Once I get into my room and shut the door, I dial Blaine’s number.
“What’s up?” he answers after three rings.
“Not much.” I pause. “I’m calling because I need a favor.”
“Okay …?” He sounds a bit confused, and who can blame him? I rarely ask him for favors.
“I need the antidote to the kiss of evil,” I say, sinking down on the bed.
He lets out a slow whistle. “Shit, really? Who’s the unlucky bastard who got that put into their system?”
I consider lying to him, but he’ll probably find out anyway. “Alexis.”
Silence momentarily stretches between us.
“That’s not fucking funny, man,” he finally says.
“I’m not trying to be funny,” I snap. “She’s messed up in some really bad stuff—Hacker Hearts Anonymous stuff. And they’ve put a hit out on her.”
“I didn’t … I don’t …” He struggles to find words. “God fucking dammit, this fucking sucks!”
“Yeah, it does.”
He continues to curse, wasting time, until I finally cut him off.
“Look, can I come over and get the antidote?” I ask. “This is really time pressing.”
“I’ll bring it over,” he offers.
“No,” I answer immediately.
“I’m bringing it over,” he insists. “She’s my friend, too, and I want to make sure she’s okay.”
“I’m pretty sure she doesn’t want to see you, and I really don’t want to upset her.”
“I don’t care what you think. I need to see her. I’ll be over in a minute.” He hangs up.
Fuck. This is the last thing Alexis needs. And while it might make me sound completely selfish, I don’t want him messing up what I’m trying to start with her.
That kiss … God, I want to do so much more to her … Touch her, kiss her, reenact the things we did in the car …
Knock. Knock. Knock.
I sigh. “Come in.”
The door is opened, and Steel enters, tension written all over his face.
I immediately tense myself. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah … Well, as okay as it was when you walked out of the room.” He stuffs his hands into his pockets, acting nervous and completely unlike Steel.
I set the phone down on my bed. “You okay, man?”
He gives a one-shoulder shrug. “I’m not sure yet.”
“Okay …” I remain quiet, waiting for him to speak first, because sometimes it’s the only way Steel will open up.
“I think I might know her,” he finally says. “Alexis, I mean.”
“I’m sure you’ve probably seen her around,” I tell him. “She’s lived in Honeyton for most of her life.”
“I don’t think I know her from Honeyton.” He swallows hard. “I think I might know her from here.” His gaze drops to the circular symbol branded on his forearm amid several tattoos. That brand, though, wasn’t put on him by choice. It was forced on him the day he was forced to join the experimental drug program.
“You think Alexis was part of the program?” I stare at him in shock. “No. There’s no fucking way. I’ve known her since we were kids.”
“Yeah? So? People knew me when I was a kid and didn’t know that I was being forced to live this secret life … That I was a …” He swallows hard again. “Anyway, I just wanted to say something, just in case. It doesn’t hurt to look into it, right?”
I nod. “Yeah, we can look into it. But I highly doubt it’s true. I mean, she would’ve said something about it, right? And the side effects from that … No. There’s no way.” I shake my head as I think of all the side effects Steel deals with every single day due to the experiments performed on him.
While he escaped a long time ago, he still struggles with the aftereffects. Not that he talks about it a lot. No, Steel’s always been the kind of guy who refuses to talk about his problems. But I’ve heard rumors about the aftereffects and have sometimes witnessed them, the awfulness … I’d know if Alexis was going through the same thing.
“Maybe she’s ashamed of the things she did,” Steel explains. “Or maybe she can’t remember. My memory was wiped out a lot. I can’t remember everything I did. And as for the side effects”—he opens and flexes his hands, staring down at his tattoo—“they might not have surfaced yet. I’ve heard stories of delayed effects … But when they manifest, they’re fucking ruthless.”
Fear lashes through me.
Fuck, what if he’s right? What if, like Steel, Alexis was once an assassin. What if there’re side effects that haven’t manifested?
