“I’m sorry, Sophie. Does that not suit your needs?” I grinned, mocking her. I was working really hard to get along with her, for Henry’s sake.
“It suits me just fine. Thank you for your concern,” she mumbled.
“Good. Now, I’m going to plate up a few things for Henry and me. We’ll be in the bedroom, if you need anything.” I flashed another grin, plated up some of the food I laid out, turned on my heel, and walked back to my Henry.
“I’m going to knock that bitch out,” Sophie grumbled.
“I heard that, Sophie,” I said in a singsong voice, without missing a beat. I got back into the bedroom and Henry was laying there, smiling.
“Thanks, love.” He reached for the plate.
I waved my finger at him. “Not so fast, mister. I will feed you.”
“Alright then.” He smiled, ready to accept my doting. I started feeding him small pieces of fruit.
“I should hit my head more often. I feel like a king.” I held a grape to his lips.
“Well, sir, you are my king.” I spoke in my best British accent and stood up to curtsy. He thought I was hilarious. “Eat up, my lord.” Henry polished off the plate of food.
“Thank you, love. I’m feeling better.”
“Good.”
“Can you help me up? I want to get out there so we can figure shit out.”
“I don’t think that is a good idea.”
“Elaina, I’m fine. I’m just a bit sore and have a small headache, that’s all.”
I had the feeling he was trying to play me for a fool because why would he ask for my help to get him up? I narrowed my eyes at him. “How do I know you aren’t lying to me?”
“Oh, for Pete’s sake…” He started to get up on his own. I reached around and hooked my arm around his. Apparently, he was going to get up, with or without me.
“Lean if you need to.” I was irritated.
“I’m good. Thanks.” He started staggering down the hall with his arm out, like he was waiting to fall into the wall. I followed close behind so I could catch him if need be. When he finally made it to the living room, he sat down on the couch. Everyone gathered around him.
“Alright.” Henry sounded a little groggy, but he seemed to be fine. He looked over at the window and looked a bit surprised. “My front window is destroyed. Perfect. Thank you, Sophie. I paid a lot of money for this place.” She smiled, like she was proud of her accomplishment. He laughed a little.
“You are very welcome, darling. And it’s not like you couldn't afford to buy another.” Then she winked at him, kissed her index finger, and then pointed at Henry.
I glared at her. If it were any icier, the nipples on her fake tits would have cut through what was left of that leather vest. She felt me glaring so she cocked her head to the left and gave me that fucking grin again. And, once again, I wanted to throat punch her.
Feeling the tension developing, Henry said, “Anyway…” he said, while glaring at both of us. He was trying to tame the beasts. “Sophie, is your issued phone working?”
“Until it runs out of charge.”
“Try using it. I want to see if the network is down, as well.” She pulled the phone out of her cleavage. I rolled my eyes. Of course! Where else would you keep your phone?
“These are far more useful than one thinks.” She grabbed her chest, and winked at me. I looked down at my chest, which just so happened to be much smaller than hers…so very much smaller than hers. Oh, well. Henry seemed to like my ladies. He hadn’t complained or suggested any improvements.
“Please continue, Henry.” Nick sounded quite annoyed.
Sophie looked at her phone and held it up. “No service, darling.” I think she was calling him darling just to get under my skin. Admittedly, it did. I had a sneaking suspicion that they had at least fucked before, which made me grow angrier by the second.
“Shit.” Henry rubbed his hands on his thighs. “Well, I think we are going to have to head to the south-east region.”
“Whoa,” said Nate. “I’m not going anywhere. This area is my home. I have a business to run.”
Henry broke out in hysterical laughter, then he grabbed his head and hissed. “Ah, Nate. You kill me. Did you forget what is happening out there? Are you high, mate? If so, please share. I could really use some right about now.” I stifled a giggle.
Nate was annoyed that Henry made a fool of him. “Right.” He sat there with his arms crossed in front of his chest.
