Page 43 of Pride
Flint closed his aluminum suitcase. “Well, you won’t get much sensation in the bionic arm. Just minimal if the simulated nerve wires are working.”
“I feel pressure,” Parker said.
Grace stroked up both arms until she hit his shoulders and then went back down. “How’s that?”
“Good.” The pressure on his bionic arm followed her touch. “I feel it.”
Grace let go. “Now try using the arm. Don’t think. Just do it.”
He went for the bottle. The arm moved, the fingers opened, but he overshot the bottle and tipped it over. With a grunt of frustration, Parker swiftly stood. “This is going to take too long. It’s all taking too long.”
He swiped the bottle, knocking it to the floor. The weight of judgement followed him as he paced alongside the table. What did they know about it? All the decisions for this unit were up to him. None of them wanted to be a leader. Sloan’s calming vibes were only irritating him further.
“This will take patience,mijo,” Mary said from the kitchen, eyes still lost in the folder.
He stopped pacing. “What do you think about the alliance?”
Mary’s posture stiffened, her finger paused mid-way to her mouth as she was about to lick it to turn the paper. She met his eyes, mock gasped, and touched her chest. “You’re finally deigning to ask my opinion?”
“Don’t get used to it,” he replied.
“Well, I was going to tell you at some point. I always do.”
His smiled widened. He wouldn’t have it any other way. “So, Mary Lazarus. Give me your two cents. What do you think about these Sinners?”
She inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. “To be honest, I’ve thought about it long and hard, and,mijo, I think this decision is not something I should coach you on. It’s up to you and your brothers and sisters to choose.”
“None of them—” He cut himself off.
“None of us what?” Sloan threw up her hands.
“None of you are telling me the truth.”
She scowled at him. “Since when do you want the truth if it’s not your version?”
“Try me.”
“The truth is, none of us want to get in the way of you and your mate. This alliance goes hand in hand with that relationship. Anything we say can affect your choice, and I for one won’t stand in the way of love—or hate. That’s all on you.”
His brow furrowed as he looked at his mother. “But you know the Sisterhood best.”
She cocked her head. “You know Alice best.”
“I only know the fake Alice.”
Grace became enthralled with her cell phone. Flint cleared his throat and then thumped his chest to clear the obstruction.
“I beg to differ,” he said. “When I met your mother, I knew her as a nun, but deep inside I always knew she wasn’t. I connected with that hidden woman. I thought I was going to Hell for falling in love with a nun”—he laughed—“but she knew about the biggest regret in my life, that I was working there to make amends for the car accident my friend caused, and she loved me more for it. When she unloaded the truth about the lab to me, and how the Sisterhood had ordered her to assassinate you or take you to them, I knew she needed my help. But Parker”—Flint clapped him on the good shoulder—“Just so you know, we forged our own path together. A new one. Alice wouldn’t be the first Sinner to break away.”
“Just like that, huh?”
Flint nodded, but Parker wasn’t convinced, and he told his mother. “The Sisterhood has changed since you were there. Alice said so, and you heard what claims she made about… demons.” The word sounded wrong in his mouth. Parker was a science man, not religious in the slightest. He still thought it was some kind of sick joke, but he hadn’t figured out why.
“The thing is,mijo, what Alice said about the demonic activity isn’t new to the church.”
“Don’t tell me you believe her.”
“There are things you’ll never understand, and hopefully won’t need to.Theybelieve the threat is real. I don’t know if it’s going to affect us, or if we can even do anything to help them on the metaphysical front, but that’s not what they’re asking.”
