Tangled Fates

by Carly Fall

  Blake heard the pleading in Annis’s voice, and he glanced over at Nico who sat in the

  front seat wearing dark sunglasses. The guy could be a wealth of information into The Platoon,

  or it could be a trick. It was a crapshoot, and he decided he wasn’t the one who should be making

  that call. That was up to Noah and the rest of the Saviors. However, he did need to get

  permission to bring him in.

  “Let me make some calls,” Blake said, pulling out his phone and turning his back to her.

  “That’s fine, Blake, but let me speak to them. Let me convince them.”

  Blake paced, holding the phone up to his ear. Noah first. Voicemail. Jovan second. The

  same. He called all the Saviors, and none answered. Talin didn’t even have his phone on. He

  cursed, unsure of what to do.

  Finally, he looked over at her. “I can’t get ahold of anyone.”

  She heard a moan from Cohen.

  “We have no time to waste, Blake,” Annis said, panic lacing her words. “Cohen is

  dying.”

  Chapter 39

  When they arrived at the silo, Annis entered first. She heard Jovan and Rayner in the

  Great Room playing some game that involved a lot of shooting on the Xbox.

  “I can’t believe you just grenaded me, you asshole,” Rayner practically shouted.

  “You deserved it after you shot me sixty-nine times. Quit being such a little girl. And

  that’s what I want to do to that Micah fucker. You can see crazy written all over the male.”

  “Would you two stop it?” Faith said, exasperated. “I swear you two are worse than a

  couple of kids on that damn thing.”

  Taking a deep breath, Annis went into the room. Rayner’s red eyes flickered toward her,

  back at the TV, then to her again. His forehead wrinkled in confusion.

  “Annis?” he said, as if he couldn’t believe she was standing before him. Or maybe he

  thought he was seeing her spirit.

  “Yes.”

  Jovan’s gaze whipped around and landed on her.

  “Do you see Annis?” Rayner asked.

  “Yep.”

  “So she’s not caught in the ether.”

  “Nope.”

  “Then what the hell is she doing here? I thought we were making the exchange

  tomorrow.”

  “Stop it,” Annis said, wondering what they exchanged her life for. What could they have

  given Micah that would be worth her and Cohen’s lives? That could be broached later. “I am

  here in the flesh, and we need your help with Cohen.”

  “Annis! I’m so glad to see you!” Faith rushed over, and Annis bent down to hug the fiery

  redhead.

  “I’m glad to see you as well, Faith.”

  Both males dropped their controllers and hurried past her, and she followed.

  At the doorway to the silo, Nico and Blake had Cohen between them, one of his arms

  thrown over each of them, his feet dragging behind him.

  “Whoa. Who the hell is that?” Rayner asked, putting himself between Nico and Faith.

  Nico looked up at him, his eyes blazing silver.

  “This is Nico,” Annis said. “Nico helped us escape.”

  “You brought him back here?” Rayner asked incredulously.

  “Yes. He has nowhere to go. He can’t go back to The Platoon.”

  “I tried to call, but not one of you fuckers answered your phone,” Blake said.

  “You can’t just bring strangers in here, Annis,” Jovan growled. He turned and walked

  into the other room.

  Blake and Nico stopped at the bottom of the stairs, and Nico looked around. Annis

  noticed that his stab wound had opened and blood was seeping into his white shirt.

  “Fascinating,” he murmured.

  Jovan returned, gun at his side. “Rayner, you and Blake get Cohen down to his room.

  Nico, you stay right where you are. I’ve never been one to hesitate to shoot first and ask

  questions later.”

  “There is no need to shoot him, Jovan,” Annis said, as Rayner and Blake dragged Cohen

  to the elevator. She wanted to go with them to make sure he was okay, but she also needed to

  make sure that Nico wouldn’t be taken out into the desert and shot. “He helped us escape.”

  Jovan studied Nico as if he were a new animal in a zoo. “Why is he bleeding?”

  “Because I stabbed him,” Annis said.

  “And he’s a member of The Platoon?”

  “Not willingly,” Nico said.

  “And he speaks. What do you mean, not willingly?”

  “I mean that they are a bunch of animals. Micah is off-the-wall crazy. I haven’t wanted to

  have anything to do with them for months, but I had nowhere to go. I don’t know this world very

  well, and I don’t know how I would survive.”

  Jovan approached Nico and put his hand on his shoulder. “Say all that again.”

  Annis knew Jovan was checking Nico for truth.

  “I also have a weapon in my pocket,” Nico said. “If you want to reach in and grab it . . .

  unless you would like me to.”

  Jovan nodded. “Make it really slow, buddy.”

  With over-exaggerated movements, Nico handed the gun to Jovan.

  The elevator dinged, announcing its arrival, and Blake and Rayner stepped out. “Faith

  and Annis: go down and see if you can find Cohen’s Natwa powder,” Rayner said. “It’ll be red.”

  “We’ll take care of old Spiderman here,” Blake said.

  Annis moved to stand in front of Nico and glared at all of them. “Each of you promise me

  that Nico won’t be hurt.”

  They stared at her and said nothing.

