudging her elbow and almost knocking her over.
Chaos, but it wasn’t about her only anymore. Thank god.
“This is all good. It’s what we need. Information.” Rutger leaned down. “You okay now?”
“Yes.” Cyn felt like screaming in joy and contented herself with a smile, only to falter when she saw Vargr staring. She knew him well enough. That was almost a threat and how was she to resolve this gap that’d widened between them?
She’d shot him. Not easy to remedy that.
“You’re going to have to talk to him.”
“Yeah. I know.”
“Mind, I have the same concerns as Willow. You, Cyn, are going to sit down with me and with Vargr. Explaineverything you may have held back. I’m going to fucking interrogate you. Or else I will also be your enemy. Bonded or not.” His eyes were fierce, and she had to steady herself not to show fear.
He might find it difficult to truly harm her physically, but she dreaded more some ill-defined consequence she could not quite imagine.
Him leaving her? Yes, it was that.
“Hear me, girl?”
“Yes. Yes, I do.” If there was to be truth maybe she should begin now. “Just… I think I need to understand myself too.”
“Hmmm.” He nodded, thoughtfully, slow as a bear waking after a long winter. “Okay. We can do this. The nanomachines inside you, I think that’s what’s messing with you. It does that to me too. You know how I get angry and punch walls. Come with me. We’ll drag Vargr to a room by the ear if we have to.”
He held out his big hand and she placed hers in his.
Only Vargr, it turned out, refused to be dragged anywhere. The beaster merely glared and stalked away. Instead she let Rutger take her away to a room.
When he shoved her in, kicked shut the door then ambled toward her with a grim but sexy smile, she was pretty damn sure this was going to be more fun than the original interrogation option.
Then he pulled off his shirt and tugged at his fly. Backing away was only going to prolong the tension for so long. Her back met wall. A second later he caged her in with a hand on that wall to either side of her head.
“Did you get permission for this?” she asked huskily.
