Because she wasn't ready to believe Steel when he said the room came with meals, Rose nibbled slowly at her lunch, making the most of it, just in case it was days before she was given more to eat. Even though they didn't know one another, he’d managed to make it pretty much the way she would for herself. A slice of turkey, tomato, cheese, and lettuce. Simple yet delicious, and perfect for her stomach when she hadn't eaten much these last several days.
“There are toiletries there too,” Steel told her. “Shampoo, conditioner, body wash, girly stuff.”
“Girly stuff?” For some reason, the idea of him knowing aboutgirly stuffbecause he had a girlfriend or wife made her irrationally jealous. Which was crazy. Steel wasn't hers, and despite him constantly claiming her, she wasn't his either.
It was fine if he had a girlfriend.
Fine if he had a wife.
Totally a-okay if he had a daughter.
“Had a sister.” He grunted. “Before.”
“Before my brother?” Now she felt bad about her attitude. Honestly, she had no idea what came over her when it came to this man.
“She was a lot older than me, helped raise me when our mom got sick. She died in a car accident about six months before I signed up for your brother’s program. I was always glad she never saw what happened to me. She’d have been so disappointed to see the monster I’ve become.”
“You're not a monster,” Rose told him, taking a tentative step toward the lounge where he was sitting. She could hate him for what he’d done to her, but she could also understand what had driven him to do it.
He’d also given her gentle touches last night, protected her against Dragon, who wanted her dead, and obviously spent a lot of time buying her clothes, toiletries, and snacks. Whatever else Steel was, he wasn't a monster, of that she was sure.
“You're the second person to tell me that today,” Steel mused.
“But you don’t believe it.”
“I'm not sure,” he said slowly, and it felt like the most honest thing he’d ever said to her.
Dropping down to sit beside him, they ate in silence, and it wasn't uncomfortable. In fact, maybe it was actually comfortable, and she had no idea how to feel about that.
Chapter
Fourteen
December 30th
11:53 A.M.
“For her?”
The grunted words had Steel freezing halfway up the stairs. Dragon was watching him from the foyer, shoulder propped up on the door to one of the many living rooms the large Gothic mansion had, watching him with an inscrutable expression.
Over the last thirty-six or so hours, ever since they’d told Rose everything and asked for her help, Dragon had stopped mentioning killing her. It wasn't that Steel thought the man had had a change of heart, it was just because Dragon knew it was pointless. They weren't going to kill Rose, so he had to accept it and make the best of it.
Deep down, Dragon didn't really want to kill Rose anyway. Killing her would only prove Cassandra right for walking away. The man was just frustrated and confused about his feelings for the woman, since they had all believed themselves incapable of forming those kinds of connections.
Steel was every bit as confused by his feelings for Rose, but Eagle had told him he wasn't a monster, and the little ladybug had agreed. If she could still see him as human, even though she hated him, and he had zero doubts that she did in fact despise him, then maybe the damage Ridge Gardner had done to them didn't run as deeply as they’d always believed.
As they’d always feared.
It was easier to accept that you had been turned into a killing machine, a monster, than it was to hope you hadn't only to find out you were wrong.
They’d all taken the easy road these last six years. They’d accepted that their ability to feel empathy was gone, their consciences effectively removed. They’d never fought against the notion, never tried to see if it was wrong. They kept themselves sequestered here, just the six of them unless they were on an op for Prey, and didn't make any attempts to let anyone get close.
Now something had changed for him. It wasn't like he suddenly believed he was completely normal, but Steel couldn’t deny he had developed feelings for his little ladybug. Obsession yes, attraction absolutely, but there was more to it than that. Protectiveness, a desire to know everything there was to know about her, even a gentleness he hadn't thought he was capable of.
“Yeah, for her,” he replied.
“You really like her.”
