Her heart almost jumped out of her chest. So much for thinking there’d been something else in his possessiveness.
No, now she knew.
She’d imagined it all.
Damn, it hurt.
Jade held back a tear. “Ask. I won’t lie.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.” He handed her the laptop. “Open it.”
She didn’t dare to do anything but obey. It was powered up, and showed a sequence of numbers and letters on a black background.
“What do you see?”
She studied the screen for a moment, then shot him a frown. “How come you have this? This is the code to the bond’s program.” Jade scrolled through it. “You have the whole code. How’s that possible?”
“Take a closer look, and tell me when you find what’s wrong with it.” He avoided her question.
She blinked. “I don’t need to take a look. I know the code inside out.”
His lips thinned. “Do it anyway,” Nightmare hissed.
She didn’t object again. She didn’t dare.
The leader of the Fighters meant business, and she didn’t want to make things worse than they already were.
She could only hope he wouldn’t gunshot her, but who knew. He’d threatened to kill her many times before.
Jade focused on the screen, scrolling through the code. She had no idea what she was looking for, but she wasn’t stupid.
He wanted her to find what was wrong with the bond, what triggered the poison to be released into a cyborg’s body when his bound one died.
After all the things she’d been through these last few days, and everything else Nightmare had put her through, she didn’t doubt anymore. Jade still hadn’t seen any evidence, but she doubted the Fighters would go on like this, year after year.
There was something wrong with the bond.
Her heart refused to calm as she searched the code a second time, and then a third, and fourth. It was like trying to locate a needle in a haystack, but the code was exactly as she’d learned it should be.
Nothing was different, nothing was wrong, and Nightmare wouldn’t like that.
She swallowed, and met his gaze with worry running through every cell in her body.
“You don’t see it, do you?” he asked with a surprisingly calm voice.
“It looks just as it should.” Her voice trembled.
He sighed. “I see. They taught you to not see where the poison is, did they?”
“Look.” Her voice shuddered even more. “I know how the code works, how it functions, how it’s put together. If a poison is hiding in there somewhere, then it’s so well hidden, dozens of MedAct doctors aren’t able to see it.”
Nightmare nodded. “Some part of me wants to believe that you really are unaware of the bond’s true purpose.”
“I am, I swear.”
“There’s only one way to find out.”
Jade blinked. “What do you mean?”
He stood, pushed back the safety on the gun, and pointed it at her again. “I will count to five, and if you haven’t found the poison by then, you’ll die.”
Her gaze shot to his, and it felt like he’d just punched her in the stomach. “Are you serious?”
“I guess you’ll soon find out.” He moved the gun closer. “One.”
The disbelief intensified, and she kept staring at him instead. Tears ran down her cheeks, sweat broke out on her skin, and her body started to shake.
Her love for him shattered into tiny pieces, thousands of needles tore her apart as her heart broke.
She’d never known this kind of pain existed. Her head spun, her gaze went fuzzy, and her body warmed, as if a fever had suddenly come over her.
A small part of her had hoped he’d been lying about shooting her, a small part had hoped he cared, but now she knew better.
“You’re wasting time,” Nightmare said. “You should be looking at the screen, not me.”
“Please … don’t”. Her lower lip wobbled, her chin shivered even more.
“Two.”
“Damn it, Nightmare! I don’t know what to look for!”
“I don’t believe you. You’re in on it. You said it yourself, you know the code inside out. That means you know how to locate the poison, so locate it. Now.”
He never raised his voice, but the pure and terrifying fear he sent through her was enough to make her break out into hysterical sobs.
Her strength was washed away.
He’d managed to break her down completely.
“I’m not lying!” The terror made it impossible to remain calm. Any calm she’d had abandoned her for good.
“Three.”
“Shit.” Her hands jarred, as she frantically started scrolled through the code once more, but her hands shook so much it was impossible to hold them still. Her whole body was working against her. She went in blind, just scrolling, searching desperately after a way out.
There was nothing there.
Just the code she’d always known, down to the letter, and yet, she searched. For what, Jade had no idea, but she searched, how desperately she searched!
Anything to get away from the gun and his hate.
She dried away a tear, but replacements kept running down her cheeks.
Nightmare didn’t seem to care about how he affected her.
His expression remained cold and focused on what he was doing. Not even a muscle twitched in his face to indicate he might feel bad.
There was only pure determination.
He really did hate her.
There’d never been any love for her in his heart. Every time she’d thought she’d seen something indicating he cared about her had been a lie.
It’d all been in her head.
“I swear to God. There’s nothing here!” she yelled.
“You’re not trying hard enough.”
“I’ve looked it through like seven times. I’m telling you, there is nothing there!” Her desperation rose to new levels.
“I don’t believe you!” he roared, pressing the gun against her forehead. “Four!”
Jade let out a desperate cry. She scrolled again, but the distress blinded her even further, made it impossible to see the code.
All she had was unimaginable terror inhabiting every part of her body.