Henry cleared his throat. He was still sounding a bit scratchy so I grabbed him another bottle of water. He smiled at me when I handed it to him. His eyes seemed rather gray, and there wasn’t much of that emerald sparkle left for some reason. I was assuming it was because he wasn’t feeling well.
“Gunther Erikkson heads up the south-east region. I think…”
“Um, Henry?” Shy and innocent Claire was raising her hand again.
“Yes, Claire?”
“Out of curiosity, why should we leave? Wouldn’t that just increase our chances of becoming one of them?” Nick and Nate nodded in agreement. Henry looked at Sophie.
“Well, we could stay and fight all the undeads here, I suppose. Then we could lock down the area.” I was watching the effect of Henry’s words on everyone.
Sophie was glaring at him in anger. My mind was racing. I was trying to figure out how staying would work. I was thinking about how many undeads we would have to kill. I shuddered.
“I like that idea,” said Claire. Again, Nick and Nate nodded. Frankly, I wasn’t sure if I liked that plan, but I just wanted to be wherever Henry was. I couldn’t bear to lose him. He started to chew on his thumbnail, a habit he picked up from me, while he thought about the idea.
“I think Claire’s idea is good for the time being.” Sophie scanned everyone else as she spoke. She didn’t look happy with the idea, but she was playing along for some odd reason. “Anyone else have any ideas? Elaina? How about you? Have you got any better ideas?” And she flashed the grin again. I was fucking sick of her.
“I’m fine with whatever Henry decides. He is our leader.”
“Of course. Right.” She shook her head. “Weak-minded people never have good ideas.” She struck my last nerve. I lunged at her again, pinned her down, and punched her in the face. Surprisingly, I was quite strong when the wild animal was unleashed from inside of me.
“Hey! Stop! Elaina!” Henry yelled. He jumped up to pull me off of her. Sophie was cackling like a madwoman, which just pissed me off that much more. I wanted to rip her fake lashes off, and pop her fake tits.
Nick jumped up to help Henry. I was a slight handful when I was in a rage, as we have already established. Between Henry and Nick, they were able to pull me off of her.
“Screw you!” I screamed.
Henry stood between us. “Enough!” he roared, then grabbed his head and bent over for a second. He pointed to Sophie. “Shit! You. Back bedroom. Now!” She got up and strolled down the hall. Then he pointed at me. “And you need to calm the fuck down!”
“Fuck her, Henry! Throw her skank ass out to the undeads! She has been nothing but a bitch since she strolled up in here like she owned you, with all of her kisses and darlings.” Oops. Everyone turned and looked at me. Okay, I admitted out loud that I was a bit jealous. I really needed to keep that in check.
“Just, please, calm down.” He was pleading with me. I could see he wasn’t feeling well. “I’m going to go talk to her for a minute. Nick, would you like to witness?”
“Ah, yeah, sure. I guess.” Nick shrugged and looked at me. It seemed like he was looking for approval. I just shook my head.
“Why him?” Nate seemed to have a knack for asking the wrong questions at the wrong time, which irritated Henry.
“Because! Is that reason enough for you?” No answer from Nate. “I said Nick because I know Elaina would trust him if she wants to know what is said. There is a method behind my madness! Anything else?”
Nate held his hands u
p, like he was trying to deflect Henry’s anger. “Hey, I was just wondering. Calm down. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
Henry grumbled as he turned and walked down the hall, Nick following. When I heard the door slam shut, I began to pace.
***
“What the fuck is your issue, Sophie?” Henry ran his hands through his hair while he paced.
“I’m not a fan. And besides, it’s so much fun getting her all riled up.” She giggled, then walked up to him and started rubbing his chest. “You’re much larger than you used to be.”
Henry backed away. “Cut the shit. We are no longer an item. Got it?”
Sophie backed away, stunned. But she pressed forward again. “Darn.” She made her voice raspy. “I was looking forward to hooking up with you again. You know exactly how to make me roar.” She recovered well. She was used to swallowing her feelings, among other things.
