Page 39 of Sin

With my attention diverted, Mare managed to get the upper hand. She jerked her knee, getting me right in my balls.

I gasped, the pain stealing my breath and making stars dance in my vision for a split moment. My hands loosened from her neck, and she took advantage of my disorientation to slam her head against my nose.

With a cry, I rolled off her, only having just enough sense to stop myself from falling off the bed. Mare jumped on top of me, her eyes feral as she punched and punched and punched, hitting me anywhere she could land her fists.

The door to the room burst open, and Jinx, Blade, and Lewis rushed in. Jinx moved first, snatching Mare by the back of her leather jacket and hauling her off of me. Blade hurried to London’s side, helping prop him on the bed while Lewis came to help me sit.

“His cuffs,” London said weakly, slumped against Blade. He was still recovering from his power usage. “His cuffs aren’t on.”

Maybe I should have felt betrayed, but I knew how that scene had looked with me using my gifts on her. He obviously hadn’t witnessed the whole exchange. He’d only seen me attacking another team member. If I was in his shoes, I probably would have done the same thing.

Lewis snatched my wrists, and I let him, wanting to show I would cooperate. He cursed when he realized the circuits were fried. “Blade, fetch me my bag. I have an extra pair of cuffs inside.”

I let out a shuddering breath, my body shaking from the aftermath of Mare’s mental intrusion and the usage of my power.

“How did you…” Lewis trailed off, his fingers running over the cuffs in horrified awe. He noted the blisters bubbling beneath the destroyed metal.

“At least this time, no one kicked me in the head,” I muttered, more to myself than anything. “Though, I think maybe I’d have preferred that to my fucking balls.”

“This time?” Lewis repeated, looking absolutely dumbfounded. “How many times have you destroyed your dampening cuffs?”

My gaze dropped to my lap, studying the smoking metal rings. The pain was starting to register as my adrenaline continued to ebb, and I winced. “Only twice now.”

Lewis mouthed my words, staring at me like he was seeing me for the first time. I didn’t know if he liked what he saw. Probably not, knowing him.

Blade dropped Lewis’s bag in front of him as she returned, and it pulled Lewis out of his thoughts. He dug around inside it for a moment before pulling out some ointment, gauze, and an identical pair of cuffs to the ones I currently wore. Only, fresh and not smoking.

While he got to work removing the old cuffs and putting the ointment and gauze on my injuries, London, still struggling to sit by himself, glared at me. “What the hell happened?”

“Maybe you should ask her that,” I said, though my voice lacked any bite. I was drained, and that didn’t bode well for me. If Mare’s intrusion left me this weak, then what would happen when I faced Lucas?

Shit. I hated to admit it, but maybe Mare was right. I needed the practice if I wanted any chance of surviving this. It didn’t make what she’d done right, but I, begrudgingly, could understand where she’d been coming from.

She’d crossed a line, and so had I.

London narrowed his eyes on me. “Well, I’m asking you,” he said in a low voice full of authority. And damn, if my balls weren’t in so much pain, my dick might have tried to salute him in answer. As it was, I was so fucking exhausted and in too much pain to get it up. “I want an answer why I woke to find you assaulting another teammate.”

I looked away, frustrated at this whole damn day. Even a punching bag could only take so many hits before it was ruined.

“I used my power on him.”

Stunned, I glanced over Lewis’s head to find Mare glaring between London and me. She shrugged Jinx off of her, seemingly composed enough now to not come at me again. Probably.

“You did what?” London asked in surprise. Even the others looked shocked by the news, like they couldn’t fathom Mare’s confession.

“I wanted to see how strong his mental shields were,” she said, not even sounding sorry about invading my head. “Though, I could have asked him first.”

Well, damn. That might have been the closest thing to an apology I’d heard from her.

Lewis snapped the new cuffs on my bandaged wrists and powered them. Even though I’d been expecting it, I still drooped at the loss of my power.

“Mare,” London growled, pointing a finger at her, “you know the rules, and one of those is—”

“Not using our gifts against the team. Yeah, yeah, I know.” Mare’s glare stuck to London then. “But with all due respect, he needs to practice his shields. You know it. I know it. He knows it. Your overprotectiveness is cute and all, truly, but it’s going to get us all killed, and I don’t particularly feel like dying.”

London’s face darkened. “With all due respect, I am the person in charge of this team. And as such, it’s my rules we abide by. It’s my commands we follow. It’s me who decides what is best for the team. I don’t appreciate you going behind my back.”

“I was just trying to—”

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