The whole world spun, the tears didn’t stop, her eyes were hot and sensitive; her heartache intensified.
She’d die from the shock and pain before he’d even get the chance to fire the gun.
“You’ll be dead soon, Jade,” Nightmare threatened. “You’d better find it.”
“There’s nothing here! How many times do I have to tell you that?”
Fury masked his handsome features, melding his face into a predator with only one goal on his mind—to kill. “Five!”
Boom!
Jade screamed. She threw the laptop away and curled up, expecting agony to tear her into pieces.
It had already shredded her emotionally, but now it would be physical as well, but as the seconds ticked by, and no pain came, she stretched out her limbs and looked herself over.
There was no blood, no hole in her anywhere.
She looked at the wall behind her. A big hole, that hadn’t been there before, decorated it now.
He’d fired the gun, but not at her.
Jade glanced at Nightmare with still-tear-filled eyes.
He wore a smirk. “You’ve convinced me. You have no clue about the poison.” He put the safety back on the gun and tucked it into his waistband at his back.
“What?” Her chin still tremored, her body shook, still tense, still expecting the worst to come.
“If you’d known, you would’ve told me so before I’d counted to five to save your life, but you didn’t. Not even once did you indicate you knew. You were consumed by fear. Not even a professional actor would’ve been able to do so in this kind of situation, and since you’re no actor … I believe you. You’re a pawn, a completely clueless pawn who’s involved in a g
ame she has no idea of.”
“What?” she said again. Nothing else came out.
Nightmare grinned. “Don’t worry. I wouldn’t have actually shot you. I was just testing you.”
Jade blinked and wiped away her tears. They’d stopped, but her eyes were sore and would probably be so for hours. She’d never cried like this before. To make it worse, she had slight headache.
Her head still spun, but as everything slowly started to sink in, she couldn’t stop the anger from coming over her.
It’d been too much.
He’d crossed a line, and he’d pay for it.
Jade flew up from the bed and swung, slapping him hard on the cheek.
Nightmare’s head flung to the side and he groaned.
“You son of a bitch!” she yelled all she had, so much her throat started to burn, but she didn’t care. “I hate you! Do you hear me? I hate you! I’ve been patient with you all these years, but no more. You’ll pay for this!” She didn’t give him a chance to recover from the hit before she delivered another, and another … and another.
Nightmare raised his hands to protect himself, but that didn’t stop Jade from kicking and biting him.
She went at him as a crazy cat, clawing, biting, kicking, and pushing him as every last piece of the fear he’d awakened left her.
“Damn it, woman! You’ve completely lost your mind.” He tried to grab her hands, but she twisted her body and went at him again.
“It’s all your fault! It’s all your fault!” She clawed his arms, that were already filled with scratch marks. She didn’t care if she caused him any pain. He deserved every bit of it.
“What on earth are you talking about?” Nightmare jumped to the side. “Stop kicking me!”
Jade didn’t obey and delivered her fifth or sixth kick.
For some reason, he didn’t hit her back. He only defended himself.
“It’s all your fault I fell for you! It’s all your fault that I’m in love with you. Damn it, all I ever wanted was you to hold me. I wanted to be the one you’d turn to, the one you’d find comfort with. I wanted to be the one who you’d thought understood you, but no, you just never saw that. All I ever wanted was you to hold me! Do you get that!”
His shining eyes went huge. “What did you just say?” Shock was written all over his face.
Fury pumped in Jade’s veins. “Are you deaf? I told you I love you, but you’ve just destroyed that love. A small part of me always searched for that small part in you to show me you cared about me, but I got my proof today. You’re a monster, and I will hate you forever.”
Nightmare blinked and paled. “Are you messing with me?”
“Does it look like I’m messing with you?” She wanted to fix her hair, but her arms were too tired from all the chaos. She didn’t need a mirror to know she looked a complete mess, and the few strands stuck to her face irritated her. It intensified her fury.
He stood paralyzed for a long and silent moment before he took a chest-heaving breath. “My mind wants to say I don’t believe you, that you can’t possibly be in love with me, but your words and actions tell me otherwise.”
“You know, I don’t give a shit what you think. I stopped caring the moment you pointed the gun at me.”
“I’ve pointed a gun at you before.”
“That was under other circumstances. This time, I’m your prisoner, with no cyborg soldiers defending me.”
Nightmare inhaled again. “How long?”
“From the start.” There was no point holding back anymore. Jade might as well tell him everything now that she’d started. It had slipped out, but it didn’t bother her anymore that he knew. “I never intended to tell you. I planned to take it to the grave, but I guess destiny had other plans.”
“Fifteen years,” he said in a low voice. “You’ve loved me for fifteen years. I never knew. I never saw.”
“I never showed it.”
Silence filled the room.
Their eyes met and held.
Nightmare’s gaze lowered to her lips, and for a split-second, she saw it again, that emotion she knew now was only her imagination.
That indication of longing and desire, that indication of needing her, and not needing her because she was an unbound woman.
