That was a close call. Too close.
But before I have time to react or yell for Nexus to get her butt out here so I can beat it, I look around in horror.
The door planted me right in the middle of my new school and all eyes are on me...
RYE
A loud thud and a crash like a waterfall sound in the hallway. It’s when everyone starts laughing that I know I have to investigate. And who else would be the cause?
Sailor.
She’s soaked, her hair covering her face like she just climbed out of a lake, and she’s all muddy too. More importantly, she’s bleeding and clearly distressed. She faced a lot of unnatural shit without really flinching, but right now I can see the whites of her eyes, and the color difference between them and her skin isn’t all that much.
So, it takes a major social embarrassment to unhinge her? Wow. Teenagers!
“Sailor?”
I push my way through the crowd of idiots and kneel beside her.
“Come on, let’s get you out of here. Move,” I tell Conrad and Jacob, two of Whisper Prep’s biggest jerks.
I’m in good with them, but only because it made the most sense. Make friends with the biggest douche bags, ingratiate myself, and sail under the radar for the most part.
When my hand touches Sailor’s hand, just before the cold from her fingers hits me, a small spark of blue lights up. She doesn’t notice. Neither do the idiots still laughing like circling vultures.
Ignoring this, I help her up. The rest of the gang runs down the hallway, and I wave for them to follow us as I guide Sailor into an empty classroom. Sunday is the first to join us.
“What the hell, Sailor? Where were you?” he demands.
I turn on him, annoyed with his tone. She’s clearly been through something and he doesn’t have to be a dick.
“How about we make sure she isn’t too injured before we start an inquisition?”
Grace, Jinx, Mel, Ya-Ya, and Aziza file into the quickly cramping space, and I regret waving them in. But we are a team, so they have to be present.
I start examining Sailor. Cuts and scratches mark her arms, some bruising is beginning to blossom around one particularly nasty cut on her bicep, and her perky lips are a few too many shades lighter than I would like them to be. Just looking at her lips, I want to taste them.
If I get my hands on whoever or whatever has done this, I am going to kill them. Facing Sunday, I cross my arms to avoid reaching out and beating him senseless.
“Care to tell me what the hell happened?”
“It would appear that Nex—” Sunday starts, but I am seeing red.
Not able to stop it, I grab him by the collar and pull him up, his feet dangling several inches from the ground.
“You had a simple job. Watch out for her as she walked to school. How is that so hard?”
“Hey Brutus, how about you take a step back and let poor Sun-man down. Beating him won’t get us the answers we need. But, if you are going to beat him stupid anyways, at least let me boomerang it!” Jinx chuckles.
I ignore him. Ya-Ya slugs Jinx in the shoulder and he grunts, touching the sore spot. Aziza doesn’t seem to want to take the bait, and Mel is staring at Sailor, eyes large with concern. Maybe she is deciding if she needs to lay hands on her or not.
A soft groan escapes Sailor’s lips and I drop Sunday, rushing back to her side. Nothing appears too serious, but what if she has internal bleeding? I mean, I don’t know the specifics of what happened to her, so I can’t really tell.
“God, can you guys just chill?” Sailor says through a harsh breath and chattering teeth.
She sounds okay, like her snarky little self. I think we can safely hold off on portaling her back to the cabin so she can be healed. I have a feeling she wouldn’t go willingly anyway.
“Someone was supposed to be watching you.” I glare at Sunday.
“Hey, how was I supposed to know that Nexus was going to call on her so soon?”
“You should be on alert at all times. It doesn’t fucking matter how soon she called on her. What matters is that you were too damn busy, probably swiping on Tinder, to pay any damn attention.”
“Okay, man, you know what? I have had enough of your all high and mighty bullshit,” Sunday throws back.
Sailor jumps up, fury raging in her eyes and voice.
“Everyone, shut the hell up. Now,” she shouts, still shivering.
Sunday and I share one last glare before giving Sailor the floor.
“I don’t care what’s going on between the two of you right now, I have a few questions. You,” she says, pointing at me, “are going to answer them. No dancing around the subject. No more playing catch-up. I am done, and next time, I want to be ready.”
Wow, her take-charge attitude is sexy as hell, but I don’t know how much I can and can’t answer. My hands are tied.
“Who else knows about the impending end of the world in this town?”
Scratching my head, I can’t figure out why she would choose this to be her first question, but I am also not sure how to answer her. To what end will knowing this little piece of information help or hurt her cause? Also, what does she plan to do with it? Start a save-the-world coalition?
But before I can say anything, Grace steps up to answer and I smile, glad for the assistance. Just looking at bossy Sailor stirs a desire in me I can’t control, and an
