"Kyrene said I could participate."
"Ah, Kyrene, of course. You two are screwing, then?"
"I've heard that is not an appropriate thing to ask."
"That means yes, doesn't it? She invited you to make Brandon jealous, I bet."
A third voice snaps off one word. "Maria." I look up and see a woman not too far off with a hand on her hip. She wears a tank top, pants cut off on the thigh, and an old pair of laced up boots, but she is gorgeous. No dirty, scruffy clothes, can hide it. Her dark hair, messily pulled back into a pony tail, doesn't even detract, it only adds. She is stunning.
"You're as inappropriate as Alex," she says with a scowl.
Behind her, Brandon clears his throat and swipes at his nose with his hand, but I catch the tiniest bit of a turned up corner of his mouth, partially hidden behind his fingers. He sees me and walks over right away to greet me and give me a hug as if he hasn't seen me in a while. And I guess he hasn't. It's been a week or two. It's so easy to lose track of time at Henri's house.
"Hey, are you okay? Glad he hasn't had you for breakfast yet." He ruffles my hair and pulls me away from Maria and Alex to the side of the building. "Really, how're things going? Are you okay?"
The sudden change in his voice, from friendly greeting and even teasing to suddenly serious has me worried. "I'm fine. Why? Has Henri said anything?"
"Mr. Smith in public." Brandon ruffles my hair again and then turns to face the others. "Let's start. Angel and Mitchell should be here soon."
Kyrene steps out with a smile at Alex. "C'mon. Let's go."
He glances at me and Brandon before he strides out of the shade of the building and a nearby tree and into the sunlight where Kyrene stands waiting for him with a smile over her shoulder. He takes his place in front of her, and she falls into a natural fighting stance, her body tight yet fluid.
"Just remember to keep it clean guys," Maria barks with a laugh as she takes her place next to me.
Brandon leans back against the wall of the building and crosses his arms, some of his hair falling over his eyes. His normally bright and friendly eyes squeeze narrowly as he watches the two of them facing one another. Most likely it's from the sunshine. I try to hold that thought and ignore his look, but I can't help wondering if Maria isn't right after all.
Alex stands with his back to us as he takes his position, bending his knees and spreading his feet, his hands hovering in the air in front of him as he watches Kyrene with her tiny little smile. On his back there is a long dark tattoo, the length of his spine. It looks like a long braid that tapers off just above his waistband. I choke on a bit of dust. Both Jimmy and Brandon have large tattoos. From what I know of the two of them, I'd guess it has to do with rank. But everyone here has similar tattoos except for Alex, and I wonder what it means.
Alex jumps at Kyrene who easily dodges him by dropping to the ground. The two move fast and kick up a lot of dirt. For each of his lunges forward, she finds a way to effectively dodge him, even almost twirling at one point like a dancer. If he's touching her, he's not having an effect on her, her soft chuckles the only indication that he's getting close to catching her.
Maria turns, and I look her way. Angel and Mitchell have shown up and just like Brandon, Angel's eyes are on the fight, almost mesmerized. He watches them closely even as he walks towards us with Mitchell.
"Wow, he's good. We've never seen Alex fight, have we?"
Brandon walks over to Angel. "I've seen him fight. And this is just play."
I shudder.
Mitchell steps past me and takes Brandon's place with a shy grin at me and Maria both. That's all that passes between us, a nod and a smile and then the three of us are back to watching Alex and Kyrene.
The two of them are completely unaware of us, but it seems they've moved just a bit farther away in their dance. Kyrene has become more aggressive, reaching out and touching him, redirecting him when he reaches out for her. In one instance, she runs her hand along his bare side as she side steps him. Her mouth moves, but the words don't travel. Whatever she's saying is just for him.
I glance over at Brandon and Angel, both still watching the fight with interest as if they were each dissecting it. Brandon looks up and past Angel who then looks over too. Two men round the corner, one of which I recognize right away. I take a step back and nearly step on Mitchell.
It's Jimmy and a tall blond man. He sees Brandon and smiles right away, reaching over to hug him.
