Someone’s crying. I can hear it, but I can’t see who or why. Something’s wrong. A flash bang should only blind for a few seconds, not this long.
“Shit, Cayden is down.” Luke.
“No shit, Sherlock.” Marcus.
Someone shakes my head, which is a very shitty thing to do. I groan, though I can’t be sure, before someone pulls at my arms, lifting me up.
“Come on, asshole,” someone says, and I feel a small body wrap around mine. Darlia.
“I’m okay, baby,” I mumble, very much not okay.
“You’re yelling,” she says softly, her voice full of worry as my vision starts to return. Thank fuck.
“Sorry.” I hope that wasn’t yelling. It sounded like a whisper, I think?
“Don’t be sorry, just be okay.” Anything for you.
Then a splash of cold water hits my face, and I have to blink my eyes a few times before seeing Luke holding a bottle of water, looking guilty.
“You asshole!”
“Told you water would work,” he says to Weston. I don’t have the ability to be mad when I look down at the girl in my arms, looking terrified.
“I’m good, baby, see?” Lifting her chin with my thumb and forefinger, I press a gentle kiss to her lips, trying to say all the words I know she won’t believe.
“You won’t lose me Darlia, I promise. I’m here to stay.”
“Okay, I believe you.” Darlia’s voice trembles, but I don’t have the time I need to reassure her in the way she needs me to as the guards start to ascend on the stairs again.
“Luke, Caleb, go ahead of us. Darlia, Weston, and I will follow with Marcus behind us.” Marcus is the most exposed, which I know he is hating. Bella is finally starting to wake up, but it’s easier to carry her instead of slowing us down.
“Baby, stay behind me.” I don’t want any more blood on her hands. Not because she can’t do it; Darlia has proved she can kill, but because of what it will do to her when she finds out everything.
I’ve been holding back and giving her time to adjust to some normality after being in The Academy for so long, but soon we won’t have that privilege anymore, and we’ll be forced to tell her.
Darlia thinks her targets harmed the citizens.
She has no idea they were trying to save her, and everyone else. They’re the rebels, but they would never hurt anyone, I would know.
Target 87 was someone I knew well, Darlia’s kill. Whether it was Lauren or Darlia, I have no idea, but I knew she wasn’t told the truth either way. So I’ll tell her everything The Academy won’t.
Including the parts she doesn’t want to know, because Darlia has to know everything before she decides where she stands. Either way, she can’t go back to The Academy. My only fear is that she won’t want to stay with me, either.
“Cayden, my stitches hurt.”
Oh for fuck’s sake. “I’ll check them when we get to the car, okay?” There’s always something, isn’t there? I know there are painkillers in the car, thank god I thought ahead and put them in there. But we have to get there first.
Descending the stairs again, this time behind the boys, Darlia stays behind me, her hands on her gun, finger on the trigger, ready for anything.
Not that she needs to be. The boys will handle everything, and I’ll get the ones they can’t.
There are four more guards we kill before finally reaching the exit, no doubt at least twenty more on their way. If it wasn’t for the semi-automatic rifle in Darlia’s hands, then she could almost pass as a citizen in the jumpsuit I stop myself from tearing off her.
She doesn’t need any more government bullshit; Darlia just needs to be a girl. And that jumpsuit is really pissing me off.
We all take off in a sprint, Marcus is now red and puffing as he follows behind us, Bella now awake and wrapped around his back.
“I can take her if you need a break,” I offer, but Marcus shakes his head.
