Page 30 of Connected

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As they step from the dank darkness of the building into the warm jungle sunshine, Kat lets out a long loud sigh of relief.

“Hey…” she turns and smiles as Oz brings the woman out. “Why don’t we go over there, and I’ll have a look at you—check both you and the baby. Maybe one of you guys could find her something to wear? And Oz, could you grab us some water, please?”

“Yeah, sure thing.” He smiles, handing the care of the woman to Kat.

Digby’s glad to be back outside in the fresh air and frowns as he watches Bud preparing what they have to eat. His own stomach gurgles and he grabs a mouthful of food from the dish.

“Hey Diggs, no!” Bud snaps. “No, don’t do that. We’re uh, already short on supplies. I gotta make sure there’s enough for everyone and Zak and Kat need to eat first.”

“Oh yeah-yeah, sorry. Hey, you’re not givin’ them shifter assholes any, right?” he sneers looking behind him at Alvarez.

“Hell no! No, I’m not uh, wasting anything on them.”

Digby snarls as he again positions himself in front of Alvarez. “Hey shifter, so you decide if you’re gonna tell us where that key is yet?”

“No. Never—Sindicerte.” He looks up with a smug grin filling his face.

“Sinwhat? What the fuck’re you talkin’ about? Speak damn English.”

“I said no… No, I’m no tellin’ you entender?”

“No, I don’t fuckin’ understand, butyouunderstand this,” Digby smiles, and then without a word he punches Alvarez full in the face. The force is such that it sends the shifter reeling backward. “Did you understand that? Now, where is that fuckin’ key?”

Alvarez sits up and taking a deep breath he again laughs smugly. “Sindicerte,” he spits the blood from his lip onto the ground and licks his cut before sweeping his tongue over his teeth, checking them.

“So, is that still a no? Okay, your choice.” Digby shrugs and punches him again.

The rest of the team now takes notice and turns around just as Digby’s fist lands with a heavy thud on Alvarez’s cheek. There’s a crack and more blood spills from his face.

“You know I can keep this up ‘til sundown if needs be.”

“Go ahead. I tell you, no’think,” Alvarez sneers. He looks up at the sky and smiles. “Maybe when the sun goes down… I choose be a bat and fly away, si?”

“Fuck you, asshole.” Digby grabs him, “You’re not gonna be any damn bat… or anythin’ else. Not this time. This time we’re ready and I’ll stick you in a fuckin’ bag so you can’t get away.” Grabbing him around the throat, he lifts him from the ground and slams him hard against a large tree behind them. “The only thing you’re gonna be before sundown—is dead! All you have to choose—quick and painless—or not. Because trust me, if you don’t give me that fuckin’ key, it’s going to be is really, really slow and very,verypainful. There’s no alternative.”

Alvarez stays quiet, which further infuriates Digby. Zak can tell he’s about to lose complete control and he places a hand on him, holding him back. “Diggs man, just calm it. We’ll get to deal with him soon enough.”

“Deal with him? We need to get that fuckin’ thing off her neck. Did you see what it’s doin’ to her skin? Zak, can you even imagine how much pain she must be in—well, can you? I mean, I know she’s hidin’ it, but I couldn’t even touch the fuckin’ thing.” He scowls. Taking a breath, he lets go of Alvarez and shoves him to the ground. “I can’t do nothin’ to help her and I feel so fuckin’ useless but beatin’ on his ass—that is one thing Icando.”

“Diggs trust me, I know exactly how you feel. Hey, I had to stand there and watch him put that thing on her. Her cries of pain are somethin’ I won’t forget any time soon. She’s dealin’ with it, so just be there for her. Concentrate on her and not him. Come here.” They grab a tight hold of each other and hug. “Diggs, I love you man. You know that I will always protect her at any cost—I’d give up my life for you both.”

“Yeah, I know that, and I know what you did. You protected her and I owe you for that.” Zak shifts nervously where he stands, and Digby cocks an eyebrow, watching him. “All right, so what’s wrong? You look like you wanna say somethin’? Zak… c’mon, what is it, man?”

“Look Diggs I um, well I did somethin’… somethin’ that maybe I shouldn’t have. We… well we talked about stuff—while we were in that cage—and… Oh shit, I… I well I think there’s somethin’ you should know about Darius—”

“No. No, there’s nothin’ I need to know.”

“But Diggs… there’s somethin’ I should’ve told you before but—”

“Zak, it’s okay, don’t worry about it. It’s dealt with, all right. I don’t need to hear anythin’. Just forget it. It’s done.”

“Diggs, there’s somethin’ else. I told Kat—about Darius. Hell… man, it just slipped out, and shit… he’s gonna kill me, right?”

“Zak what the hell did you say?” he frowns with more of a concern.

“I… I told her—about him. What happened and… what he is. I mean, I thought with everythin’ goin’ on, well I thought she knew. Hell, at the very least I thought she’d have guessed by now. Shit, he really is gonna kill me, right? When he finds out I couldn’t keep my mouth shut then—”

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