  “I mean it. I knew Nico on SR44. I can vouch for him. He’s a decent and honest male,

  and would make a fine addition to the Saviors.”

  Silence.

  Annis nodded. “Very well. But please. Just hear what he has to say. He will be a wealth

  of information on The Platoon.”

  They each nodded. “Okay, Annis. We won’t bury him. Not now, anyway. You have my

  word,” Jovan said.

  Annis breathed a sigh of relief. Jovan was a good male, and she trusted his promises.

  “Very well,” she said, moving to the elevator with Faith.

  “What is a Spiderman?” Nico asked.

  Blake sighed, exasperated. “He’s a superhero who has silver eyes.”

  “Really?” Nico said. “I thought you were telling me I had a spider on my body.”

  “Yes, really. And you better not be harboring any spiders. I hate those little fuckers,”

  Blake said, turning to Jovan. “I called Noah. He’s not happy.”

  “And this surprises you?” Jovan asked.

  “Of course not. I told Annis—”

  The elevator door shut, and Annis was in blessed silence as it carried her and Faith

  downward.

  “Are you okay?” Faith said, putting her hand on Annis’s arm.

  Annis sighed. “I am, Faith. Thank you. I would like to stop at my quarters before seeing

  to Cohen so I can remove these contacts and change.”

  “Of course,” Faith said, and pushed the button to Annis’s floor. “I’ll just meet you down

  there, okay?”

  “Yes,” Annis said, stepping from the elevator. She went into her quarters and leaned

  against the door, thankful for a moment of peace and quiet. It couldn’t last long though; she

  needed to help Faith find Cohen’s Natwa powder, or he would die.

  Quickly, she changed into some sweatpants and a sweatshirt, balling up what was left of

  the gold dress and throwing it in the trash. She spla
shed some water on her face and removed her

  contacts. It felt wonderful.

  She took the stairs two flights down and opened the door to Cohen’s room. Faith was

  going through his drawers, and Cohen lay on the bed looking terribly pale.

  “I can’t believe what a mess this place is,” Faith said.

  It was a mess. Clothes were strewn all over, and there were stacks of dirty dishes, and

  half-full glasses of alcohol and bottles littered the place. To her it looked like a room of someone

  who was coming unhinged, someone who cared about nothing at all.

  Her gaze went back to the male on the bed. She didn’t have time to think about the

  condition of the room—Cohen needed his Natwa powder. “I’ll check the bathroom,” Annis said.

  A half hour later, her and Faith had been through every drawer, through all the cupboards

  in the bathroom, and now they were looking under the bed.

  Faith pulled out a black, marble box. They sat on the floor with it between them, trying to

  figure out how to open it.

  “I don’t see a lock or anything,” Faith mumbled as she flipped it over.

  “This has to be where he keeps it,” Annis said.

  “I’ll take it upstairs and see if any of the others know how to get it open,” Faith said.

  “I’ll wait here,” Annis said.

  She paced the room while Faith was gone, picking up a T-shirt and moving the black

  overstuffed chairs back in front of the TV. The room needed much more cleaning, but it wasn’t

  her place to do it. To her, this mess symbolized Cohen internal house, and it was something that

  he would need to take care of himself.

  Moments later, Faith returned. “They can’t get it open either,” she said. “Rayner even

  took it outside and shot at it, but the bullet just bounced off.”

  Annis sat down on the bed and took the box from Faith. “I’ll wait with him. Hopefully

  he’ll wake up and have the strength to open it himself.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Annis nodded and looked at Cohen.

  The door clicked softly as Faith left.

  Annis willed him to wake up.

  An hour later, she pulled an overstuffed chair over to his bedside. She was exhausted.

  The Warriors had come by to check on Cohen and try to get the box open again, and when it

  became apparent that there was nothing that anyone could do except hope that Cohen woke up

  and was able to open the box himself, they eventually left.

  “I trust you held your word and Nico is still alive, Jovan?” she had said.

  “Yep. Breathing just as good as you and me. Call me if you need anything or there’s any

  change in Cohen.”

  Annis felt her eyelids getting heavy. She had slept little over the past days. The silence in

  the room was like a blanket, and she burrowed down a little into the chair. Just as she was almost

  asleep, Cohen moaned.

  Annis sat up, and he opened his eyes.

  Chapter 40

  Cohen felt the bed beneath him and wondered where he was. He knew he was really sick

  from fever and infection. Maybe they had soft beds in Heaven.

  He opened his eyes and felt his breath catch as he met Annis’s golden stare. She gave him

  a small smile and said, “I’m so happy to see you’re awake, Cohen. We’re back at the silo, and

  we’ve torn your room apart looking for the powder.”

  How had they gotten here? He closed his eyes and tried to recall. That’s right, he’d been

  in the middle of telling Nico that he wouldn’t be going near the Saviors, and he’d passed out.

  “Is Nico here?” he asked, his voice barely a whisper.

  “Yes. He’s upstairs with the Saviors.”

  Hell. There wasn’t anything he could do about it now.

  She reached down and came up with his black box. “Is the powder in here?”

  He opened his eyes to see what she was referring to and nodded, unable to speak. Christ,

  he was burning up with fever.

