Page 66 of Sin

London’s tear-streaked face filled my view, looking so damn beautiful yet sad. I tried to reach up to brush a tear from his cheek, but my hand weighed way too heavy. He seemed to realize what I wanted and grabbed my hand to press it against his cheek.

“Am I hallucinating?” I asked, my voice slow and sounding a thousand miles away.

He made a hiccupping sound, and the hand against my wound pressed harder. “I don’t know,” he said, trying to sound light but failing. “That depends. What do you see?”

“You,” I whispered, staring at this beautiful man I’d gotten to call mine. Even if it was only for a little bit. “I see you.”

He nuzzled into my palm. He was so warm. Feverish almost. “I’m here, Sin.”

I nodded, or at least, I thought I nodded. “I’m sorry.”

“Why the hell are you sorry?” he asked incredulously.

I wanted to hide from those searching eyes, but I couldn’t make my head move. “Because I failed you. I failed everyone.”

Pressing a kiss to each of my bloody fingers, he shook his head. “No,” he said fiercely. “You could only fail if you stopped fighting. Do you understand, Sin?”

I thought I did. It was hard to think right now though. My stomach really hurt, and I was so cold. It wasn’t normally this cold this time of year.

Sirens sounded in the distance, and London’s face filled with relief. “It’s going to be okay. You’re going to be okay.”

I didn’t think he was actually talking to me.

“Hey, London?” I asked, my eyelids drooping low.

“Yes?”

“I love you.”

He laughed, the sound wet and hoarse. “I love you too. Now don’t die on me, asshole.” A sniffle. “I can’t lose you too.”

I sealed the rest of the memory away then, deciding Mare had seen enough.

I hadn’t known at the time, too lost to my blood loss, that just before finding me, London had just witnessed his dad’s death.

Mare exhaled shakily, and she nodded. “Thanks for showing me.”

“I told you I would if you got through.” I shrugged, folding my hands in my lap. “Though, you cheated.”

She scoffed. “If someone’s trying to break into your mind, I doubt they’re going to be polite about it.”

I hated that she was right.

“How did you end up working as a Merc?” I asked, changing the topic. I glanced out the window, spotting the Citadel rising above the building in the distance. We’d be there soon.

At first, she didn’t answer, and I started to question whether she was planning to ignore me. But then she mumbled, “Why do you want to know?”

The afternoon sun bathed her face in flashes of bronze. Her eyes were open now, studying me like she was looking to figure out the answer to her question herself.

“I don’t know,” I said, twisting in the seat to look at her. “I guess I’m just trying to connect the girl I used to see splattered across news headlines to the one sitting next to me. The one who caused mayhem with Trip and Frost.” I was downplaying her actions, and we both knew it.

Because the Mare I’d always heard about had been… Awful. I wasn’t a good person, and I fully acknowledged that. But Mare… She’d been part of what the world had dubbed the Big Three. Her and her Merc friends, Trip and Frost, caused so much destruction with their sadistic actions that I was actually shocked she and the others hadn’t been thrown in prison after the government reformed. Instead, not only was she free, but she was actually working as part of one of the RUAS’s top task forces. Honestly, the whole team, with the exception of Blade and Lewis, probably should have seen some sort of prison time for crimes they’d committed before the reformation.

But as far as I knew, they’d all received a slap on the wrist and let go after minimal jail time.

Her features twisted in what I could have sworn was shame. “Did Bennett ever tell you about when I discovered his identity?”

My mouth gaped in surprise. “What? No, he didn’t. When did that happen?”

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