Page 121 of Coerced

“Fine.”

“Don’t need to lie. Not to me.”

“How about, ‘I’llbefine’?”

“Yeah. How’s Gigi holding up?”

“She cries at night, but she’s not freaking out. I think it’s because you aren’t. Same with Travis. They’re taking their cues from you, even if they don’t realize it. I don’t know howyou’reholding it together, but it’s helping them to do the same.”

“I ain’t doing it for them.” I rolled my shoulders. “It’s just, no matter how much I wanna burn the world down, I know it won’t help, so I lock everything down tight. At least for now. Fair warning, though, Mira: When I eventually lose it, stay far away from me. I will pay them back a hundredfold for taking what was mine, and I won’t be careful doing it.”

Yeah, I had a feeling the body count was gonna be high on this one before it was done. I almost even cared that a few of my friends might get caught in the fallout, but that concern wouldn’t be enough to rein the tiger back in after I let it out.

We rode in silence for a coupla minutes before she cleared her throat.

“What was the mission you were on when you were ambushed?”

“Why do you wanna know?” I cut my eyes over at her, suddenly suspicious.

“I wonder if the two are connected, that’s all. Gigi told me about the ambush, but not why you were hiking the Appalachian Trail. Do you think the attack was directed at your team because of your mission?”

I’d given Gigi pretty clear directions on how much to say to Mira. I didn’t have anything against her, but with my girl missing, I wasn’t taking any chances.

“We cleaned out some Hellhounds and were following up with how they got there.” I figured that was close enough. “Me, Rome, and Travis were talking, and we’re pretty sure the bad guys didn’t target us specifically. I think it was a snatch and grab. I dunno how they knew we were there, but one day I’ll find out. Then someone’s gonna die.”

A few miles passed, and I could tell she wanted to ask me something else. I figured I could be patient; I didn’t have anything else to do while she drove, anyway.

“So do I really smell bad to R— To you?” she asked after a few miles.

“We can smell your taint, notyou, and it smells like your devil. Warriors are born to destroy demons. Guess that’s why we can smell so well. Rome and I nearly threw down when we first met. He had to fight his instincts all the time so he didn’t kill me. Well, try to.”

“Is he going to try to killme?” she squeaked.

I snorted. I couldn’t help it.

“No. He’s had a lot of practice and now he can peg your taint smell along with mine and ignore it. Kinda like, if your job is to shovel roadkill, it’s disgusting, but if you do it long enough, you can get used to it. Like Gigi said, don’t worry about it.”

“So I’m roadkill. Nice. Thanks. That visual is all I need to understand.”

“You’re welcome.” I didn’t know if she was joking or not, but thought manners would help either way. “Remember, me and Travis know what you’re going through with the taint, so either of us are here and will listen if you need an ear.”

“I appreciate that. And same for you, Kerry.” She glanced over at me. “Gigi told me about what happened before the ambush, so I know you aren’t in a good space right now. I owe you, so if I can help, tell me.”

“You owe me nothing. And I’ll be okay once I find my angel.” My hands bunched up into fists. “I need her safe, even if she doesn’t—”

My voice dried up and the hum of the tires on the highway filled the silence.

Even if she doesn’t want me anymore.

“Hey, I got a good idea for that bird construct.” Mira was trying to distract me, God love her. “It may take me a while because it’s fine work making those tiny gears, but it’s gonna last long enough to find her, I promise.”

I nodded and stared out into the darkness, hoping she was right.

32. Advice on Cherishing

Rome

The next morning, I waited beside the Oldsmobile’s trunk for Kerry to bring the first load of gear and saw Mira coming toward me. She’d taken time to braid her hair, I noticed, but not grab her new coat.

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