Page 61 of Rarely Pure and Never Simple
Damien's voice drifted out to him, muffled and distracted. "Why?"
He understood enough Damien-speak by now not to ask,Why what?
"Sorry for being such a pussy."
"You were tired and hurting."
"Still."
"Apology for being a pussy accepted."
The dry, deadpan delivery made him chuckle. The bleakness had receded that morning. Shudder had woken, kept some water down, answered all the basic orientation questions, and curled up in his seat to go back to sleep. Blaze's leg ached, but it was bearable, and Damien was less… weird.
Again, not fair, of course. Damien found people. He didn't have experience with anything like a war zone. At least Blaze didn't think so. The fact that it should've been so much worse—Shudder's hasty earth rampart had absorbed most of the directional charge—didn't make the situation better. No, Damien had done incredibly well. Blaze had been the one to suffer a nervous collapse.
Damien finally clambered out of the back and shut the tailgate and the back windscreen.
"What's the plan, then?"
For a long moment, Damien stared blankly at him, and Blaze held still. Those gray eyes were somewhere else. Better to wait for him to come back.
"Tara."
"Uh-huh. You said she was here."
Damien took off his jacket. "Yes. She was and she left. Twice. It doesn't make sense that they would keep bringing her to the compound and taking her away."
"Unless she's part of it."
"Doubtful." Damien had started on his shirt buttons, so Blaze knew what was coming next. "Not from the anguish and frustration left in her wake. I need to concentrate on Tara's trail. Just hers. I think she has answers we need."
"But that prison camp—"
"If Tara escaped, and I think she did, she has information we need. I believe she even returned and got someone else out. She's been in there, Blaze."
Blaze let out a slow breath. "Hanging a lot of hope on one girl."
"Yes." Damien climbed onto a rock shelf and turned carefully until he found his direction. "Everything keeps coming back to Tara. We need to find her. And we're in no shape to infiltrate the compound right now."
Not much Blaze could say to that.Damien's investigation. You follow his lead. And you know your gut says he's right.
Arms spread wide, head flung back, Damien opened himself up to those trails of light he followed, his breaths shivering in and out. Just in case, Blaze moved closer, ready to catch him if it ended up being one of those too-intense sessions. But Damien soon opened his eyes, rejoining the mundane world with a soft sigh.
"Ready? You have a direction?"
"Yes." That single word was all Damien offered as he redressed and turned toward the skimmer.
Blaze reached out and seized Damien's wrist. "Keep your palm phone on, okay? If I need to stop for Shuds, I have to be able to reach you. Or if you need me."For anything.
"Oh. Yes." Damien stared at the cloudless winter sky. "Maybe you should take him home."
"What? Hell, no. I'm not leaving you now."
Something guarded and sad lurked in Damien's eyes as he tore his gaze from the heavens. "Blaze, if he gets worse instead of better…"
"We'll deal with it if it happens." Blaze decided to be daring and pulled Damien into his arms. "I know you did this alone for years. I know that. But thing is, Twitch, you don't have to this time."
Damien relaxed against him, face half-buried in Blaze's coat. "He's right, you know."
