“Human,” he finished for me, pulling back a little to look at me. “Fennley said that you had said that. Why does that frighten you?”
“I'm not frightened,” I said, to his amusement. He chuckled. “Look, we may be… whatever you call it, but I will never ever admit that I am frightened to you, so you can put your eyebrows back down now.”
I sighed and looked away as he deliberately put them down and waited for me to continue. “I don't know. I suppose every time I took a life, I lost a little bit more of my humanity. So when I realized what little I had left forcing me to be human, it was a bit like a death blow. They took everything including my heart but left my brain. I have become essentially everything I tried to convince the world I was. Non-human.
“But,” I continued and drew back to see his face. “Then you walked in the door and I thought to myself maybe I had been wrong. Maybe my heart wasn't gone at all.”
“Good.” He smiled at me then, his haggard-looking expression gone. “How much do you remember of the ordeal, if I may ask? There’s something I may need to reiterate in addition to my apologies.”
“Everything,” I said with a smile of my own. “But I won’t call you ‘shaitan’ ever again. You’re no devil. Never could be.”
He looked intimidated for a second and then relaxed. “That’s alright. I hate repeating myself anyway. Then again, it does give me reason to explain what should be said under more desirable circumstances than a near nuclear explosion...”
“How did we survive?” I asked, interrupting him. I didn't want to hear him explain why he had said that now. I understood it had been a dying declaration. It was a superficial feeling, nothing more. Maybe in time that would change but it was too soon to tell now.
He didn't seem bothered. “Essentially the detonation mechanisms malfunctioned. Since the nuke was so old, the nitroglycerin came out of the fuller’s earth. Therefore, the TNT didn’t explode evenly enough to cause the plutonium chain reaction. So while the nuke exploded, it was pretty much a dud and didn’t affect the bubble at all. All that’s left is a crater and a lot of ash.
“Emma Gene has been put under arrest and they’re still trying to track down whoever was working with her,” he murmured. “Everything has been kept very quiet, probably to spare Xorratti and Rogee from embarrassment. Rogee won’t answer why Xorratti killed his aide, and labeled the investigation as classified. I’m in the dark, but I gather General Xorratti must have gotten Rogee to swallow whatever excuse he gave him.”
“So they don’t know their motives?” I queried confusedly. “Or how she managed to get her hands on the bomb in the first place?”
“Her father has been a pain in the ass and has an army of lawyers around her,” he grumbled, looking irritated. “But it’ll come out eventually. Maybe. It doesn’t matter. You’re cleared of all charges and that’s what I care about. Other than you, no one was seriously hurt. The only casualty was Xorratti’s dignity. From what I was told, when it went off he fainted. Michael was damn happy when he found out you were still alive. My survival was less of a relief to him, but I digress...”
I covered my mouth with my hand to stifle the giggle that bubbled up in me. “Xorratti fainted?”
He nodded with glee. “He dragged Michael back to their mansion and no one has heard from them since. But rumor has it the laundress had to wash his underwear three times to get the stains out.”
That did it. I full on laughed. I fell forward laughing and Cain grinned at me. “See? Told you I would get you to laugh sooner or later; no tickling needed.”
“I have no idea if I would be ticklish,” I said, sobering up. “What with the new hardware and all.”
“The brain still interprets the signals in the same way,” he said, trailing his fingers up my arm. My skin didn’t get goose pimples, but it felt like it did from the pleasurable feeling. My cheeks warmed and instead of turning pink, I probably paled as my new blood flooded my cheeks. Maybe he noticed, but I doubted it as his fingers lingered. “Now back to what I was saying. I believe I may have uttered three little words in a certain undesirable situation and so did you.”
There was tension in that statement. He seemed afraid of my reaction. I looked down as he touched my cheek. “It’s okay, Cain. We don't have to talk about this now.”
“I want to talk about it.”
“I don’t,” I said flatly. I didn’t. Hearing he hadn’t meant it when he told me he loved me would be more than I could bear. So I stalled. “There’s time.”
