Close Obsession (30 page)

“Not all that long. About twenty minutes or so.”

Mia yawned delicately, covering her mouth with the back of her hand. “Sorry about that . . . You must’ve been so bored –”

“I’m never bored with you,” he said, still studying her. “I like watching you sleep. You always look so sweet and peaceful . . . like a dark-haired angel. I find it very relaxing, seeing you like that.”

Mia grinned at him. Korum could be very strange sometimes. “That’s good, I guess, considering how much I sleep.”

He just smiled in response, tucking one of the curls behind her ear. “Are you getting hungry now? Or still full from last night’s dinner?”

Mia considered it. “I could eat. But don’t we have lunch with my parents soon?”

“In another two hours. You’re probably going to starve by then.”

“Hmm, okay. I want to go for another swim first, though.”

“Sure. Want to go in now?”

“I actually have to run to the restroom first,” Mia admitted. “Will you wait for me? I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“Go ahead,” Korum told her, grinning. “I’ll wait.”

Jumping up, Mia ran back toward the house. Entering the fenced pool area, she used one of the bathrooms on the first floor. Then she headed back to the beach, eagerly anticipating the pleasant coolness of the water on her overheated skin.

Approaching the tall fence, Mia pushed open the gate . . . and froze.

Right outside the fence, with the landscaping blocking her from the view of anyone on the beach, was Leslie – one of the Resistance fighters Mia had worked with.

And in her slim, muscular arms was a gun pointed directly at Mia’s chest.

Chapter 19

For a few seconds, icy terror held Mia completely immobile, unable to think or react in any way. Just like a deer in the headlights, some part of her brain noted with morbid amusement. Her legs felt weak and heavy, as through she were caught in quicksand, and her vision had narrowed so that all she could see was the deadly weapon pointed at her.

And then a surge of adrenaline kicked in, clearing her head and sending her heart rate through the roof. If she didn’t do something, she would die, Mia realized with utter clarity. Korum was too far away to help her if she screamed; the bullet would get her long before he got anywhere near the house.

“Hands up, bitch,” Leslie ordered harshly, her delicate features so twisted with hatred that they were barely recognizable. “You fucking traitor, you’re going to get exactly what you deserve –”

“What are you doing here, Leslie?” Mia interrupted, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice and slowly raising her hands.
Don’t show your fear to a rabid dog. Never show your fear. Keep her talking. Buy yourself time
.

“Did you honestly think you could get away with it?” Leslie spit out, her arms shaking and her finger nervously tapping on the trigger. “Did you really think you could betray your entire race and live happily ever after, fucking that monster?”

Her clothes were ripped and dirty, Mia noted with some semi-functional part of her brain. The girl must’ve been on the run for quite some time.

“Leslie, listen to me,” Mia said desperately, knowing that she probably only had seconds left. “If you shoot me, Korum will kill you. You won’t be able to get away fast enough. He’ll hear the shot, and he’ll be on you –”

A mad, triumphant smile lit Leslie’s face. For a second, she looked positively gleeful. “Oh, you think I’m risking my life to kill you?” she said contemptuously. “You think I’m that stupid? No, bitch, as much as I’d love to put an end to your worthless existence, my orders are to keep you alive – alive and out of the way while he deals with your lover . . .”

Horrified, Mia stared at her, sickening fear spreading through her veins. “What do you mean?” she whispered, her brain barely able to process the implications. “While who deals with him?”

Leslie laughed, clearly enjoying Mia’s reaction. “I knew it. I knew you had fallen for that monster. I told John not to trust you, but he was stupidly convinced you were on our side. But I knew better. I knew you were just the type to fall for that pretty façade. Did he get you addicted too? Do you walk around now begging Ks to bite you every hour, like my brother did before they killed him?”

Mia’s thoughts whirled in panic, her heart pounding so hard she felt like it would break through her ribcage. At the same time, a fury slowly began to build deep in the pit of her stomach. “While who deals with him?” she repeated through clenched teeth, her voice low and mean.

Leslie’s lips twisted into a parody of a smile. “You think the Keiths were alone?” she said mockingly. “You think they got caught and that’s the end of it?”

Stunned, Mia could only stare at her in shock.

“Oh yes, there are more Ks involved,” Leslie confided, and there was cruel pleasure on her face. “Your lover’s being turned into particles as we speak . . .”

Mia sucked in her breath, her lungs unable to get enough air. Her vision darkened for a second, and then rage unlike anything she had ever experienced swept through her, leaving no room for fear.

And suddenly, she knew exactly what she needed to do.

For a brief moment, her gaze drifted to a point just beyond Leslie’s shoulder, and she let an expression of wild joy light up her face.

Startled, Leslie turned to look behind her for a second, and Mia sprang at her, her hands closing around the gun even as the girl realized she’d been tricked.

The force of Mia’s jump brought them both tumbling down on the ground, with Mia landing on top, her desperation giving her strength she didn’t know she had. However, Leslie managed to maintain her grip on the weapon, her training and larger size giving her an immeasurable advantage, and they rolled, each trying to gain possession of the gun.

The heavier girl ended up on top, her weight pressing Mia into the ground. Her knee hit Mia in the stomach, and she gasped, air temporarily knocked out of her. At the same time, Leslie wrenched at the gun with both hands, nearly tearing Mia’s arm out of her socket. The pain barely registered, dulled by the adrenaline coursing through her veins and the murderous fury filling her mind.

