Page 30 of Sin

“We’ll talk about this later!” I shouted after Blade.

She ignored me, and the two of them entered. I muttered to myself as I once again took the time to examine the suit. It really was cool. It seemed almost a waste to make something like this for me when I likely wouldn’t be with the team for long. I didn’t know if I’d have a need for it after this was all said and done.

“Um, how do I suit down?” I asked Lewis.

He shrugged. “You have to say the right words.”

“I’m a little snake?” I tried, only causing Lewis to laugh when nothing happened.

London and Jinx exited the gas station then, and London’s laughing face immediately snagged my attention. Both he and Jinx were carrying a ridiculous number of bags, and my stomach once again rumbled when they came nearer and I smelled something hot and greasy coming from one of the sacks.

London met my gaze, and the laughter that had been lingering on his face changed to something… more intense as he took in my suit.

My mouth went dry at that look. “What do you think?”

The bags in his hands crinkled as he subconsciously gripped them tighter. “It suits you.”

“Ha. Suits,” Lewis mumbled.

London ignored him, coming to stand by my side. “The better question is, what do you think?”

“It’s super cool,” I admitted, twisting my arms this way and that to show him the way the nanobots molded against me. “It kinda reminds me of something I would have drawn.”

“That’s because it is.”

I started, gawking at him in surprise. “What do you mean?”

London shifted on his feet like he was uncomfortable. And for all I knew, he was. He was holding a lot of shopping bags. “I showed Blade some of your designs last night, and she used one of them to make this for you.”

I gaped down at my suit with a newfound appreciation and awe, realizing then that the fact it had seemed so similar was because it was.

Then to my horror, wetness gathered in my eyes, and my emotions threatened to choke me if I didn’t let them out. While I didn’t care if anyone saw me shed a tear or two, these tears threatened to flood. A whole fucking sob built at the back of my throat like a tsunami rearing up to crash. Through sheer force of will, I held it back. I refused to start sobbing right now just because of a suit.

But then again, it wasn’t just a suit. It was my suit.

“Thank you,” I whispered hoarsely, blinking at London.

Instead of answering, he nodded his head at the gas station. “Did you use the restroom yet?”

Jesu Cristo. Why did I suddenly feel like I was five years old and on a road trip with my parents?

“Not yet.”

“Make sure you go before we leave. Lewis can take you.”

I tried really hard not to be annoyed, but it still irked me that I wasn’t allowed to go to the bathroom alone. It was degrading to have someone watch me pee. “Why can’t I use the bathroom by myself?”

“Orders are orders, Sin,” London said, staring pointedly at my dampening cuffs, which were still on full display over the suit, “Until we get the okay that those can officially come off, someone will have to go with you.”

“Mommy and Daddy are fighting again,” Lewis faux whispered to Jinx.

Jinx knocked him on the back of the head.

“That’s bullshit, and you know it,” I said, hating the fact that we had an audience for this and wishing I could go back and keep my mouth shut.

London huffed, then dug around in one of his many sacks. “Well, it’s the rules. Also, eat this.” He passed me a small container hot enough to burn my palms. Smells of fried food wafted from the box. “Stop skipping meals, Sin. There’s not much left of you to lose, and you’re an asshole when you’re hangry.”

Then he disappeared into the van.

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