Maria turns and looks at me with her brows furrowed as if she wants to escape and take me with her. "Shit. Aaron."
Kyrene, distracted by the new arrivals, stops for a second, and Alex taps her throat before he stands up to his full height when he notices the new comers. His eyes fall on me with that same look Maria has.
Everyone else turns towards the two new arrivals. Next to the tall blond, Jimmy gives a tiny shrug of his shoulders.
"He followed me home." Jimmy grins at all the eyes on him. "I couldn't say no.”
Eighteen
Kyrene steps forward to greet Aaron with a quick hug. She seemed so mature and untouchable before, but now, standing next to him, her smile wavers, shaky and unsure.
Alex slips away to stand on our end of the building. He squeezes between me and Mitchell, one of his hands clasping my shoulder and pulling me back a step. Mitchell glares at Alex as he nearly steps on him, but it doesn't seem to bother Alex. He still keeps a hold on my shoulder with one hand and with the other motions for Mitchell to go around.
Mitchell does, but Maria stops him from going any further past her. "Stay here. Paula, stay with Alex."
I glance up and Alex has his eyes on the blond man. It worries me, and in a low voice, I ask him, "What's going on?"
Alex looks down at me then, putting both hands on my shoulder before he turns us around so that I'm in his place on the end and he's in my place, between me and Mitchell again. "Aaron is dangerous."
After the display with Kyrene and Alex, I can't help wondering who isn't. But I don't bother asking. In front, the others are talking, including the blond, Aaron, and Brandon who speak like they're good old friends. Brandon is someone I trust, and while I'm not stupid enough to extend that trust to everyone he knows, I doubt that this person would hurt me if he's friends with Brandon. Still, I stay near Alex, his skin radiating heat from the sun and his exercise with Kyrene.
Jimmy stands near Brandon and Aaron with his arms crossed and a smile. I'd thought Jimmy was a giant, but the blond is much taller than him with the same broad shoulders as Brandon. I catch faint words drifting from them over the buzz of the others.
"... Join us."
Aaron looks around and actually sniffs. He does it with a smile on his face, but still I catch the inherent insult in the dismissal. The others don't say anything at first. It's Jimmy who speaks up, "Don't be an asshole or I'll fight you."
His deep voice is clear over the silence of the others. Brandon smiles and Aaron actually laughs. But then, Maria moves. She steps forward, hardly up to the blond man's chest, and in her comparably girly voice, says, "I'll fight you."
Everyone falls silent then and turns to look at her, but she stands straight. Her back is to me so I can't see her face, and Alex takes a step over to block me from Aaron's view. I cross my arms, but I don't say anything, not even to give an annoyed exhale.
Maria and Aaron step forward and take their spots on the dirt. He's massive compared to her, and everyone seems to hold their breaths seeing her small body facing his. It's the first clear view I get of him without others standing in my way. The clothes he wears are strange for the area. Everyone here looks as if they're wearing handmades or hand-me-downs, but his clothes are crisp and clean. They're casual, and yet his shirt has a collar and his shoes are made of real leather.
Alex looks down at me, his fist up near his mouth as if he might need to bite something, just as Maria and Aaron start.
They circle each other. The corners of Aaron's lips are turned up as i
f he were waiting for her to make the first move. When her face is towards us, I can see her eyes narrowed in deep concentration. My head starts to swim and I remind myself to take a breath, and that's when Aaron jumps at her.
Maria sidesteps him neatly, expecting his move, but it doesn't throw him off balance. He spins quickly and jabs her in the shoulder with a fist. It isn't hard, but it's enough to throw her off balance for a second. Instead of fighting it, she lets herself go, falls to the ground and rolls back away from him.
My fingers are in my mouth and I gulp a large ball of dust tossed up by her dropping to the ground. There's no way she can fight him, but she doesn't stop. She stands up again and waits.
She doesn't have to wait long. Aaron attacks again. I suck in another breath as he hits her again, too fast for my eye to see where it landed. She winces, but she doesn't fall back and she still doesn't quit.
