“There’s something you should know,” Machine said solemnly.
I stared at him, unblinking. My heart rate began to speed up, and a feeling of dread washed over me. From my understanding, I was the last to get out of the building. Well, it had seemed that way as I had gone from room to room looking for stragglers. The last thing I remembered was coughing and seeing a tall, broad-shouldered Machine running my way just before I collapsed.
“I’m so sorry, Jess, but Arrow is gone,” Machine said softly.
The monitor beside my bed began to ding as my heart rate skyrocketed. This couldn’t be happening. Not my best friend. It couldn’t be true. I shook my head as tears filled my eyes.
“You’re lying!” I yelled hoarsely through the oxygen mask.
Machine sighed, and before he could say anything more, Buddha and Zombie appeared beside him. Their faces told me what I didn’t want to be true, and I shook my head as tears rolled down my cheeks.
“Tell me it isn’t true!” I demanded.
They both looked down at the floor and then back up at me. Both of them had tears in their eyes, and that’s when I knew this was real. No matter how many times I blinked to try to get out of this dream, Arrow was gone.
I began thrashing and screaming as agony coursed through me. I started to feel light-headed as pain ricocheted through my brain and dots started to cloud my vision. I heard someone yelling to me, but I didn’t absorb what they said.
Arrow is dead.
That was the last thing I thought before everything went black.
SEVENTEEN
MACHINE
I watched as Badger took a deep breath into the spirometer for the third time. Zombie watched intently as the doctor took notes in the conference room of the Hive.
Zombie had been adamant that he would be with each of his team for all check-ups to ensure that everything was done correctly. I could tell Badger was grateful for his attentiveness, but I also knew this was his way of keeping busy and keeping his thoughts away from his childhood best friend being killed. The doctor said some reassuring words to Badger and Zombie before making his exit.
It had been a week since the explosion, and both the Hive at RSS and the Elite Squad were working tirelessly to devise a plan to take down Ricci. Arrangements for Evelyn’s mother and Arrow were underway. However, we were postponing Aaron’s funeral. The Elite Squad wouldn’t be able to put him to rest until after Ricci was dealt with.
Chief stood in front of his team. The room had a somber energy, filled with despair, anger, and longing.
“Guys, I wish I had some words of wisdom. Something to take away the pain that has rooted deep within all of us.” He cleared his throat as a wave of emotion filled his face. “Arrowwill always be part of this team and stay in our hearts. I know some of you have lost more lately, and I’m truly sorry for that. With war comes huge losses. And trust me when I say we are at war. It is far from over as we take down the person responsible for this.”
I tuned out the long speech about the importance of sticking together and making sure everyone was using the buddy system. It was clear that Chief cared about his team like family and wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page.
“Phantom will maintain the illusion that she was captured by Kade. The rest of us will prepare for our attack on Olympus,” Chief stated.
Olympus was Ricci’s strip club, and his hub for selling trafficked women. Chief gave everyone clear instructions for the night of the next auction. When the meeting was over, Badger got up and walked to where I was standing. Instead of acknowledging my existence, she went past me out the door. We hadn’t spoken since she’d woken up in the hospital bed, and it was clear that she blamed me for the news I had given her.
She turned toward the elevator, and I followed. She pressed the button once, then pressed it again impatiently. I stood next to her for a moment before she turned to me.
“Are you following me?”
I looked at her with indifference, trying to school my feelings. I had, in fact, been following her. My fear gripped me so tightly that I needed to make sure she was safe. That no otherstronzoswere following her. Chief had made it clear that he expected his team to be vigilant and, preferably, work in pairs if at all possible. Anger surged through me at her carelessness in going off alone.
“Nope,” I said, getting into the elevator as it arrived.
Tension filled the air as the elevator descended. When we finally reached the lobby, she quickly exited and stormed towardRSS's front doors. If she was reckless enough to leave alone, then I had no choice but to follow her. I tailed her until she turned into an alleyway and picked up her pace.
“Woman, would you just wait a second?!” I called, but she continued to strut away from me. “Jessica!”
She halted and looked at me over her shoulder. I stalked toward her, fury starting to lick at my insides. I stopped an inch in front of her and pressed my hands against the wall behind her, caging her in.
“Why do you insist on defying orders and running away from me?” I snarled.
She pinned me with a glare. “I don’t need your fucking help. You can shove your protective bullshit up your ass.”