  “How do I open it?”

  He motioned her over to the bed, and she sat it down next to him. With every ounce of

  strength he had, he lifted his hand and placed it on top of the box. He poured what little energy

  he had left into it, hoping it was enough, and whispered the chant. After a moment, there was a

  little click, and he let his hand fall back to the mattress.

  Annis sat there, stunned. “I’ve never seen anything like that before,” she murmured.

  “Rayner took it outside and shot it. The bullet bounced off.”

  She leaned over and opened the lid. Removing the blue silk, she glanced over at him. “Is

  this the knife you made your Tambaran with?”

  He nodded.

  She set the blue silk aside and carefully pulled out the yellow. “Is this it?”

  “Yes,” he whispered. If he didn’t get some of that on his back soon, he was certain he

  would die. He could feel the infection moving through his body, and it was strong.

  With considerable effort he rolled over onto his side so that his back was to her.

  “Do I just put this powder on the wound? How much?”

  “Just enough to cover it,” he said, his voice raspy.

  A moment later he flinched, her cool fingers coming in contact with his red-hot skin. She

  dabbed at the wound, and Cohen felt the familiar tingling sensations begin, signaling the healing

  had started.

  “This looks awful, Cohen,” she said quietly. “This infection is terrible.”

  Oh, yeah. He didn’t need to see anything. He could feel it.

  Annis continued to dab the powder on the wound, and Cohen liked her hands on him. Not

  only were they cool, which was a wonderful feeling against his raging, hot body, but her skin

  was so soft, it was like the pads of her fingers were made out of satin.

  He shut his eyes as he recalled the way she’d fought Nico. She was lethal grace, a deadly

  beauty. She was one of the most paradoxical people he had ever laid eyes on.

  He wanted to toss around the fact that Nico was also a former lover, but he didn’t have

  the energy. Instead, he focused on Annis’s hands on his body.

  “I’m going to get a washcloth, Cohen. You’re burning up.”

  He said nothing. He didn’t hear her make her way to the bathroom as the carpet muted

  her footsteps, but he felt her lack of presence.

  How he wished he had the energy to get up so he could take out these damn contacts.

  They were uncomfortable for a few hours, but after a day or two? Forget it. He would be happy

  if he never had to put them on his eyeballs again.

  The water ran in the bathroom, and a minute later he felt the cool cloth on his back. It felt

  good, but he shivered at the contact.

  “Amazing, Cohen. It looks better already.”

  She dabbed at his back, then reached around and patted his forehead. “I brought your

  contact case from the bathroom if you want to take them out.”

  Jesus, did he ever. The female deserved a shot at sainthood for that one. He’d have the

  energy to pry them out of his eyes in a few minutes.

  As his mind wandered, he wondered what would have become of him and Annis if he

  hadn’t made his Tambaran. He supposed that they would end up in the sack together, and his

  guilt would grow to monumental proportions. What the outcome of that would be, he couldn’t

  imagine because he couldn’t take any more guilt.

  He imagined having the strength to reach behind him and pull her over so that lay face
-

  to-face. Of course, in his imagination, she was naked, and he would pull her slim, strong body

  against him. He would kiss her gently, and . . .

  Cohen’s eyes flew open as he looked down at his lower body. Somehow, he hadn’t

  realized he was naked, and he had given himself a raging erection with his thoughts. Thankfully,

  he was covered. He pulled the sheet up a little higher on his waist. Annis definitely didn’t need to

  see what he had going on.

  They sat in silence, Annis dabbing his body, and Cohen trying to think of anything but

  Annis lying next to him in her perfectly naked beauty. Instead, he concentrated on the feeling of

  ants crawling through his system. When he used the Natwa powder and experienced this

  sensation, he always imagined ants blazing through his body, each one carrying a sword, cutting

  and slashing at little dots of infection that riddled him until there was nothing left except healthy

  cells and tissue.

  About twenty minutes later, Cohen knew when the ants had won, and he felt his fever

  break. His body cooled to its normal temperature, and his energy began to slowly return.

  He turned over, pleased that his back didn’t hurt too badly.

  “That is just amazing stuff,” Annis said. He looked up into her golden stare, hating what

  could never be. Lifting his hand to her face, he gently caressed her cheek.

  “You’re very good at it,” he said quietly.

  She tilted her head, confused. “Good at what, Cohen?”

  “You told me back at The Platoon’s place that you’re not very good at taking care of

  others. I disagree.”

  She smiled and took her hand in his. “Thank you. And you, Healer, are an excellent

  patient.”

  They sat holding hands for a moment, then Cohen said, “Maybe . . . maybe we can be

  friends, Annis. I think we’re on our way there now that I’ve cleared the air about what’s been

  going on with me these past months.” Not to mention that kiss. That wasn’t a kiss of a friend, but

  there couldn’t be any more.

  Her eyes clouded for a moment, and she gave him a sad smile. “I would like that, Cohen.

  Very much.”

  “It’s been a long night,” he said.

  Annis’s eyes widened, and she looked at the clock. “Oh, no,” she said. “I didn’t realize it

  was so late. I’m surprise the sun hasn’t risen yet. I should get to my quarters so that—”