One thing’s for sure, no matter what she was or is, I’m going to keep my promise.
I’m going to protect her no matter what.
Alexis
“So … did you and West, like, meet in this Guardian Agency Program?” I try to make small chitchat with Ellis after West leaves me in the living room to go call Blaine.
I actually appreciate him not having the phone conversation in front of me, because I don’t want to think about Blaine right now. In fact, if it wasn’t for Blaine having the antidote, I’d have put up a fight with West over calling him. I have my fingers crossed that West can get the antidote without Blaine coming over. It seems plausible, right? That he should be able to meet him out in the parking lot or something?
Maybe I should’ve asked …
Or maybe I should get over it and focus on the bigger picture.
Ellis shakes his head as he settles back in the chair across from the sofa I’m sitting on. He has a laptop opened up on his lap and is clicking a few keys. “We met about a year before that.”
“Really? How? I mean, I’ve known West forever, but I’ve never heard him mention you.” And come to think of it … “And I’ve never seen you around town.”
He pauses with the keyboard clicking, tension raveling through his lean arms and shoulders. “It’s a really long story.”
I sink back and cross my arms. “Well, I’ve got loads of time, since I apparently can’t leave this apartment … Well, I guess I have loads of time if West gets the antidote. If not, I guess my time’s about up.” I swallow hard at the realization.
Before this moment, I think I was in shock or the drugs were numbing my emotions. Something must have changed, though, either the shock wore off or the drug’s side effects are fading, because panic is starting to clip through.
“Hey, everything’s going to be okay.” Ellis sets the laptop aside, stands up, and then hesitates before taking a seat beside me. “West, Steel, and I are good at what we do. In fact, we’re one of the best teams in the agency.”
“But, what exactly do you do?” I wonder, trying to focus on something—anything else besides the fact that deadly drugs are currently inside me. “Just protect people?”
“No, there’s way more to it than that.”
“Like what?” When he doesn’t respond right away, I sigh. “Let me guess, it’s another long story.”
He rakes his fingers through his messy brown hair with a heavy sigh. “Look, I don’t have a problem with answering your questions, but it’s sort of a rule that West, Steel, and I discuss stuff before making big decisions that involve the three of us.”
“So, telling me how you met West and what you guys do is a big decision?”
He nods. “How the three of us met is really … personal. And talking about what we do—the whole aspect of it—is kind of forbidden by the agency unless we have written approval by our boss.”
“Oh.” I thrum my fingers against the top of my leg, feeling restless, annoyed, and confused. Sure, I understand what he’s saying, but that doesn’t mean I like it, especially when I’m stuck here and am supposed to trust the three of them to save me.
“But we can try to get permission,” he adds, glancing at my tapping fingers. “In fact, it’s probably a good idea since you’re going to be with us for a while.”
I flatten my palm against my leg. “How long is a wh
ile?”
He wavers. “I’m not sure yet. Maybe only a few days. But it could take us weeks to figure out what the HHA is up to.”
“Weeks?” I gape at him. “I’m supposed to be locked up in this apartment for weeks?” I quickly shake my head. “No, I can’t do it. I’ll lose my damn mind. Plus, I live with my brothers and sisters, and they’ll worry if I’m gone for more than a couple of days.”
“We’ll come up with something you can tell them so they won’t worry,” he assures me, placing a hand on my knee. “I know this is difficult, but until we know why HHA is after you, you’re not safe.”
“But, am I even going to be safe after you find out why? I’m sure the reason isn’t good, considering they went through so much trouble to do this.” I gesture at the bruise on my arm, remnants of the injection. “It seems like, if they’re trying to kill me, which it sounds like they are, then they’re going to keep trying until they finish the job.” My voice is calm, but inside, fear is beginning to rush through me.
Someone tried to kill me today.
I currently have drugs in my system that could kill me.
I almost killed a man.
Oh, my God, I think I’m going to be sick.
