Plague of Mybyncia (41 page)

“Are you kidding?” her eyes bulge as an arm
shoots out to the flapping curtain. “That was all
him!
I
asked Sampson a question and
he
butted in.”

“Give the guy a break,” Jace scowls, “you
did
kind of ruin his life for awhile,” his eyes flicker to
Walker.

“No… that’d be
Ansley
,” she glares,
folding her arms. “I never told her to spread her legs. She did
that on her own.”

“And who suggested it?”

Perry scoffs, rolling her eyes with
annoyance. “Ancient history.”

“Not to some.”

“Like I said,” she saunters forward, “he can
get over it. I had a lot of clients and a lot of jobs. That was
merely one.”

“Well… you did a number on the Rogues with it
so… goal achieved.”

“I aim to please,” she smirks.

“And I’m sure Grisham was. Tell me,” Jace
scratches his chin. “Was it just food? Or did he pay extra for your
services?”

“Fuck you, Jace,” her eyes narrow into dark
slits. “I’m not a whore.”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

“Okay,” Clarence comes between them, “let’s
everybody calm down. Tucker will be back in here momentarily and we
need him to have as restful a night as possible. Now…Perry does
make a good point. This is history and we have to move forward. We
need to put whatever happened on Harrizel behind us and look to the
future.”

“I didn’t start anything,” Perry rolls her
eyes, arms crossed over her chest. “He just—”

“I know,” Clarence nods, “but it’s probably
best if you two don’t talk. Just steer clear of him and we’ll be
fine.”

“I wasn’t talking to him!”

“I
know
,” Clarence says, clearly
annoyed, “and if he responds, just ignore him.”

Perry scoffs with another eye roll and
retreats to the back of the room. All eyes follow her, including
Vix who clears her throat. Perry glances to Vix but remains quiet
until she realizes Vix is staring right at her, a mixture of
assumption and confusion.

“What?” Perry frowns.

“You have your own dwelling.”

“So?”

A minute of silence goes by and Vix continues
to stare at her, waiting for the obvious to sink in.

“You’re kicking me out?” Perry gasps.

“If you have a place to go,” Clarence shrugs,
“it makes sense for the night. We don’t need any unnecessary
difficulties.”

“Fine…” she pushes past.
“
Whatever
.”

As she heads for the door, she glances up to
me with a dark, accusing glare. It’d burn right through me if I
wasn’t so pissed at her for what she did to Reid. At first I
couldn’t remember who she was, or why her name struck such a
negative chord. Now I remember. It was Perry that had Raj tail me
for a chance to join the Kisses. And apparently, she’s also the one
who put Ansley on the adulterous path under Grisham’s orders. No
wonder all the Rogues hate her. She was the one who caused Reid to
take a step back from his position out of humiliation and
heartbreak.

And she’s glaring at
me
?

I return her scowl with my own contemptuous
look, daring her to say something.
Anything
. She’s lucky
she’s getting to walk out of here with the shit she’s pulled. With
a final scan over me, she continues outside, the red curtain
flapping closed behind her.

It’s quiet after she leaves until Clarence
props his hands on his hips with a deep inhale. “Well that went
well.”

“She’ll get over it,” Able shrugs. “And if
not… who cares? It’s only Perry.”

“How’s this going to work?” Jace glances to
the others. “You know the Boss can’t stand her. He’ll freak out if
we bring her back.”

“Items to discuss at a later time,” Sampson
says. “Right now we have to worry about tomorrow.”

“Tucker can do it. He just needs to have his
head in the game,” Clarence glances to the flapping red curtain,
“probably shouldn’t be worrying about Reid, though.”

“I’ll grab him,” Jace sprints outside.

Sampson moves toward the back of the room and
stops over a sleeping Mae. He exhales, crossing his arms. “And this
one still needs to wake up.”

Clarence follows him over. “Not much we can
do about it. She’ll be out for awhile.”

“Can someone stay with her?”

“Are you going somewhere?” I frown.

“I thought the three of us,” he gestures to
Vix and Clarence, “might excuse ourselves for a bit. Do a
little…catching up.”

“We’re not going anywhere,” Able shakes his
head, following them to stand over Mae. “Who’s this?”

“Another five percent,” I hobble across the
space to join them. “She came right before the Vermix invaded.”