It was him just being confused, and nothing more.
A sudden bright light filled Jade’s vision, making her wince.
She rubbed her eyes.
What’d just happened?
Did the light on the ceiling explode?
She looked up, but it was difficult to see. Her eyes were blinded by all the stars in front of her eyes. Eventually, she managed to blink them away, and when she looked again, the sealing lamp seemed fine.
Where had the flash come from?
Jade looked back to Nightmare, who stood frozen. His gaze was set on her, but he wasn’t looking at her. Instead, he seemed far away.
Alarm, mixed with curiosity, washed over her.
What was he doing? Had something broken? Hadn’t he recovered fully yet after all?
Jade peered closer.
His cyborg eyes shone so brightly!
A cold chill traveled through her. “Oh, my God.”
His eyes had flashed …
… and he hadn’t even touched her.
CHAPTER 17
Jade pressed herself against the wall. A tightness grew in her body, and shivers continued traveling down her spine, but all she could do was stare at Nightmare, and wait for all the hell that was about to break loose.
He remained still for a long moment. His eyelids started to flicker, and his eyes searched for something to focus on. He panted, loud gasps left his mouth, and his chest heaved.
Pure confusion shone on his whole face.
She cringed on the inside, wanted to crawl into a ball, but Jade remained still. The last thing she wanted was to trigger a reaction explosive enough without her making it worse. Jade screamed on the inside, hoping desperately someone would hear her silent cry.
Maybe someone had heard the gun go off and would come running.
More tears were born and spilled.
How the hell could this have happened?
He hadn’t touched her for heaven's sake!
Telling him she loved him couldn’t possibly have triggered the bonding process.
Yet, here Nightmare stood, as if paralyzed, distant in his gaze, as if still unaware of what’d happened.
That was just as unbelievable.
His eyes had flashed.
Initiating the bonding process.
With her.
With her!
Oh, my God!
If he’d hated her before, it was nothing compared to what was coming her way now.
Nightmare frowned and tilted his head slightly, as his gaze finally locked with hers.
The confusion was still there.
He tried to say something, but no words came out.
His frown deepened instead.
His long-lasting confusion was not good. Nightmare seemed unable to make sense of what’d just happened, probably because he’d been unbound for so long, and it’d happened so suddenly, taking them both by surprise.
Any minute now … it would click.
And it did.
His whole body went taut when realization flashed by in his shining eyes. He gasped, and horror filled his expression.
He staggered back, as if she’d shot him, with his hands pressed against his chest. A sobbing sound left his mouth, a sound of despair, pure terror, confusion, and chaos. He fell to his knees. Nightmare’s huge hands shuddered as he wrapped them around his head and shook it violently.
Another sound left his mouth.
This time it was a roar, filled with rage and all the emotions he’d held back for forty long years.
The door flung open.
Blaze stopped in the doorway with wide eyes.
Celise was just behind him.
“What the hell is going on?” He looked aro
und, met Jade’s gaze, then looked at his leader. “Nightmare?”
Jade reacted before her mind understood what she was doing. She pushed the cyborg medic and her colleague out from the room. “Get out, now!”
They ended up in the hallway where a small crowd had started to gather.
Wind, Silver, and Faye were there as well.
All the Fighters approached slowly, some looked with worry at the door to her room, while others watched her.
Nightmare didn’t seem aware that she’d left the room.
That came as a huge surprise.
As a newly bound cyborg, his instinct should be to be by her side, no matter what. He should want to seal the bond, but when her gaze turned to him again, he was still on his knees, holding his head in his hands, vibrating hard.
He was fighting the bonding process.
He refused to accept it.
Jade’s heart broke again.
It was so hard to watch him like this.
Celise approached. “What happened?”
She gave her a tear-filled look. “His eyes … flashed.”
It was as if all air was sucked out of the hallway and got replaced with pure hatred. It radiated at her from all directions, from every Fighter. It was mixed with pure shock and confusion, but the hatred was strongest.
So strong it made her knees weak.
Silver grabbed her shirt, and pressed her against the wall. “What did you do?”
His roar echoed in Jade’s ears, but she didn’t fight him. “Nothing. He didn’t even touch me.” She kept her voice calm, but she was unable to stop it from trembling. “I don’t know what happened.”
“Liar!” He pressed her harder into the wall.
Jade groaned. She’d have bruises later.
Celise pushed Silver away. “Let her go. Hurting her won’t help.” She turned to Jade. “Are you sure that’s what happened?” Her eyes were serious.
Jade nodded. “I’m sure.”
Nightmare let out another desperate-filled roar and everyone turned their focus to him. He rose to his feet, grabbed the wooden chair, and smashed it against the wall with another loud roar.
She jerked from the sound.
He went crazy on the rest of the innocent furniture in the room.
No one stopped him, as he tore the linens to shreds, and ripped the pillow to pieces, or when he ripped the mattress in two, and stomped his foot through the bed’s wooden frame.
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