Alex shifts his weight from one foot to the other and then back again, fidgeting. I glance up and catch Mitchell glaring at him.
There's some movement on the other side of Alex, and I hear Angel's voice. "What is your problem, man?"
"He is in my space."
I step back and look around Alex. Angel now stands in Mitchell's place, facing Alex, and Mitchell is behind Angel with a worried look. His hands hover at his side as if he might try to pull Angel back, but he hesitates, and the look on his face makes me think it's Angel that makes him pause not any feelings he has about Alex.
Angel gives Alex a shove, and out of the corner my eye, I see Aaron's blond hair, shimmering in the bright sunlight, turn towards the sudden movement, just as others turn. Brandon's eyes catch mine as I jump back, but then Maria's voice pierces the chaos and everything stops again.
"Ha!" She stands with her fingers on Aaron's throat.
No one says anything at first. Aaron is the first one to smile as Maria draws her hand and stands up. Aaron straightens out too. "Respectable. My fault for not giving you the full attention you deserve. Jimmy has been working with you?"
"Some."
"Why do I feel as if I've been set up?" Aaron relaxes and a grin spreads fully across his lips, crinkling his eyes. He doesn't take his eyes away from Maria. They're sharp and light blue like the sky above. I've seen plenty of blue eyes. Brandon even has blue eyes, but Aaron's are almost unnaturally light.
He moves fast again. Faster than my eye can follow and Maria is on the ground, his hand on her throat, his large body over her with a knee on her chest. She squirms, but she doesn't struggle. Still it looks painful.
"Just so we're even. I'll remember to pay better attention next time."
Alex and Angel's disagreement is forgotten under the show of strength and power. I hide behind Alex, ashamed that I'm so weak, but at the same time aware that one key to survival is being able to admit your weaknesses.
Alex feels me behind him, and he grabs me by the arm and walks me past Angel, Mitchell and Kyrene before Aaron has even let Maria up from the ground. In front of Brandon and Jimmy, he says, "She should not be here."
Jimmy actually smiles and Brandon frowns, the two of them apparently unable to even come up with similar feelings about the same event.
"I'll take her back." Brandon is ready to step forward, but Jimmy stops him with a hand on his shoulder.
"Let him take her back. C'mon. You and me have a match due anyway."
Alex holds on tightly to my arm. It doesn't seem to escape Brandon's notice. He looks from Alex's hand to me. "Are you okay with that?"
I just want away from Aaron, and I almost don't care how though I do think about it for a good second. "Yeah."
Brandon doesn't relax even once I've agreed to it. "Straight back to Henri's, Alex. Nowhere else."
Alex nods and then we walk off, back towards Henri's. His hand slips from my wrist down to my hand when we're out of eye sight, and we walk that way, his hand in mine, through the shade of the ruined buildings back to Henri's.
Back at Henri's, the people who had been in the hall are still out front of the building. I try to tug my hand away from Alex, worried about what they'll think seeing him holding the hand of a Neutral, but he looks down at me and pulls me closer, gripping my one hand with his other one and pulling me through the crowd. They don't say anything at all. Not to each other and not to him. Alex wears a possibly well practiced hardened look as a shield to keep them back and away from both of us.
Inside, it's still quiet. He doesn't let go of my hand until we're upstairs in front of Henri's apartment.
"Thank you."
Alex just nods and points to the stairs. "I'll be there."
But after his walking me back here through the heat and after his workout with Kyrene, just saying thank you isn't enough. "Do you want water?"
He glances up, looking inside the apartment, and then hesitates. "I should not."
"I'll give it to you out here. Just wait a minute." And I step into the kitchen, ignoring his still soft protests. By the time I'm back with two glasses of water poured from the jug, he's standing on the threshold of the apartment taking in the sight of the place.
He takes the glass I offer him and steps back into the hallway. I follow him and leave the door open. The apartment is hot, and, after our walk outside in the bright sunshine, it's also dark. The hallway is cooler and brighter.
