“It was,” he said. His frown was somber but thoughtful. “The creature was in pain, though. You could tell how much it was hurting. At least now it's no longer suffering. I'm just glad we found Kane; I was worried about him fading out before we reached him. I didn't think this mission could get any weirder, until we stumbled across that freaky cloaked cult.” Lyra had given us the rundown of what had happened in their fight against the group in the Pocket Space. It sounded like a whole lot more headache for us in the future. But I would think about that tomorrow.
A sneaky smile formed on Colin's lips.
“What?” I asked, feeling defensive for no discernible reason.
He shook his head. “I was just thinking that you would have hunted through every building in the Pocket Space if the creature hadn't managed to bring you to Kane.”
A touch of embarrassment hit me. Was I that transparent? I was thinking about Kane, but I hadn’t said anything about my connection to him besides our mental link. The kiss, though. My feelings about everything danced beneath the surface. I couldn’t deal with them now.
"I was worried," I admitted. Colin's eyes twinkled with amused skepticism. "Fine. Very worried." That was as much as I was willing to admit, at least for now. He had probably read me like a book anyway, but I still had to maintain my dignity.
He stared ahead, satisfied by my answer. "What was it like being inside Kane's head? Tough-guy talk constantly, right?"
"You're not wrong, but it was… illuminating." I’d discovered a whole new side to Kane that I hadn’t realized existed. The only problem was that it was discovered in a very intrusive way. But, as it turned out, he had heard me on that awful date, so surely, we were even.
"I always thought Kane felt more than he showed," Colin said thoughtfully. He was right, as usual. He was always the sniper, the quiet and observant guy who spoke when it counted. A good marksman with words as well as bullets. Had he observed more than he was letting on?
There's not much to observe. Nothing between Kane and me besides one delirious kiss…and one interrupted one. Okay, yes, there is something between us… but I’m not sure what it means yet.
The memory of Kane's mouth on mine made me feel hot all over. How many women had to drag the guy who’d just kissed them back to base camp? Nobody could say life in the supernatural field was easy. My heart fluttered, and I hated it. I wasn't a lovesick schoolgirl, and yet… I was unsettled.
Colin didn’t say anything else, which told me that maybe I didn't need to say anything for him to know everything. I would ask Hindley one day to teach me her cold, tough commander face, if she didn't sack me. I cleared my throat.
"Thanks for supporting me in all this," I told Colin. Even if I was embarrassed about him catching on to the awkward tension, I was glad he was here with me. He smiled gently.
"No need for thanks. You'd do the same for anyone, Captain." He stressed the last word slightly, a gesture of support that touched my heart.
Once we arrived at camp, I said goodnight to Lyra. Dan went with her, as he was technically her prisoner at the moment, while Chandry helped me get Kane to a medic tent. It turned out that the acrobatic newcomer was gifted in basic vampire healing arts.
"You have to learn all the skills you can, when your people are nearly wiped out of existence," she told me simply. She thought Kane's prospects were good, once he got some dark energy in him. Perhaps one of the Bureau soldiers from the original squad had an old X-75 lying around somewhere in their gear. We might be able to gauge a small enough dose to heal Kane faster, but the other vampires promised to do their best to feed him in the meantime.
Colin and I made our way back to the Hellraisers. It was time for our meeting, and I had a lot to say to them.
"I'm here for you," Colin said as we went up to my hotel room, where the Hellraisers were gathered. It was hard to believe that we’d spent our early years in the Bureau together, and now I was his captain. He didn't seem to resent it, like some of the others, content to just go with the flow. Besides, I might not be his captain for much longer.
Jones might have lost patience and staged a coup, arguing for a complete takeover from Holt… if he hadn't already alerted Hindley to my absence. In fact, the iron-willed woman might have sent over my termination orders already. The sting of worry settled deep in my chest, only soothed by the notion that Kane and Lyra's team were safe. I had my own personal victories to celebrate in this case. I’d carved out my own success this time, so I would take what was coming to me and just roll with it. In my heart, I knew I had done the right thing.
The funny thing about doing the right thing is that it's all about perspective. For some reason, I bet Bryce would've been proud of me for this moment of self-reflection.
I opened the door, expecting to face the beginning of the end.
"We saw you bring your vampire friend from the window," Jordan said excitedly as soon as I walked through the door. He pointed to the glass window of my small room, where he had left a faint grease mark from pressing his face against the pane. The others were situated around the low coffee table, seated on the ratty couch and in whatever chairs