For the first time in her life, Mia knew what it felt like to truly want to kill someone, to tear them to shreds and watch them bleed. A reddish haze taking over her vision, she fought with no regard for her own safety or anything resembling fairness. Her face ended up near Leslie’s shoulder, and she bit, her teeth sinking savagely into the fleshy part of her upper arm. The fighter screamed, and Mia delighted in her pain, in the metallic taste of blood filling her mouth. Her knee came up hard, smashing into Leslie’s pubic bone with all the force that Mia could muster, and the girl gasped, her grip on the weapon loosening slightly.

That was all the opportunity Mia needed.

Instead of pulling at the gun, she pushed down, twisting at the same time. Leslie’s index finger caught in the trigger guard, twisted with it, and the girl screamed as the digit snapped, bending unnaturally backwards.

Taking advantage of her distraction, Mia yanked at the weapon, wrenching it away from Leslie’s hand.

And then, hardly cognizant of her own actions, she brought it down with savage force on top of Leslie’s skull.

The girl’s body went slack, blood seeping out from where the hard metal object made contact with her head. Gasping and shuddering, Mia pushed her away, her mind filled with only one thought: getting to Korum before it was too late.

Jumping up, she grabbed the gun and ran, ignoring the unconscious girl left lying on the ground.

Mia ran faster than she’d ever run in her life, her lungs burning and the rough wooden bridge floor cutting into her bare feet. The gun felt heavy in her hand, unfamiliar.

On the other end of the bridge, she could see a male Krinar standing with his back turned toward her, his right arm outstretched and pointed at Korum – who stood utterly still, his gaze glued to the object in the other K’s hand.

Leslie hadn’t lied. In another minute, it might be too late.
Slowing slightly, Mia lifted her hand, aimed at the broad back of the K ahead of her, and squeezed the trigger.

Nothing happened except a soft snick.
Not loaded, the damn thing was not loaded
.

Throwing the weapon aside, she ran faster again. Dark spots danced in front of her eyes, interfering with her vision as her brain fought to get sufficient oxygen. Everything around her blurred, greyed out, as she sprinted toward the scene with every ounce of strength still left in her body. All she could see, all she could focus on, was the deadly scene ahead.

And then she was there, seeing the K looming in front of her, his large body shaking and sweat glistening on the back of his neck. Through the roaring of her heartbeat in her ears, Mia vaguely heard the soothing tone of Korum’s voice as he tried to convince the K to put the weapon away, to just listen – and glimpsed the horror on her lover’s face as he saw her running and realized her intention.

With no further thought, Mia leapt on top of the K, heedless of the futility of her attack, her fingers grabbing his hair and viciously yanking on it. Startled and screaming in sudden pain, the K flung her away from him with one powerful blow, sending her flying into the dunes nearly twelve feet away.

Her left side slamming heavily into the ground, Mia lay there for a moment, stunned, the wind completely knocked out of her. And then her lungs expanded and she drew in a gasping breath, sucking in some much needed air. Dizzy and disoriented, she tried to get up, rolling over onto her stomach and then attempting to rise up onto all fours.

As she moved, an agonizing pain shot up her left arm.

Whimpering, she glanced at her side, and her head spun at the sight of white bone sticking out through a bloody tear in her skin. Sudden hot nausea boiled up in her throat, and she retched uncontrollably, the contents of her stomach emptying onto the dry grass of the dune.

Falling onto her right side, she tried to crawl away, her limbs weak and shaking, when strong arms lifted her, cradling her against a familiar chest.

His entire body trembling, Korum knelt in the sand, holding her in his arms and rocking back and forth. His breathing was harsh and ragged, and Mia could hear his heart beating like a drum in his chest.

“Mia . . . Oh my sweet, I thought I lost you . . .” The terror in his voice was a mirror image of the fear she’d felt at the sight of him in danger. He seemed incapable of saying anything else, just holding her pressed against him as he fought to regain control of himself. Even in his panic, he seemed mindful of her injured arm, taking care not to cause her any more pain.

“Th-the K . . .” she managed to croak out. “D-did he . . . ?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Korum said rawly. “He’s no longer a threat. You’re alive and that’s all that matters.”

Still holding her, he got to his feet. “Don’t look,” he said roughly, carrying her toward the bridge.

Mia closed her eyes for a second, but it made her feel even more sick and nauseated, so she opened them right away.

And saw immediately why Korum had warned her not to look.

Lying on the sand, just a few feet away from them, was what used to be his attacker. The body was hardly recognizable as such now, with the right arm missing and a bloody hole where the head and neck used to be. Blood was everywhere, all over the place, covering the disfigured corpse, soaking into the sandy ground.

For a brief second, she thought it couldn’t be real, but the metallic odor was undeniable, as was the underlying stench of something much more foul, like sewage. The scent of death, she realized with some still-rational part of her brain. She’d never smelled it before, but something primitive inside her knew and recoiled from it.

A horrified moan escaped her throat before she could suppress it.

Korum cursed, and his pace picked up until he was almost running toward the house, still taking care not to jostle her injured arm.

Closing her eyes, Mia tried to take deep breaths, to convince herself that she’d just seen a scene from a movie, that there wasn’t really what used to be an intelligent being lying there dead and mangled in the sand of Ormond Beach. But the images before her eyes were too vivid and undeniable, and her stomach twisted. If she hadn’t emptied it just a minute ago, she would have vomited again.

The K who held her in his arms had just literally torn apart his opponent.

Chapter 20

Her stomach churning, she instinctively pushed against Korum’s chest with her right hand, but he ignored her feeble attempt to free herself.

“Shh, my darling, it’ll be all right,” he whispered to her fiercely, entering the pool area and carrying her toward the house.

As they went through the gate, Mia opened her eyes again and saw that Leslie’s body was still lying there, right outside the pool gate. With a strange detachment, she wondered if the Resistance fighter was dead too. She knew she should be horrified at the thought, but she simply felt numb right now – numb and cold inside.