"So what is the deal with Aaron? Why were you so," I halt and falter on the word, but it sputters out anyway. "Afraid."
Alex drinks half the glass in one gulp. "Aaron is dangerous. He does not like humans. Very few people he likes. It is a necessity that people work together, but he does not need to."
In my presence he has never spoken this much. His words are halting, and here in the quiet when his words are drawn out, I catch the smallest bit of an accent. "You mean he's just that badass that he doesn't need other people?"
Alex laughs, but shakes his head. "He's a Ghost." He sighs and takes another drink. "Southlanders don't know about him. Or about them."
"They don't know about the Ghosts?"
"No. They work on their own. Specialized. Dangerous. All of them. They report to Smith, but only out of respect for him."
I shiver despite the warmth of the room. It seems there are a lot of people who are only working for Henri out of respect and without needing his orders. Jimmy springs to my mind and I shiver again.
"But he's friends with Brandon, right?"
Alex finishes his glass and hands it back to me. "Brandon is a good person, but he does what he must."
I blink and fight back the goose bumps. How many people can that be said of here? And what would that mean for me if his loyalties were ever tested? He has an entire world here that I've only been a part of for a few weeks.
Alex turns to head back to the stairs, and I step towards him again before he gets too far. "Uh, Alex, can I also ask, what was the thing with you and Mitchell?"
He grins at me. "I just don't like him."
"What? Why not?"
"He is the girl. It is not natural."
It takes a moment for me to understand what he means. When I get it, my face flushes again and I look away. Alex laughs. That's something I hadn't fully thought about. Not that there's anything wrong with it. Back home, same sex couples are celebrated for all the important work they often end up doing when it comes to families. A child in need is often given to same sex couples because they can't have children naturally.
"Alex, you shouldn't say that."
"I am just saying what I think." His grin fades. "Is it not appropriate?"
"No. It's not nice either."
He crosses his arms and turns down his mouth. This is a man I just watched play fight ferociously with a woman that according to Maria he's probably sleeping with, and I can't help the image of a child that pops into my head. A hand over my mouth isn't enough to hide my smile, and he catches it right away.
Alex's lips spread in a thin smile even as his brows lower into a dangerous look that is far from off putting. He take
s a step towards me and I have to remind myself to swallow and blink. We're close, and I can smell the sweat on him still and feel the heat from his skin. But there's more. He smells like dirt and some outdoor plant, one of the trees I caught a whiff of on the breeze as Maria and I walked down to the meet up place.
He is close and still very shirtless. The faded green eyes of the tiger on his chest point right at me. My cheeks blaze and I have to look away from him and take a step back for good measure.
Alex lets out a chuckle and his hands reach for my cheek. With both of his hands, wide and cool against my skin, he holds my cheeks as if he can make the redness go away with his touch. His green eyes on me, I suddenly feel self-conscious in a way I never felt with Rob. Rob was attainable. He was a friend, someone just like me. But Alex isn't.
“Your face is warm.”
“You still don't have a shirt.”
I try to glance anywhere other than directly at his chest with that tiger tattoo staring right at me. He is nearly as tall as Jimmy, so his chest is at my eye level. I look straight and try to ignore the smile I see appear again on the bottom half of his face among the stubble and sharp chin. He doesn't say anything though, just removes his hands from my face and steps away.
“I'll be there,” he says with a point over towards the stairs. I give him a nod and let him go on his way.
Nineteen
Henri doesn't say much to me at all in the morning. He doesn't ever really say much to me in the morning, but I wonder if I should ask him about Aaron and what Alex told me yesterday. Is it possible there could be a group of people that work for him because they want to, not because they have to? It doesn't seem like a smart way to do things.
Henri finishes off his breakfast without looking up at me. It's as if he can just feel my eyes on him and he knows I want to talk and is doing everything in his power to hold off on it.
I savor each bite of my eggs. This was something Brandon didn't have. Another thing like butter. It's something he could only get in small quantities for fear of it going bad before he used it. He got some when we were at the village. A small treat for him and me that last morning after the trip before I came to Henri's.
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