“You’ll have to call him. I didn’t even bring my phone—didn’t feel like getting shot today.” Satori shrugs his shoulders like it's just a joke, but the rest of us know that Damien doesn't have a problem with putting a bullet between his eyes.
An intense stare-down starts as soon as he stops talking, and the tension between them is palpable. Damien doesn’t trust him, and I can understand why. Something about this is off. What are the odds that the same day this mass attack happens, he shows up? Could it all be a coincidence? How desperate have they gotten to askusfor help? I’m starting to think that asking questions sooner rather than later is the best option here.
Damien continues to glare at him, like even the thought of averting his gaze is a trap. His paranoia the past few weeks has certainly escalated, and now that everything has blown up so quickly, he’s on high alert. I’m shocked he hasn’t put the house on lockdown and chained me to the bed, but nonetheless, I’m grateful for it.
I release a deep breath and attempt to keep myself calm. My heart is racing, and my head is swirling with the havoc around us, but I can’t let it rattle me too much. Stress certainly isn’t good for the baby, and Damien is so good at picking up my emotions, that I know I need to stay composed for both of them. At this second, Satori is not a threat—Damien is right here where I can see and feel him, and as far as we know, no one directly related to us has been affected by this disaster.
Everything is okay. Everything is okay.
After a few moments, hestilldoesn’t move. I reach into his pocket for him, grab his phone, and unlock it. My chest warms as I see the picture of us as his lock screen once again, but unfortunately, I don’t have time to melt over it. Now is the timeto focus, and even though the glimpse of our perfect bubble is nice, I can’t get sidetracked.
I scroll down to Kade’s contact and call it, immediately putting it on speaker and holding it in front of Damien. It rings a couple of times, each one having the same effect as the sirens fromThe Purgewith the way it makes my stomach flip, but by the end of the third ring, he surprisingly picks up.
“I see Satori made it to your house,” Kade says and chuckles, but I can see that Damien is anything but amused. He grits his teeth, and the muscles in his neck tense up.
“Hang up the phone, baby,” Damien says warningly, and I do as he requests, deciding not to defy him or argue about it right now. I’m sure he’s relieved to hear that he’s alive, but I can only assume that he’s also hurt. He’s reached out to Kade for weeks now with no response—not a single word. But then he wants to answer like nothing is wrong?
“Well, that was rude. No wonder you two haven’t spoken,” Satori jokes, and I cut my eyes at him, wondering why the hell he would think it’s a good idea to antagonize Damien right now. He has no idea of the bear he’s poking, and I know that evenIcan only restrain him for so long.
“Shut the fuck up and sit down.” Damien gestures towards the living room again, ushering Satori further into the house. Carter finally looks up from his phone and tracks him through the space until he sits in one of the armchairs. He flops down and leans back lazily, like he’s walking into his own home, and the entitled composure bothers me once again.
As if it upset him as well, Damien groans lowly and moves his hand to grasp mine, pulling me over to the sitting area with him. We stand behind the furniture instead, in the space between the living and kitchen areas. His grip on the gun remains firm, just as his grip on my hand, and he never takes his eyes off Satori.
“You can put that down now. I’m clearly not going to hurt you,” Satori teases, holding his hands up again in a mock surrender.
“What the fuck do you want, then?” Damien asks.
“As I said, I need your help.”
“What kind of help could you possibly want from us?”
“We’re in a bit of a bind, and our main base was blown to bits. When we heard you took care of Dust, we figured this was our best bet. I thought we could work with you while we get ourselves back together.”
“So instead of calling like a normal human being, you just show up to his house uninvited and bypass all of our security?” Carter asks.
“You can thank Kade for that,” Satori replies with a smartass tone.
“That’s not the point, and you know it,” I interject.
“Listen.” Satori leans forward and rests his elbows on his knees. “We didn’t have anywhere to go. You’ve made some serious improvements here, and we were short on time. I had to take my mensomewhere. We were drowning.”
“So you fly them across the country to us?” Damien points out.
“Fly? No. Travel by vehicle? Yes,beforewe knew what we would be walking into. Now it seems like you might need our help as well.” He turns and points to the screen. The TV continues to play the breaking news, and I can’t help but glance over at it. Unfortunately, Satori is right. The entire city is affected by this attack, and DH’s numbers just aren’t big enough to handle it all. Especially since we can’t come right out, claim that we’re Devil’s Hands, and get right to work. We’ll probably have to approach this as ‘volunteer’ citizens and work from behind the scenes like always.
The police, while now more trustworthy than ever, still have limited numbers, and half of them have proven that they’re notcapable of handling extreme events like this. I’m sure by now, the National Guard has been called in, but even then, how will they get here in time? How will they get all the supplies the people will need? We need to get as ahead of this as possible, and that might mean breaking some laws.
Something the police and National Guard aren’t willing to do.
“We have protocols, and I need to talk to my men. You’re not getting an answer now,” Damien states, and my chest swells with pride. I know a few months ago he would’ve done anything Sahara asked of him to be able to work together, but now he’s standing tall and confident in his abilities.
“At least let me provide you with information. Let me show you what we have to offer.” Satori pushesagain, and I can feel Damien’s grip on my hand tighten even more. I squeeze back ever so lightly, just as a small reminder for him to keep it together.
“You’re starting to piss me off, Satori,” he seethes.
My phone buzzes once again, and I subtly take it out, only because I’m worried to see what it says. I look down to see another message from Serena, and my blood instantly turns to ice.
They just brought Tay in on a stretcher and Zeke is freaking out! Get over here NOW!
