Page 84 of Tainted Gifts
I laugh lightly at her inferiority complex.
"Why are you checking your blood?"
She grumbles under her breath, shaking her head and then her blood swirls into a tight wad before slipping into a vial.
"I know something is wrong with me, but I don't know what. That kiss... the one you returned by the way, I wouldn't have done that to Aria without being extremely pressured by something... someone perhaps. Since her blood was fucked with, I'm checking mine."
"So you wouldn't have gone after me at all unless something was forcing you to? I really have lost all my swagger," I mumble while dropping back to lie down and letting my arms fall over my face in a crossing motion.
I hear her smile before I see it, and I peer out from behind my hands to see the beautifully executed grin she bashfully displays.
"You haven't lost all of your swagger," she lightly giggles out, a flirty hue to her tone. "I was simply saying I wouldn't do that to Aria. She's my best friend, and since my parents died, she's been my lifeline. I would like to think I have enough dignity to refrain from a pretty face when that face belongs to my best friend's counter."
"Pretty face? That's emasculating," I joke, amused by how easily she seems to blush around me.
She looks away and starts pulling at the grass beneath her. A nervous habit perhaps? Do I make her nervous?
"You know what I mean," she says in a near whisper, keeping her eyes on the ground as her girly grin grows.
I stifle my grin, enjoying her discomfort. I feel more like myself around her. It's fairly obvious Aria makes me feel like a nervous kid because I'm constantly trying to prove myself to her. I always have to compete with the full blood she loved first.
Simone... she's simple. She doesn't confuse the hell out of me. I really wish things were this easy with Aria. Maybe it will be when she finally accepts me fully. That can't happen until her blood is cleansed. Just one more day.
"So, what do you think is wrong with your blood, and who do you think would mess with you?"
She shrugs, her serious face coming into play as she becomes Dr. Jude. "A number of reasons. I'm close to Aria, Araya, Grayson... all the big hybrid players. And, as you learned tonight, my blood has secrets of its own. If they knew about Aria before Araya told the world, then it's likely they know about me as well."
I nod, realizing she might be right.
"Don't let anyone get their hands on that vial. If that woman was right and there are insiders, then they could have been involved with Seminole's collapse," I murmur while motioning to the glass vial.
She nods, and then she uncorks the vial and pours the blood out, using her gift to suspend it midair. I watch in amazement as the blood sizzles, burns, and then ashes to the ground.
"How did you do that?" I ask, sitting up to offer her my full intrigue.
"It's part of my gift. I can only do it to blood that has been shed. I wish I could do it while the blood was still in the body. That would be badass." I laugh at her candor, and then she looks over her shoulder, checking for people too close, before continuing. "I already suspected an insider or two. I told Jase that as well."
I'm a little shocked by that. "He acted surprised."
"That's because he didn't want to believe it. We were both hoping I was being paranoid. You see, I never told anyone I was working with Aria's blood because her blood makes me a little overly cautious. I even went so far as to change all the security codes so that I was the only one capable of using that lab while I was visiting. Yet they knew her blood was there and they knew where it was.
"When I went to investigate, I found the safes. They only opened the one where I kept her blood. They knew it was my personal safe, and only someone in rank would have been privy to such knowledge because of the logs I had to sign, notating I would be using said safe. The other safes - all fifty-three - all throughout the lab were crushed completely, doors still intact. The safe where I kept Aria's blood - and only Aria's blood - had the door ripped off before the blast. I could tell by the differently patterned scorch marks. They knew.
"They knew which lab I was using, and there were thirty others. Seminole is a labyrinth that should confuse anyone, so to know precisely where the lab is that I was using, along with the exact safe."
Impressive. I'm not so sure I can be around Dr. Jude right now. She's damn cute when she's showing how truly brilliant she is.
"Who had access to the logs?"
She checks over her shoulder again, though I don't know why. I would hear anyone trying to sneak up on us. You learn to have eyes in the back of your head when you live on the run.
She tugs her hair behind her ears, leaning in so she can speak softer.
"There's only five I know of: Dr. Keltman, Seminole's residing scientist, Sergeant. Davis, head of security, Captain Fricks, Seminole's compound captain, James Hardin, the legal representation of Seminole, and-"
"Wait, a lawyer? Why would he need to see the logs?" I interrupt.
"He keeps an eye on liability stuff. His late wife was hybrid, he's full blood. They moved to Seminole centuries ago, and he stayed there after she passed. I highly doubt it would be him."
