“They patched me up. It wasn’t as bad as it seemed. More like strained—I guess I exaggerated a little.”
“No need to play tough with me. I’ve seen you in action. Plus,” I add, touching him once again. “You’re still here. That’s enough for me. Does Jane even know?”
Jane didn’t mention Cole once. And I didn’t bring him up either, not wanting to give up his importance to me. She’s already proven bad things happen to my friends. There was no way to get to him, locked up in this cell, and I’d been singularly focused on getting into the building and to my sister with the intent of stopping her. It never occurred to me that he’d be roaming freely in the building.
He bends, pressing his forehead to mine; it’s intimate but I wrap my arms around his back. He feels different—harder. I wait in the dark for a kiss—for something, but he starts speaking in a low tone, close to my ear. “Jane has no idea I’m back in the building. After our fight, my sister revealed she still has a soft spot for me. I guess even Jane’s Hybrid vaccine can’t wipe away all of our genetic memory. She offered me another chance and I took her up on it. I’m on the inside, Alex, just like we’d planned all along. I think with a little more time we can stop this whole thing.”
For the first time in days I’m filled with hope. Particularly after my talk with Jane. Maybe she doesn’t have to abandon PharmaCorp. Maybe there’s another way and Cole is the path towards it.
“And she trusts you?” I ask.
“She’s my sister. Why wouldn’t she trust me?”
I almost laugh—because I have a little history on why I wouldn’t trust my sibling. In fact, I still don’t trust her, but here I am, considering working with her again. “So, you’ve gained her confidence. That must have been hard to do.”
“It’s been a challenge, but we all make sacrifices during war.”
We’re still close together, whispering so the guard won’t hear. I tilt my head and ask, “Have you heard any rumors about Jane and her leadership?”
He pulls back. “Why would you ask? Did a guard say something?”
“No, I just overheard something when I came in. Like that things are weird. Maybe people are scared.” His body stiffens and the hairs pinprick on my neck. He knows something. Something he doesn’t want to share. “Maybe the Resistance is working?”
“Maybe so,” he replies, all hesitation gone. “We’re here, aren’t we?”
“Well, then tell me what we’re going to do? What’s the next step? Can you get me out of here?” I have information on Jane, and if I tell Cole and he informs Chloe, she can stop it before Jane leaves.
But what if Jane is right? What if Chloe has bigger plans? Worse plans? I try again to see Cole’s face to assess what he’s really thinking but it’s too dark.
When you have to pick between two devils, which one do you choose?
“I want to get you out of here but I can’t. Not yet. But don’t worry, I’ll come back for you soon. You’ll know the signals. Then we’ll take out The Director.”
I have other questions to ask but he rests his hands on my hips. He tugs me off balance and I crash into his solid chest. I feel his lips on mine, the familiar spark flaring between us. This time though, there’s something more. His lips are demanding. Urgent. His fingers move under my shirt, digging into the soft flesh of my sides. He lifts me, bringing my face closer to his. “I’ve missed you,” he whispers, before pressing me against the wall.
I’ve never been handled like this, certainly not by Cole. He’s always been a little tentative. My innocent, sweet Lab Guy, under the exterior of an apocalypse survivor. Now the latter is in charge and my stomach burns with a mixture of feelings. His mouth moves to my throat and his hands to my backside and I wonder, truly wonder, where all of this is headed when there’s a sound outside the door. He grunts displeasure before separating.
I catch my breath and slide my hand up his arm, over the hard, lean muscles to his shoulder. I clutch the fabric in my hand, steadying myself. Before that kiss, I almost told him everything I knew about Jane and her plans.
Almost.
He pecks me on the cheek and walks by the bed, leaning over quickly in a move I barely see, it’s so fast.
“I’ll be back,” he says, straightening his uniform and banging on the door once with his fist. The guard slides the bolt on the other side and opens the door, bathing the small cell in yellow light.
It’s here that I can finally see Cole’s eyes. The familiar ice blue, muted and dark. I see the purple bands that I felt stitched to the shoulders of his uniform. My hand goes to my mouth, touching my swollen lips, and I fight back a gag.
Chloe must have accepted Cole’s return on one condition.
He had to turn Hybrid.
Chapter 26
The bolt slides and I’m scared. Maybe more scared than I’ve been in a long, long time. Eaters I can handle. Death is something I’ve come to accept. Even the Hybrids are a force I acknowledge, but Cole being one of them isn’t.
Hours pass and I do nothing but sit on the mattress, knees to my chest, and run the encounter with Cole through my mind. I don’t know when it clicked. The minute I saw him in the corner of my room? When he kissed me? At any rate, something triggered the warning signal in my brain and I knew before I saw him in the light that something had changed in my soulful, sweet friend.
He didn’t seem like a monster, but maybe that was just my bias playing tricks on me. Maybe I wanted him to be the same and I humanized him. His lips, as well as other parts of his body, certainly felt human.