Page 14 of Redemption
She stomps her foot, full-on yelling now. “You don’t know that! We need to just find them and get the hell out of dodge as quickly as possible.” Her hand lifts in front of her, a single finger pointed to... absolutely no one. “Oh, fuck you! We walked all the way here without so much as a tickle; I’m not going to die from lack of sex. So, keep it in your pants, ya fucking hussy!”
Fully enthralled with the real-life drama unfolding before me, I lean back against a tree and take it all in, letting her do her thing while I try to fill in the blanks.
“I don’t care if heisback. He’s dead. D. E. A. D. Dead! So you can take that idea and cram it right up your ass!” Her mouth drops open in outrage, but she pulls herself together moments later, lifting her chin and looking down her nose at... I don’t even know. “I’ll have you know, it felt amazing. Unfortunately for you, you’ll never know now, will you? Game. Set. I choose the race car.” She sticks her tongue out before turning back around, only to find me watching the show.
I lift my eyebrows, overwhelmingly confused but thoroughly entertained by whatever the fuck...that... was.
“Oh, fuck you! The damn apocalypse wasn’t so nice to all of us.” One of her arms lifts, indicating to me with a sweep of her hand. “What with your normal-looking... everything... and not... still talking to...whatever... Fuck you,” she repeats, shaking her head. “What are you even wearing anyways?!”
Struck by the sudden change of subject, I hesitate a moment before looking down at the rough shambles of my attire. I get she’s disturbed by my choice in outerwear, but it’s not meant to be fashionable; it’s meant to be tactical. “What? My ghillie suit?”
She raises and lowers her hand, cringing in my general direction. “If that’s what you like calling the rags on your back, then yes. What is that and why?”
“Like I said, it’s my ghillie suit. Made it a few months back. It’s meant to be used as camouflage, to look like fallen leaves and debris when I cover myself with it. It’s how those guys back there didn’t find us even when they were right on top of us.”
In response, she rolls her eyes and stomps away, muttering, “And now I’m conjuring illusional arts and crafts projects on my ex, who I’ve never even seen pick up a sewing needle. Is there such a thing as evolving psychosis? Patient zero, right here, Doc!”
Before she gets too far away in her little tirade, I push off the tree and take a step towards her. “Look, Al. While I’m fully invested in understanding this mental breakdown happening before me, we don’t have the time. We need to—”
“No. You look here, asshole! Are you just going to keep stopping me from getting to them, or are you going to fuck off, finally?” she interrupts. “Cause I need to get to them, with or without you.”
Well, it definitely won’t be without me. That’s for sure. Now that I know she’s alive, I don’t ever want to leave her side again. The only problem is where we’re headed.
And, well, the fact that I’ve officially be cast as thebad guy.
A thought strikes me then. A phrase I hadn’t thought of in years. “No human being is so bad as to be beyond redemption.” Mahatma Gandhi said that.
Redemption.
Atonement.
My heartbeat skips at the concept. At the opportunity. Something out there brought us together. Somehow, some way, two people who, by all accounts, should be dead, are here now.Together.
There’s a reason for everything.
I may not be able to sway her to leave and save herself, but that doesn’t mean I can’t help her. To be a guide for her. Toprotect her through all this, even if she doesn’t want me to. If she’s so determined to find the guys she was traveling with, I can be her dark knight. A wraith in the shadows, keeping her safe for the duration of her journey.
But therein lies another problem...
Despite the fact I’m enthusiastically volunteering for guard duty, I’m not exactly giddy about the endgame.
I know I need to do this, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t scare the shit out of me. Not for my health and well-being, but for hers. I’d give my life to protect the woman before me. But Alessandra? Selfless as she is, she’d give her life to protecttheirs. Regardless, I try one last stand against this stupid, stupid plan. “There’s no way I can convince you to do otherwise?”
“Absolutely not,” she responds with unquestionable conviction and, with that, I know I have no choice.
“Fuck,” I grit out, my jaw clenching around the words as I throw my head back, my hands coming up to cover my face. “Fuck...Fine. Stubborn woman.” Even though I say the last sentence under my breath, she still hears it, muttering “Asshole”in return.
It’s becoming a new pet name for me, I see.
I lower my hands, coming back to stand in front of her but making sure to keep the distance she desires from me. It goes against every fiber of my being but, with just one look in her eyes, I can tell this is the right decision, even though I’m not exactly sure how either of us will survive the outcome. “If you won’t leave to save your own life, I guess I have no choice but to come help you save theirs.”
Instantly, she deflates. “Wait... What?”
I don’t wait to explain; I just say, “If they’re not back at the Palace, I know where they’re probably going to take them.” I turn and head in the direction of the main house, and with a final glance back at her over my shoulder, I ask, “You coming or what?”
Chapter Seven
Aly