“I love her with everything that I have. You know that! And I know why you’re here.” He stepped away from her again, his face stern.
“That never stopped you before.” She chose to ignore his second statement.
“I’ve changed, and I grew up. I live for her. We have discussed that on several occasions.” Henry’s eyes watered and he clenched his jaw, struggling not to pour his emotions all over the floor in front of his former lover.
“I see that. Apparently, you have gone all soft on me, Liam.” Sophie gazed down at his nether region, and winked at him. He shook his head. Nick stood there with a raised eyebrow, thinking that was something he would not be repeating to Elaina.
“I’m with Elaina for the rest of my god forsaken life, however long that may be. You need to respect her, and my decision to be with her. She means so much to me. Since you and I went through so much together, I would expect that if anything happened to me, you would help take care of Elaina. She will go over the edge if anything happened to me, as you saw earlier. She needs me as much as I need her.”
“I’ve got that handled.” They both spun around and looked at Nick. “She’s my sister, and I don’t trust this thing as far as I can throw her.” He pointed his chin at Sophie.
“Well…Nick, is it?” He nodded. Sophie strolled up to him and put her finger on his lips. She was so close, he could check her pores. “How about I take care of you?” She tried to be all sultry and sexy, then she winked at him.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Sophie. Check your hormones at the door, would you?”
“What? A girl needs a little something every now and again,” she looked Nick up and down, “to keep her going, even in mad times like these.” She turned away from Nick, making sure she walked extra sexy.
“Listen. Show her some respect. Show everyone some bloody respect. Got it? Enough is enough. Or I’m going to have to ask you to leave. I can’t handle it, and I can’t handle seeing Elaina so upset.” It pained him to say it, but he felt he had to. He would never make Sophie leave, but he needed to get his point across. Sophie looked shocked. She swallowed hard and looked defeated.
“So, we’re done? For good?” She worked up her best pouty face.
“We were done when I left.”
“Thanks for the memo.”
“Whatever, Sophie. We have spoken many times about my relationship with Elaina.” He was ready to get down to business. “Roger sent you here?”
“Yes, kind of. I got the call from Kellan about your host city being infected. I had to run to you.” Her emerald green eyes moistened. “My protector was in trouble and I needed him back.” Henry pursed his lips. “Roger told me that I was to bring you back home. He said you went AWOL, which I already knew. He wanted you back for punishment. He said I was the only hope to bring you back home.”
“I am home.” Sophie still looked a bit shocked. “My home is with Elaina. Wherever she is, that’s my home. If you have any issues with that, then you need to walk. I’m not going back to Roger. He has caused all of this bullshit.” He held his arms up.
“You know that’s not true.”
“Do I? What do I know, Sophie? Please tell me because, obviously, you know exactly what’s going on in my fucked-up head!”
“Roger is a good man. He would never set the virus free.” Henry burst out laughing, which stopped her short.
“Really? You really think that? Sophie, he has you brainwashed. Remember what he did to us? What he did to you? Do you remember that?” Sophie looked like she regressed in age and she started chewing her cheek. “Do you remember? Answer my fucking question,” Henry said, more sternly.
“Yes,” she said in a weak voice.
“So is he still a good man? Do you still think he’s incapable of sending out another agent to infect the U.S. so he could have the entire world eating out of the palm of his hand? He’s on a power trip! He thinks he is God.”
“If it wasn’t for him, I would probably be locked up somewhere.” Again, her voice was weak. She wasn’t convincing anyone, not even herself.
Henry walked up to her, grabbed her arms, and made her look into his fading eyes. He wanted to shake the shit out of her, but he refrained. “We were prisoners. I am no longer his property. Now that you’re here, you can walk away.”
“I can’t just walk away.” Tears began streaming down her face.
“Yes, you can. We have everything we need here.” He tried to reason with her.
“Henry, you don’t understand.”
“What don’t I understand? I took beatings, like you…for you. I understand.”