I stumble to my feet. “I have to go to the bathroom,” I mumble as I bolt down the hallway and into the bathroom before Ellis can say another word.
After I lock the door, I collapse on the floor and hug my knees against my chest.
How can this be happening? How can, only hours ago, my worst problem be that my crush and one of my best friends hooked up and now I’m worried about dying? How did this happen? Why did this happen? Who am I really?
So many questions. Questions I need answers to, but how?
If Mom were here, she’d know what to do.
The thought comes out of nowhere, but the truth of it feels so overwhelmingly overpowering that tears well in my eyes.
No, I can’t do this. I can’t start turning into a bawling baby now.
Be strong, Alexis. Just breathe.
I suck in a breath through my nose and release it through my mouth, over and over again. Still, a few tears manage to drip out. I blame it on the drugs in my system. They must be making my emotions wonky.
“Alexis?” West’s voice floats through the door suddenly, followed by a soft knock.
I hurriedly wipe my eyes with the back of my hand then take a deep inhale and exhale, steadying my voice before I speak. “Yeah?”
“Are you okay?” he asks tentatively.
“Yeah, I’m good. Be out in a second.”
He doesn’t answer. Or maybe he does, and I just don’t hear him over the blood roaring in my eardrums and the abruptly blinding pain clenching my stomach. Vomit instantly burns in my throat, and I crawl over to the toilet to yack my guts out. Over and over again, my stomach lurches, so much so that I worry I’m never going to stop puking.
“Good God, I think I’m dying,” I mumble with my head over the toilet. Then I realize that’s exactly what I’m doing and the ache in my stomach doubles.
“Aw, baby … shit,” West says as he enters the bathroom.
“Go away,” I moan, gripping the sides of the toilet. “I locked the door for a reason.”
“And I picked the lock for a reason.” He crouches down beside me and rests his hand on my back. “How long has the vomiting been going on?”
“I don’t know.” I want to lie down on the floor and shut my eyes, press my fiery cheek to the cool tile, even though it’s probably dirty. But I tell myself to suck it up and reach up to flush the toilet. “It feels like an eternity, but I’m guessing it’s only been, like, five minutes.” I rest my arm on the toilet seat then lower my head on my arm. “Is this a side effect of the drug?”
Worry masks his expression as he sweeps a strand of my hair out of my face. “It might be.”
“Well, what else could it be? I wasn’t feeling sick earlier, so I don’t think it’s the flu. And I rarely get sick.”
A crinkle forms at his brow as he lines his palm to my forehead. “Jesus, you’re burning up.” Fear flashes in his eyes as he moves his hand to my cheek. “Fuck.” He withdraws his hand as he quickly pushes himself to his feet. “Don’t move. I’ll be right back.” Then he hurries out of the bathroom.
“Where would I go?” I mutter. “I can’t even stand up without feeling like I’m going to yack my insides out.”
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.
My phone starts vibrating from inside my pocket.
Crossing my fingers that maybe Zhara is calling me, because I really, really want to talk to someone about this, I force myself to sit up and reach for my phone. But before I can get it out of my pocket, West returns, and he’s not alone. Steel is right behind him.
“Aw, great, you brought another person to witness the disgustingness that has become my life. I bet you guys are loving the sight of this.” And after how sassy I’ve been, who can blame them?
“That’s not even close to what we’re thinking,” West says as he crouches down beside me again. “I brought Steel in here because he knows more about these drugs than me and Ellis.”
I look over at Steel. He’s standing just behind West with his arms crossed. “How?”
Steel’s brows knit. “How what?”
I swallow, mostly to hydrate my aching throat. “How do you know more about these drugs?”
He shrugs. “Because I’ve done more research on it.”
“Why, though?” I wonder.
I’m unsure why I’m being so persistent about this, other than I swear I know Steel from somewhere. Plus, it’s not like any of the guys have told me everything about this crazy world I was thrown into—Ellis admitted that much to me.