He nods approvingly. “Cute.”

“So,” Sampson glances to all of us, “you
won’t mind if we adjourn for a bit?”

“Are you staying in Vix’s dwelling?”

“No. I think it’s best if we all stay here
tonight. Stick together,” Sampson heads for the curtain, “we won’t
be gone long.” Clarence and Vix follow him out, just as Tucker and
Jace head back in, forlorn and defeated.

Tucker does a double take over his shoulder,
glancing back to make sure he saw correctly. “Where’re they
going?”

“Needed a minute to themselves,” I watch the
red curtain sway with their departure. “Where’s Reid?”

“Same,” Jace plops down on one of the red
cushions and stretches out. He crosses his arms behind his head.
“What a day.”

“You said it,” Werzo follows suit, sinking
into the plush seats. “Could go for some Hunnis right about
now.”

“Hunnis?” Able raises a brow.

I know Jace said Reid needs a minute, but we
have to talk. We haven’t spoken since arriving on Nerwolix and now,
with running into Walker and the others, I can’t put it aside any
longer. Despite their callings for me to stay, I push past the red
curtain and head outside.

Reid paces a few feet away, arms crossed with
the tip of his thumb wedged between his teeth. He stares at the
ground, lost in concentration until he looks up and sees me. His
expression relaxes, but only slightly, and he doesn’t smile. He
doesn’t even make an attempt to move closer.

“Are you okay?”

With a hardened face, he continues pacing,
still gnawing on this thumb. He makes three laps around the side of
the trunk before I try again.

“Reid?”

“As if Walker wasn’t enough,” he shakes his
head, his eyes lit up. “But Perry? That bitch can stay here for all
I care.”

His tone throws me back. I haven’t seen him
this upset since the Kings, and that was after Mantis attacked me.
I’m not used to seeing Reid like this, so I’m not sure what I
should do. He paces like a wild-cat on his side of the trunk, feral
and caged, ready to strike as soon as he’s set free. I force a step
closer, and it’s mostly driven out of need to comfort him.
“Hey...”

“And then Tucker volunteers,” he stops with a
look at me. “
I
was supposed to do it.”

“Why?”

A small lump rolls down his throat. “How can
I let one of my men go for me?”

“Because you have other responsibilities.
Sampson needs you. The Mybyncians need you…” I gulp, “…
I
need you…”

This seems to break through his wall, his
eyes finally softening. He inhales, but then retreats back into his
guilt in seconds. Pacing again, Reid runs his hands through his
hair. “What if something happens? What if… what if he doesn’t make
it? How am I supposed to live with that?”

“You have that little faith in him?”

“I’ve seen several good men go.”

“He volunteered for it,” I venture a hobbling
step closer. “You need to respect that.”

Reid exhales with a pause. “Not that I can
feel any worse… but Walker gets to fucking
touch
you?”

My words get caught in my throat. This is
livid
Reid. Is there any way to calm him? I think of the
most honest and reassuring thing to say. “You know nothing’s going
to happen.”

“I don’t like it.”

“Reid…”

“I don’t…” he shakes his head, his hands high
in the air. “If he touches you again, I might lose it. Honest to
God, I might break his fucking neck.”

“He knows I’m with you—I told him.”

“That hasn’t stopped him before.”

“Then put your trust in
me
,” I grip
the trunk for balance, my leg starting to ache. “
Nothing
is
going to happen. I don’t want it to, and I won’t let it.”

Reid inhales, his eyes shifting between mine,
trying to read their honesty. Am I telling him the truth? Can I
make this promise? After a long silent minute, he nods. “I still
don’t want him touching you.”

“He won’t.”

“He
will
.”

“And I’ll tell him to stop. We have more
important things to worry about.
Please
don’t let Walker be
one of them.”

“Fallon…” he runs his hands through his hair
again. “I don’t… I don’t know what I’m doing here. I don’t know how
to handle all this.”

“You’ve led the Rogues into victory over the
Kings and Vermix. You’ve kept everyone alive and helped keep order
on Mybyncia,” I offer a reassuring smile. “You can do this.”

“What if I can’t?” His eyes flicker over me,
a large lump rolling down his throat. “What if I lose you?”

“You won’t.”

“Every time something happens,” he closes the
gap between us, trailing his fingers down my cheek, “I have to
watch you get hurt.”