“No.” She began to cry harder.
“Sophie...” He felt bad for yelling at her. “Talk to me.”
“When you left, he took more than a special interest in me. He forced me to be with him, time and time again. Him and Kellan, both. All that time, while you were gone, you couldn’t protect me anymore. I was left to my own devices. I started fighting them off, but then they would overpower me. They enjoyed the struggle, and, when they prevailed, they enjoyed it even more.”
“Jesus Christ. I’m so sorry, Sophie,” Henry murmured. Nick couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He felt sorry for her, as well.
“I wish I could have come with you when you left. I was their personal sex slave. Look.” She dug into her cleavage and pulled out a picture of two kids. “These babies are mine and his…maybe Kellan’s. I don’t know for sure.”
Henry took the picture, and stared at it for a moment. He closed his eyes and tilted his head toward the ceiling. He needed a moment to gather himself. Once he felt in control of his emotions, he focused back on her. “Sophie, I’m so sorry. If I knew... Why didn’t you tell me?”
“There’s nothing you can do to fix it now. My two babies will be trained in the program.”
“Not if we can stop this madness.”
“And how do you plan on doing that? He’s way too powerful. The only way to stop him is to go back to the complex and take him out. We need to go back. You and me.”
“No, I’m not going back there. I already said that. I will figure it out.” Henry paced, rubbing his beard that was starting to fill in.
“You know he’s lining the pockets of parliament.”
“I know.”
“They won’t let you do anything to him.”
“I’ll find a way. And we will get your children out. He will pay for everything he has done to us. To all of us. All the hell he put us through. I promise you.” Tears continued to roll down her cheeks. “But, until then, you need to cut the shit. Okay?” He lifted her chin.
“I love them, but I barely know them. They were whisked away after their birth. I’ve only seen them a few times. He keeps them from me. I can watch through those bloody two-way mirrors, though. This is all I have had to hang on to.” She clutched the photograph. “They don’t even know me.” Sophie cried in her hands.
“He will pay.” She nodded. Henry held Sophie for a few minutes until her crying settled. “Come on. Let’s make amends with Elaina, yeah?” She nodded again and tucked her picture sa
fely back in her cleavage. Sophie wiped her tears away, and then Nick turned around and opened the door.
“After you...” Nick waved Henry and Sophie out. They headed back to the living room.
***
They came back down the hall. I was still miffed at Sophie. Then she approached me, tears still hanging on her fake lashes. I glared at her, trying to keep my anger contained.
“Uh, listen, Elaina. Can we have a chat in private?” I wasn’t sure if I liked that idea. I looked to Henry and Nick for disapproval or encouragement. Neither one gave me a signal. I was on my own. I chewed my cheek for a moment.
“Yeah, I guess.” I have to admit, I was nervous about being alone with her. We walked down the hallway. Before we made it to the bedroom, she turned around and gave me a half-smile. I couldn’t tell if she was being sincere. My skepticism was beyond the limit.
“I would like to apologize for my behavior.” She reached for me, and I reluctantly let her take my hands. Her hands were so cold, like Henry’s. “I’m pleased Henry has found someone that makes him happy. And I will no longer be a bitch to you. He and I have been through a lot together, and I’ve missed him dearly while he was gone, for reasons that I would rather not get into right now. A lot of terrible things happened to me while he was gone. He wasn’t there to protect me, like he used to be.”
Whoa. I wondered what happened during their little chat. I looked back down the hall and saw both Henry and Nick keeping an eye on us. They seemed to be waiting for my reaction and were ready to pounce, if need be. It took me a few seconds to think about it.
“I accept,” I quietly said.
“Great! Thanks!” She hugged me. It was weird and brought awkward to a whole new level. “Just one thing,” she added, and I was waiting for the jab. “He loves you more than he ever has loved anybody else. Don’t ever hurt him. It will crush him. He’s less emotionally stable than you think.” Her voice cracked. Great, just what I need…relationship advice from someone like her.
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