“Because it’s my job,” he says flatly. Then he nudges West out of the way and crouches down beside me, leveling his gaze with mine. “Tell me how you feel inside.”
“Grossed out and seriously crowded.” I move my head away from him.
He rolls his eyes, but his lips quirk. “I meant, what other symptoms are you experiencing? Do you feel hot? Cold? How bad does your stomach hurt? Do you have a headache?”
I shake my head. “I don’t have a headache, and I definitely feel hot, not cold. And my stomach hurts pretty badly.”
“On a scale of one to ten, how bad does it hurt?” he asks. “One being mild and ten being it feels like bugs are eating away at your intestines.”
I try not to dry heave, but my stomach clenches. “Stop saying gross shit or I’m going to puke again, and you’re going to have to sit there and witness it.”
He shrugs. “I’ve seen a lot more disgusting shit than some pretty girl throwing up in a toilet.”
Did he just call me a pretty girl while I have my head hanging over the toilet? What is wrong with this guy? He’s worse than West.
Having no fucking clue how to react to that, I breeze right on by it.
“Good for you.” Sucking in a deep breath, I lift my head. “On your little messed-up pain scale, my stomach hurts about a three, maybe a four, tops.”
“Good, then we still have time.” He doesn’t bother embellishing, and I don’t bother asking, fearing the answer. Instead, he presses his hand to my forehead. His skin is startlingly cold. “You’re right; she’s burning up,” he tells West. “We need to bring the fever down.” He stands up and stares down at me. “Take off your clothes.”
I scoot back from the toilet and him until my back hits the shower. “Um, no thank you.”
“What are you doing, man?” West asks, scowling at Steel.
He cocks a brow at West. “You asked for my help, right?”
West nods. “Yeah.”
Steel faces him, putting his back to me so I can no longer see his face. “Well, this is me trying to help.”
“By trying to make Alexis take off her clothes?” West questions skeptically.
Steel huffs out a breath. “Right now, the drugs in her system are heating up her bloodstream, and if it keeps do
ing it, she’s going to melt from the inside out.”
Vomit burns my throat, along with fear. God, he gives the most fuck-up descriptions.
“So, if you want to stop her from turning into a melted human candle,” Steel continues, “we need to get her body to dramatically and very quickly cool down.”
West rests his hip against the counter, crossing his arms. “I get that, but I still don’t understand why she has to get naked.”
“Don’t pretend like you don’t actually want her to,” Steel says, and I can hear the smirk in his voice.
West’s gaze flicks in my direction. When I narrow my eyes at him, I expect a smirk in return, but instead, he only gulps. That’s when I realize how bad the situation is.
“That’s beside the point,” West says, tearing his gaze off me. “All I want to know is why the nakedness? And I gotta say, man, the fact that you’re being really hesitant in answering me has me really wondering.”
“I’m not answering because I know you’re going to freak out,” Steel snaps, “even though it’s the best option to bring her fever down.”
West’s brows begin to knit, but then abruptly spring upward. “No fucking way.” He shakes his head. “We can’t do that to her.”
“We have to,” Steel insists. “It’s her only chance, and deep down, you know it.”
“She still has some time left,” West insists, his fingers curling into fists. “We don’t need to get that drastic yet.”
“With how warm she’s getting and with the vomiting, she probably has maybe a couple of hours, tops,” Steel states bluntly. “You think your boy can get the antidote here in an hour?”
Reality crashes down on me as West remains silent for a beat or two, then swallows hard and shakes his head.
This is bad.
I’m going to die.
I’m actually dying.
“Okay then.” Steel pats West’s shoulder then strides out of the room.
“I’m not getting naked,” I whisper to West as I hug my knees to my chest. “At least, not in front of anyone.”
He blinks a few times, his worried gaze landing on me. “Steel and I can look away while you climb in.”
“Get into what exactly?”
The Other World_A Reverse Harem Series Page 10