Page 16 of Fixation of the Mind

“Yes. It was your mother’s, and it’s one of a kind,” she answered before opening the second door, leaving me stunned for the second time today.

One thought circled in my mind over and over. She knew my mother.

Chapter 6

Zap!

“Fuck!” I bit the tips of my fingers to keep the pain of having them burned off at bay. I was currently working on breaking into the council room to get my girl back, but these wires were giving me a hard time.

Maria. It was that fucking Ricci’s fault.

I knew something about this felt off the second Maria Ricci showed up. Then she drugged me and took Rin right from under me, which really pissed me off. I hated feeling things, and at the moment, so many unpleasant feelings were surging through my veins.

Looking down, I smirked at the bloody mess I’d made. Yeah, I had gone a little nuts when I finally got back feeling in my limbs. Those two jackoffs were the first things I saw.

The roast beef I made out of the guards' faces was a work of art, something I was sure Roux would be proud of. After I finished with them, my heart was still throbbing, I realized I had taken out only a small fraction of my frustration. What I really wanted was to get my flawless goddess back by my side. This tightening in my chest wouldn’t go away until I could see her, feel her, but that meant I needed to open this practically impenetrable door.

When everything came out last night, I was nervous. I knew she would be pissed, I mean, who wouldn't be, but I thought she would sleep on it and realize that we were her best chance at getting a better life. I was going to use that particular want to keep her shackled to us until she fell in love and we all lived happily ever after. It was simple. The perfect plan.

Then this morning happened, and my whole plan crumbled right before my eyes.

I wasn't an idiot. I could see it on her face the second we came down, her sitting at the table mulling over her cup of coffee. She was going to leave us. She was going to actively try to leave us. For her, it was already decided. I tried my best to not let the pain and hurt show, not let it affect how I treated her, but it did.

She was my and my brothers’ reason for living. She was the thought we went to sleep with, the person we dreamed of and wished for when we woke up to. She was the reason that we were able to make it through those hellish years of training with that sadistic bastard uncle of ours. She was perfect in every way, from how her hair shined a multitude of browns and reds, to the gray eyes that turned any man weak. Partner that with her fierce survivor’s spirit and kind heart, and she was a supreme package. But now, she was slipping through my fingers, and for once, I was at a loss for what to do.

I didn't want to admit it then, but I had been a jerk to her on purpose. I wanted to bring down this ethereal being, even though she deserved her pedestal, and show her what it was like at our level, to be a lowly human being, but once again, she survived that too. She had put me in my place, not giving me and my attitude a moment of time or ounce of respect. She was above all that, and she knew it.

It was what made obsessing over her so easy, so effortless.

And now I had let her slip from my fingers not because of my damn deeds but to the fucking council, which was worse. Fucking Maria and her goddamn tricks. She had purposely used the two guards as a distraction so she could get her shot to put me down, taking me out of the equation. Well, I’d show her. I never went down without a fight.

I combed through the wires again until I found the yellow one, careful not to touch the stripped end. I had no desire to fry myself again. My finger stiffened, and I narrowed my gaze, giving it a good smack to wake it up before looking for the right wire to pair it with.

When a numb feeling began at my fingertips, I thought about the only thing that could keep me going, that I needed to keep Rin safe. That thought alone helped me keep me sharp, to push through anything my body was feeling. When I pulled that dart out of my neck and felt its affects, that was the worst feeling in the world. I had to watch my treasured Rin leave while agony ripped its way through my chest. The only positive I could take away from that the thought of her with them gave me the will to inch myself to a seated position against the wall and plan.

It didn't take long for the sedative to wear off, and as soon as I got feeling back in my fingers and toes, I went to work.

I yanked off a metal panel, testing out each wire to see which one opened the door she had gone through because I was coming for her.

The two guards started to wake up just after I was shocked for the third time, so I was already in a cranky mood. I jumped on top of them, pounding away at their flesh despite their pleas to stop. They had helped take her from me, and they were going to pay.

After leaving them beaten within an inch of their lives, I came back to my senses and was able to focus again. I just needed to eliminate a few more wires, then I would be able to find the right sequence to shut off the emergency breaker.

I was halfway done, sweat peppering my brow, when the door whooshed open. Two sets of steps walked in. Seeing Maria first, I was already thinking of several ways to pay her back for her actions today, but it all melted away the second I saw Rin.

She had a dazed look, almost like she was lost in her mind, and I glared at Maria, who just smiled like she knew all the secrets of the world and I didn’t. Fuck you, Maria!

Maria rolled her eyes and cleared her throat, which caused Rin to look up. As soon as our eyes met, every thought or plan dissipated. All I could think about was this woman in front of me. My greed for her began to build back up, pushing aside the receding panic as I scanned her from head to toe to make sure that she wasn't physically hurt. That was all I could think about until she ran over to me and hugged me so tightly I lost all breathing functionality. Was Layrin really hugging me right now? Was I dreaming? Did I die? What the fuck did those fuckers do to her?!

I took a long, deep inhale. Those warm, earthy tones mixed with the sweetness of a wild rose. It was inviting and addicting. I needed more of this, all of this, at all times. Shit, I was starting to sound like Ravi.

“I hate to break up this touching reunion, but I do need to tell Ambros what happened and how we’re moving forward.” I heard her words, her inflection with its superior tone. It was almost like she was telling me I was showing my cards, and maybe I was, but my need to hold Rin, make sure she was okay.

Rin unwound her hands from around my neck, and I fought the urge to place them right back and tell Maria to fuck off. She was the one intruding.

Maria looked around the room, blowing out a breath as she examined my mess. “I mean, I didn't expect you to be happy, exactly, but this... This seems a little overboard, don't you think?” She threw her hand at the missing metal panel and began to whine. “Seriously, we’re going to have to call a technician for that!”

Rin giggled, and I closed my eyes, committing those light, cute notes to memory. I lifted a finger to Maria, telling her to hold her conversation in until I was finished basking in Rin.

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