“Yeah… Well, as okay as it was when you walked out of the room.” He stuffs his hands into his pockets and shifts his weight, seeming 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 in the midst of several other tattoos. That particular tattoo, though, wasn’t put on him by choice. It was forced on him the day he was forced to join the assassin 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 I was a kid.”
“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. “But anyways, 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?”
He shrugs. “Maybe she’s ashamed of the things she did. Or maybe she can’t remember. My memory was wiped out a lot and sometimes I can’t remember everything I did.”
Fuck, what if he’s right? What if, like Steel, Alexis was once an assassin.
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.