“That’s part of this life. If it wasn’t for
Clarence, I’d be dead already. We just have to be thankful for the
time we have together. Make the most of it.”

He narrows his eyes, holding me in their
powerful stare. “What happened?”

“What?”

“When you woke up to Clarence… what
happened?”

“I…” I step back as the sensation of being
ripped open emerges. I don’t see Reid anymore, but what I walked
into, what will forever be burned into my brain. “…I’m not sure,”
my voice is a mere whisper. “I came home to… my grandmother was on
the ground. She… something….” I gulp, “but before I could get out
of the house…”

Reid’s arms are suddenly wrapped around me,
pressing my body to his and I’m drowning in his scent. It quickly
wipes the horrific scene from memory, pinning me down here, in this
wonderful present where I’m engulfed in him, completely protected.
We stand embraced like this for a long minute until Able pokes his
head past the red curtain.

“You two alright? Tucker’s getting anxious
and Sampson said no drama. We already kicked Perry out…
please
don’t make us do the same with Fallon. I haven’t seen
my best bud in so long.”

Reid tenses. “She’s not going anywhere,” he
pulls me toward him and gripping one hand around my waist, he leads
us back inside.

“Good,” Able retreats to allow entrance into
the suddenly tense space, “was getting worried there for a
second.”

“Ah…” Jace grins from the same spot on the
red cushions. “See you’ve calmed him down, Fallon. Thanks.”

Reid glances from me to Walker across the
room, and just when I think he’s going to lose it, he calmly walks
us over. Walker tenses at our approach but he doesn’t move.

“Let’s get something straight,” Reid growls.
“Fallon is with
me
. You touch her again, you die.”

Walker glances at me, then back to Reid and
around the room, as if waiting for someone to interject. No one
does.

“Understand?”

“Rox…” Walker places his hands up in defense,
backing further into the wall behind him. “I’m not going—”

“Do. You. Understand?”

“Yes,” he nods quickly. “I won’t touch
her.”

“Good.”

But just as Reid starts to pull us back,
Walker starts up again with a whimsical mumble to himself, “But if
she asks me to…”

Suddenly, Reid whips back and rams his free
fist across Walker’s face, knocking him to his knees. “I’m not
fucking around.”

“Christ!” Walker wails, cupping his nose with
both hands just as Sampson, Clarence and Vix return.

“Reid!” Sampson rushes forward with a
smirking Clarence right behind him. Vix pauses at the entrance,
peering over the others who are all watching with similar
shock.

“It was overdue.”

“No more,” Sampson puts himself between
Walker and Reid, his words a tone of authority.

“Not if he keeps his hands to himself.”

“I think you broke it,” Walker mumbles into
his palms as red liquid gushes through his fingers. He’s still on
his knees and Clarence hoists him up by the elbows, crimson
droplets falling to a tiny puddle at Walker’s feet.

“Good.”

“It’s done,” Sampson keeps them separate, a
hand to each chest. “No more. Fallon,” Sampson looks at me.
“Control this.”

“Me? But how—”

Before I’m able to ask how this is under
my
control, Clarence and Sampson lead Walker outside, a
trail of blood behind them.

I turn to Reid. “Was that really
necessary?”

“Yep,” he nods, perfectly serious. “Now he
knows I mean it.”

“He knew before.”

“Now he won’t joke about it. And actually,” a
smile crosses Reid’s lips, “I feel a lot better.”

“Glad you got it out of your system?”

“Where am I?” a soft voice asks.

“Mae?” I whip around. “You’re awake!”

With Pratt’s help, I move to the back of the
room just as Jace jumps to a stand. Lying on the red cushions, one
arm drapes over her forehead, her eyes blinking in slow motion,
adjusting to the feeling.

“Mae?” I ask again, sitting on the cushions
next to her.

“Where am I?”

“We’re in Walker’s room—uh, home. We’ve… uh…
been captured by the Zingfinolds.”

“What?” her eyes shoot open as she starts to
squirm uncontrollably.

“You trying to scare her?” Able sits down
next to me, shaking his head in disappointment. “Easy there,” he
focuses on Mae, “you’re going to go into shock again. What Fallon
meant
to say is you’re fine and no one’s going to hurt
you.”