“Good,” he said with a roguish grin. “If you intend to stick around, that at least means you like me. It makes my life easier if the woman doesn’t want to clock me one if I kiss her.”
That made me lose my breath. I covered it with a quip. “Well, someone like Argon might consider that foreplay, but if you’re not into that-”
He leaned in to kiss my smart mouth and my words vanished in my throat. That is, until the doctor strode through the door effectively ruining the moment. He was too busy staring at the clipboard to notice Cain retreat and growl under his breath about his timing. “Ah, Sierrenna. Feeling better, dear? The nurse said your heart rate went up a bit earlier, but it seems stable now.”
“I think I’ll be okay,” I said, eyeing Cain who was glaring at the man with open loathing. “Someone else might not be, though.”
“Excellent,” he said, ignoring me. “If all goes well, you should be able to go home in a week and continue physical therapy in outpatient treatments.”
“Sure,” I said with some anxiety now. Home? I didn't have one unless I went back to the place in the slums and MoiRai was too far to commute to.
Cain scowled at my less than enthusiastic expression.
“Doc, I think she needs some rest,” he said loudly.
It was clearly a dismissal. The doc sniffed resentfully. “I’ll be on call if there’s a problem. Rest well, Ms. Sierrenna. Good to see you awake.”
He left and Cain immediately let loose. “I’d like to smack that guy. He had the audacity to tell me you would likely be a vegetable two days ago and before that he thought you weren’t worth the trouble. They tried to convince me you were going to die on the table so they didn't want to bother.”
“And did I?”
He shifted uncomfortably. “Well… yes. It didn’t lessen the urge to smack the arrogance off his stinking face. With all of the people I have threatened in the last three weeks-” He ran his hand self-consciously through his hair. “When one is as agitated as I was… Anyway, you looked upset when he was here. Spill.”
“I’m fine.”
He crossed his arms. “Come again? I thought we agreed on no more lies.”
I shrugged in defeat. “The word ‘home’ set me off guard. It made me realize that I have nowhere to go. I don’t think you’ll want me going back to MoiRai what with Dantenn… Oh, Dantenn! I forgot!”
“He’s fine,” he assured me. “Been eating up my phone bill. He’d have come down here himself, but he’s still recovering. His condition didn’t stop him from chomping down on me and raking me over the coals either. I don’t blame him. Your new status is entirely my fault after all.”
I heaved a sigh of relief and leaned into him. “I’m glad he’s stable. I was afraid I’d be going home for a funeral.”
“Humph. Well, since you don’t have a residence for now, then you’ll come and stay with me,” he declared, looking even happier with this idea. “You can come and hang out at my ‘chateau’ near the reservoir. It’s not much, but it’s mine. You’ll be saving me from my housekeeper. She’s determined that her daughter will catch my eye and she’ll officially be family on paper.”
“I really don’t think that’s a good idea, Cain.”
For the first time, he lost his solemn attitude and reverted to his usual self. “I have no objections, but if you’d like to stay in the hospital, I’m sure they’d love to lobotomize what’s left of your brain.”
I clapped my hands over my ears.
“Fine! Whatever! Just shut up!”
He laughed and gathered me to him. “It won't be so bad. Plus, you are somewhat of a celebrity now. I have a nice security system that’ll keep the press out. And it’s next to the reservoir so it has nice views. When it’s dark enough out, no one will see if we swim in it.”
“Yes, because I so want to swim in the water I drink,” I said sarcastically.
“Tell you a secret. The soldiers swim in it all the time and no one says crap about it. Come on. I’ll invite the gang up so we can all hang out. Er, well, maybe not Argon. He’s going to be murder now that I...”
He gulped and cut off so suddenly that I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. “Now that you…?”
