Page 12 of 3013: SAVIOR
“I thought we would be more comfortable this way.”
“Thanks for that,” he said weakly.
“My magic allows me to do many things, but my abilities seem to be malfunctioning at the moment due to whatever happened to me. Once I get that sorted out, I should be able to erase the threat of the robots for you.”
“You can just…erase them?”
She kind of felt bad since he sounded so perplexed, but she didn’t understand why. Nodding, she said, “Getting back to my previous question, do you not find it odd that we are safe in here?”
“Not really.” Glancing around, he shrugged. “The bots don’t come inside the buildings. Once they clear the area, we can leave and meet up with the others.”
“This does not seem logical. What is stopping the robots from breaking through the doors or windows? I would also assume they would be capable of scanning through walls, or are they made with antiquated technology? And why did they announce their presence with the firework flares before they arrived? That gave us ample time to get away. If their goal is to capture or kill, none of this makes sense.”
“You’re right,” he said, sounding a little shocked. “I don’t know why I didn’t realize that before.”
Zack’s head began to ache as he considered what she’d said. It all sounded outrageous, yet somehow, he’d never questioned it. He believed her now that she had pointed it all out. Using the flares did give them time to get away, which didn’t make sense. He also wasn’t sure what was stopping them from coming inside the buildings, but somehow he knew they never did.
Not thinking about what he was doing, he reached out and took her hand in his again. That was highly unusual since he’d never been that way with anyone before. He wasn’t a demonstrative kind of guy but being that way with her felt as natural as breathing to him.
Gently pulling her toward the lounge area, he deposited her on the seat of the closest couch while she silently watched him with a curious gaze. He gave himself time to settle while he set his laser rifle down on the low table in front of them, then he unzipped his rain jacket and tossed it on a chair. Even though it was dry, he didn’t need the extra layer on since it was warm enough inside the library without it.
Once he was seated next to her, he was surprised when she gripped his chin hard and turned his head so he was facing her. When she moved his head from side to side then up a little, he reached up and gripped her wrist to hold her still.
“What are you doing?”
“You are injured,” she accused, glaring at him.
“Yeah, I got pretty beat up earlier when—”
He choked on his words when she pushed him back against the couch and shoved the hem of his black shirt up without warning, exposing his abs and chest. He hadn’t been kidding when he’d said he had been roughed up earlier. He had several large bruises on his torso along with some rather nasty scrapes and cuts. Nico had also been similarly injured, but they had treated the worst of their wounds before they’d gone out on patrol.
Her silver eyes seemed to glow brighter as she shoved the long sleeves of his shirt up to inspect the cuts and bruises on his arms. He tried to remain still and impassive for her perusal but couldn’t help it when his cock stiffened under her attention. Fucking hell, if this was his reaction to her looking him over, he couldn’t imagine what would happen when she actually touched him.
He yelped when she reached for his belt. Oh, hell no. He wouldn’t be able to hold himself back anymore if his pants came off. There was also the fact he didn’t want her to see his bionic leg just yet. He didn’t want to freak her out, and that sort of thing required an explanation before he whipped it out.
“You can stop now,” he said in a rush, pushing her hands away. “Yes, I’m bruised everywhere, but it isn’t bad. Honestly, I’m fine.”
“How did this happen?” she demanded darkly. “Who did this to you?”
“I…actually, I don’t really remember. I think I got knocked out while I was on patrol last night with Nico, and we both woke up beat to shit and bruised. We must have had a run-in with the bots. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time this has happened to us.”
Suspicion flicked through Jecca’s mind.
His injuries looked like they were only a few hours old instead of something that had happened the previous night. But she didn’t think he was lying to her. Not intentionally, at least. There had to be another reason neither of them could remember the events that had caused their injuries, and they needed to know the entire truth to figure out what was really going on.
“We need to figure out exactly what happened.”
“Okay. How are we going to do that?” he asked.
“I have an idea about that…”
Chapter Five
Jecca realized that she could no longer put off contacting the voice that had connected with her earlier. Closing her eyes, she reached out through that familiar bond and immediately felt the other female’s relief when they connected. Thankfully, the pain she felt in her head wasn’t as intense this time, but it still hurt a little to form the telepathic link between them.
“Are you there?”
“Aye, here I am! I have been very worried about you, Jecca. And that is not normal. Usually, I am the one doing things to cause you concern, not the other way around. Do not make this a habit.”