Page 31 of Omega Alliance

SIN

Jax took the motorcycle, which leaves the car for the rest of us as we make our getaway. Kieran slides into the driver's seat and Levi joins him up front, while Dani and I settle ourselves in the back seat together.

"Do you mind if I check your tattoo? See how it's healing?" she asks me once we've been driving for long enough to leave the bumpy dirt road behind us.

I nod, remove the handgun from my waistband, and lower my pants to my knees, then part my legs to afford her a better look. The protective plastic she placed there two days back is long gone. I close my eyes, not wanting to see the expression on her face when she realizes how bad I've let it get.

I should be nervous for other reasons, for allowing myself to be vulnerable to her like this while the men are so close, but strangely I'm not. Not this time. Something in me shifted after that shooting lesson with Levi in the woods. Now I have power, too, and the gun that sits gleaming at my side is a constant reminder of that.

Dani sucks air in through her teeth, then lets out a low hiss. "Oh, Sin. You've been rubbed raw."

I open my eyes and find Kieran staring at me through the rearview mirror. I should avert my gaze, but I can't resist returning his stare. His eyes crinkle at the corners, then flick back to the road for a few moments before returning to me again. Of course, his expression gives nothing away. I wonder if mine somehow does. If he understands something I don't.

"I'm sorry," I tell Dani, all the while watching Kieran for any subtle change in his gaze. I'm not sure what I want from him, but whatever it is, I want it desperately. I can scent him from back here. His pine tar and sap fills the entire vehicle, clouding my mind, making it hard to focus on Dani even though she's right beside me.

"I have some soothing balm in my bag," she says, then begins to rummage about the large knapsack she set in the back seat with us.

All the while, I keep my eyes on Kieran's.

"Ah-ha, gotcha!" she cries in delight, extracting a small green tin. It's circular, shallow, and smells of wax. "Do we have any napkins in the glove compartment?" she asks the guys, and Levi hands her one back.

"This will probably sting," she tells me with a grimace.

I search out Kieran again, but his eyes have returned to the road, so I turn my gaze to Dani instead. "It already stings," I mutter unhappily. I know she's just trying to help, but I'm also tired, hungry, and sore. It's been a rough few days for me.

"Yeah, but…" She drags her index and middle fingers through the balm, taking a big glob of the yellow paste. "This will sting way worse."

I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from crying out as she applies the healing balm and catch Kieran staring at me again.

"You need to be more careful," he chastises. Finally his expression is readable. It's anger.

I'm about to argue, to remind him of all the running I've done over the past few days, how there really hasn't been time to tend to proper tattoo care, but then he winks and his eyes grin at me through that mirror.

Fucking tease.

"We need to stop for food soon," Levi pipes up from the front passenger seat. "Both Sin and I have been without for way too long."

Oh, shit. I feel bad realizing he must be just as starved as I am. I chose to run, but he didn't.

"We're still too close to the Alliance complex," Kieran warns. "And Sin is too recognizable."

"I can take care of that," Dani offers, plopping her bag back into her lap and beginning to rummage through its messy contents a second time.

"We're not a perfect match, but maybe that's for the best," she says as she pulls out a bottle of foundation.

I wore makeup when I first came to the Omega Alliance, but eventually they applied more permanent cosmetic modifications via a series of lasers and small surgeries. I am perpetually made up so that I appear beautiful to the watchers, even late at night or first thing in the morning. The directors and handlers changed so much about me that I will never be able to undo, and sometimes I mourn the loss of possibilities. Like right now.

I can't help but wonder what I would look like without their interventions. Who I would be.

"We can use it to cover up some of your tattoos too." She now has a pink egg-shaped sponge that is pinched to a point on one end and is using it to dab liquid foundation from a small puddle on the back of her hand. "We'll cover what we can with clothes,of course, but this will take care of what you have on your neck and hands. It will help us hide you in plain sight."

She looks pleased with herself as she brings the applicator to my neck and begins to pat at the flower-like mandala that adorns its front side. "Ohhh, yes, yes, yes. This is definitely going to work."

"What about her hair?" Kieran asks, seeking me out again in the rearview mirror. "And her eyes?"

"We can get colored contacts to make her eyes brown," Dani offers. "And box dye too. What do you say, Sin? Are you ready to go brunette?"

"My eyes were brown before the Alliance. And my hair was a light blonde," I tell her, suddenly hit with the vivid memory of my life before. My hair was a soft glowing yellow just like my mother's. I remember how it used to be a point of pride for the both of us, but ultimately it's what made us targets. We were too unique. Too many people wanted to stop and look at us. And that's what attracted the attention of the budding Omega Alliance. That's why the director chose her.

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