“I hadn't gotten around to asking you if you’d like to be my girlfriend, but, um…” He was positively adorable when he knew he had stuck his foot in his mouth. A bright red sheen was spreading across his nose. “I suppose now might not be a good time or it might be a very good time, I’m not sure. Give me something here. You’ve got your poker face on and I’m running on three hours of sleep.”
“Cain, I know you’ll hate this but you’re cute when you get yourself flustered. It’s not like you’ve asked me to stay married to you.” His cheeks flushed to match his nose and I laughed. “We can discuss that later. Let’s start by you trying to get some sleep. I’m sure you’ll be able to muster more characteristic, indecent proposals once you’ve rested.”
“Oh, I have plenty right now,” he said saucily.
I put a finger to his lips. “Sleep.”
He nipped the pad of my finger. “Right you are. We’ll have plenty of time for fun later. But I do have one other thing to say first.”
I held my breath for a second as he took my hand, looking deep into my eyes. Then he looked down uncertainly. “Rain, I promise you I will make up for what I did. I don’t expect you to forgive or trust me for betraying you like that, at least not yet. But I swear I will win back your trust. I mean it. I will never doubt you again and I will never betray you.”
I nodded shakily, still not sure how to react to that. He seemed to mean it, but I couldn’t be sure. I looked away as his eyes came up to meet mine again. “Cain, I think you should try to sleep now.”
He nodded as he stood, went to the fold-up chair, and sat in it. I stared. This is how he had been sleeping? No wonder he was dragging. He cocked his head at my flummoxed stare. “Is there a problem?”
“Have you been sleeping here like that all this time?” I asked concernedly.
“Naw. The chair in the intensive care unit was even smaller. Nearly fell off of it - Oh, no. I’ve upset you. That was a joke, Rain! ”
“You need to get some sleep on a bed-”
“Well, the only one available to me is currently occupied and I ain't leavin’, so get over it,” he growled, reclining back as best he could.
The chair creaked precariously under his weight but I said nothing. I didn’t think that offering him a place in my bed was a good idea. He produced a baseball cap to cover his eyes. “I hate closing my eyes now that you are awake-”
“Sleep. I’m fine,” I replied calmly, seeing his eyelids already drooping.
He didn’t protest. I looked down at my hands for a few minutes, mulling everything over while trying to be quiet. But before I could, I spotted something on my night stand. My things had been carefully placed there all folded up except for my blades. And minus my tunic, which I’m sure had been matted with blood, nothing was missing. But what wasn’t mine had me reaching for it.
I gently picked up the little sack cloth and peered inside. All of the pieces to Cain’s locket were still there. I held it gently in my hands, afraid I would break it. Who knew how strong I actually was.
I ran my thumb over the chain, feeling how the cold metal felt with my new sense. It didn’t feel too different, even if my eyes could see every microscopic imperfection and hear the rustle of my skin over the gold. I vowed to myself that I would fix it and give it back to Cain. He may have broken it, but I felt that it would be appreciated all the same.
Still, many questions remained unanswered. For example, I could see the data drive at the bottom of the bag. Did it contain the identity of his father’s murderer? Or was it nothing at all?
And so many questions remained unanswered about the nuclear attack. Who had been working with Emma Gene? It had to have been someone of high rank in the army. Why wasn’t that being investigated? Add to that, had Xorratti been innocent? Too much was left unanswered.
But somewhere in the time I was left wondering over those questions, Cain started to snore lightly under the cap. It was then that I got an idea.
I stood and padded over to him as quietly as I could. My legs felt steady under me after a few steps and I relaxed my knees so I could bend over. I tapped his shoulder lightly. He didn’t stir. He was out like a candle when the flame burned down. He was twitching a bit in his sleep, already in rapid eye movement phase. He was exhausted.
I decided it was worth trying out my new strength in this case. Gingerly I placed one arm under his torso, the other under his legs, and I lifted. I figured he might have hit the ceiling if I hadn’t done it so slowly. He weighed nothing to me now.
