Page 39 of Tainted Gifts
He rolls his eyes as if he's agitated, and I join him, accepting his hand and reveling in the relief it brings me. I need to see if one of the other full bloods can help me out. It's too painful to hold his hand. The headache might be gone, but the heartbreak is still very much there.
He squeezes my hand, and I try to stop thinking as we stealthily make our way through the underground passage.
Kellan shakes his head, halting the stalk, and then he steps out to throw free his purple streaks. I watch in amazement as they round the halls, searching for prey to stalk, and then I hear the screams of men who were ready to ambush us.
"There might be more," he whispers, looking at Jase who can't read his mind, then his eyes fall on our hands.
Jase smirks, like he's the one who's smug now, and Kellan turns away, unwilling to give the commander too much time to gloat.
I feel like a piece of meat.
Jase leans over, pulling me in front of him as the halls narrow, and his breath finds my ear before his whispered words.
"Prime rib perhaps."
I would laugh, but it's not the time for laughter. He always did know how to make me smile at the worst possible moment.
"You were mine first, and you'll be mine again," he adds while guiding me through the curves of the labyrinth.
I was always yours, but you never trusted me enough to be mine.
His grip on me tightens as he fights the urge to pull me closer. I feel the restraint in his touch until he can't take it anymore. He whips me around, stealing my breath, but before he can make a scene, whimpers draw our attention.
"Children," my hushed voice releases, my whole body becoming rigid and weighted by the terror tainting the air.
Jase takes the lead, his gun drawn and my hand forgotten, as he hurries up the rescue. I hear gunshots ringing out, bodies dropping, and scuffles as a few opposing step out. Simone steps into action when gifted hybrids emerge, preparing to unleash their gifts.
Even in a skimpy bikini, she's a force to be reckoned with. The blood falls from their eyes, noses, and ears before they can strike, and they crumble to their knees, writhing in pain. Kellan takes out several more, letting his purple beauties fly free as the men convulse and fall.
He's so powerful. I'm so jealous. I'm as worthless as a human.
"In here," Jase yells when the men opposing us are disabled.
I round the corner to see the numerous men dropped to the ground, all of them shot to death. He did all this? Alone? Damn that's hot.
He jerks me to him and motions to the box on the side of the wall. "Alright, tech girl. Your turn."
I stare at it curiously, realizing it's tapped to an explosive behind the door.
"Shit," I murmur to myself.
"Let me try," Kellan says with purple swarming his hands.
"It'll blow. One powerful surge, and it'll set off a chain reaction before we can do anything about it," I counter distractedly as I break apart the box.
Kellan's heated breaths are close, but not as close as the deliciously chilled ones on the top of my head as Jase towers over me, keeping his hands on my waist to relieve me of my headache while I focus. The wires are a mess, but it only takes me a few seconds to disable them, unarming the bomb as the door springs open.
I double over, hands on my knees, and I take a deep, relieved breath after seeing proof of my success.
"You did it," Jase murmurs softly, pulling me with him and forcing my wobbly legs to move.
Kellan stays on my heels, and we all hurriedly race until we're brought to the end of a corridor that breaks our hearts.
Locked up, devastatingly neglected, painfully forgotten, and callously abused are the children in the cells lining the walls. There are at least ten of them. Dirty, sad, terrified children shiver in the corners, huddling together for fear of what we've come to do.
They have track marks all over their arms from someone using a uranium-dipped needle to draw their blood. The wounds haven't healed because they've been refused blood.
Dark circles line their eyes that have sunk in. Before puberty, our kind needs food as much as any human. These children have been starved, beaten, and toyed with like science experiments.