I transported him over to the bed and gently tucked him in. I even put one of the teddy bears in with him and kissed him on the brow. He never stirred.
And with a relieved and very self-satisfied sigh, I went over to sort through my fan mail.
Chapter Twenty Seven
Cain slept for a few hours, snoring loudly like an old, chain-driven engine. A nurse had come in and promptly told me off for giving him my bed, but I had shrugged and told her I was worried he was going to fall off the chair and crack his head open. Her expression had softened and she offered to have someone fetch a cot for him. I graciously accepted.
Filtering through my fan mail had turned into an interesting experience. I was downright stunned at the outpouring of love and support from the city. I had turned from being a folktale antihero to a mainstream media hero. Children and adults alike had jumped on the propaganda bandwagon. I was now simultaneously a sex symbol and public defender. Before long they would expect me to start kissing babies and tossing my hat into the ring.
As I looked at the numerous items lining the walls, I wondered just what exactly I was going to do. My former self had been incinerated totally. I now had a powerful position of public standing to live up to. The possibilities of how I could twist this to my cause’s advantage were endless.
The newspapers were spinning rumors that Michael and I were being awarded the Medal of Honor. I very much doubted that. Rogee would no doubt be livid with the fact I was responsible in part for the salvation of the city. It put him in a difficult position, especially since the press had gotten ahold of this. I was no longer dispensable. He had to play ‘nice nice’ with me.
Michael had also written me a few letters. I teared up a little upon reading them. He hadn’t been sure I was going to survive or been able to visit me, so he had poured out his soul into them. A few had me uncomfortable considering he hadn’t held anything back about how he felt about me. Intermingled with those, I had gleaned a few more interesting facts.
General Xorratti was downright terrified of whatever there was to learn about Emma Gene. She had somehow been under his orders and he was afraid people were going to label him as a terrorist, too. When Michael asked about why he had shot Rogee’s aid, he had agitatedly thrown Michael out of his office. After that he had holed himself up in his home and grounded Michael so he couldn’t talk to anybody.
Michael said that his father couldn’t be mad at him considering he had saved his life with his actions, but he was still in loads of trouble for running off with me in the first place. He imparted his wish for me to come and see me once I had recovered. He even enclosed a drawing of us, both sitting, watching the sunset. That had made me smile. I promised myself I would do so soon, once I had gotten out of the hospital.
“Well, well. You sound chipper, Sierr, considering twelve hours ago I was informed you were still in the ICU.”
I sighed happily. “Dantenn. I was glad to hear my favorite sparring partner wasn’t laid up any longer. I’d have had to avenge your death and hunt down that lowly scorpion. Then the question would be who was guilty? You did assault it first, after all.”
He sounded amused, so he must have been pleased with my words. “Are you well now? Michael said you were more machine than anything when I spoke to him.”
I gulped. “He’s right.”
“Geez. I’m going to look like a complete pussy when sparring with you. When are you coming home? We have a lot to discuss.”
“I don't know that I am any time soon,” I said slowly. “The army doesn’t usually let multimillion dollar investments like me out of their sight and I might be worth a billion. But tourism surely will go up considering everyone now knows where I come from. The tabloids are having a field day with me.”
“And your boyfriend,” he said sourly. Then more grudgingly, “He seems to really care about you… when he isn't shooting you, that is.”
I could hear the jealousy once more. “It wasn’t his fault.”
“Still. He’s got a funny way of showing he loves you.”
I paused for a second, trying to figure out how to answer the pointed statement. “Yes, but it’s hard to doubt considering he doomed himself to being blown to smithereens by a nuclear explosion just to stay with me.”
“And judging by that defense, you feel the same way.”
I shook my head at his resentful tone. “We both know that if you had credible Intel that I was going to bring down the nation, you would have done the same thing he had.”
The line was quiet for a minute. “We’ll discuss this later. I have a few others here who want to speak with you. Now one at a time-”
War Machine: Book One in the Destiny In the Shadows Series Page 34
