04-07-2019, 03:27 PM
Jensen’s cheeks flushed, and Natalie gave a low hum of laughter. There was no malice in it; he’d just have to get used to her astringent sense of humour. After the door closed she perched on the end of Cayli’s bed. Four walls closed a cage, her patience worn thin when there was nothing productive to pass the time; worse when responsibility tempered the fire burning up her chest with the sort of desperation she’d never thought to find again.
Cay dragged the hood off her head. “What’s normal supposed to look like?”
Natalie smirked. Her thumb ran along the inside of her wrist until she could feel the memory grit her jaw, but it wasn’t Pavlo’s face she saw. “I was in Sierra Leone during its first civil war for fifty years. My mother moved mountains to get me out, but I still refused to go,” she said, raising her gaze to the teenager. “So I get it, Cay. But if the chance comes for you to get out safely, whether your parents agree or not, you’re taking it. For him.”
A political ally was better than a hostage. Jessika was a mother. How difficult would it be to convince her to let them slip free if they did so now? The favours could stack a mountain to crush her later, but at least the promise would rest at ease in her chest. She didn’t make those lightly. And she knew Jensen would continue to search for Jay, even if he had to do so alone. It would only require one small cut to snake the chains free; hardly arduous. He’d understand. It was what he’d told her to do.
But she never claimed to be a saint. She never even claimed to be a good person.
They took Jensen’s advice. Hot water sluiced the dirt but left the sins. Those were a familiar weight by now, so what was one more? Jay could hate her all he wanted for letting the opportunity to escape disappear like the water beneath her toes, but if she could see him safe first, it’d be worth it. Defiance fought and won. She pressed her head against the cold tiles. All she had to do was protect Cay in the meantime.
The kitchen was quiet. She let Cayli search through all the cupboards for food and utensils while she finally sorted through Marcus’s reply. “Mom says he’s like a miracle man.” The girl snorted laughter, but the shadows had receded from her face. Even her swollen eyes were free of last night’s tears; every anguished blemish soothed clean. It was trust, Natalie realised. Cayli trusted wholeheartedly that Jensen was going to fix this. “It’s going to be okay.”
Natalie said nothing.
Her pale gaze lifted a moment later, attention rolling past Jensen to the man behind him. Conciliatory words made little mark on the single, cold inspection she gave him, but beneath the surface everything roared into sudden fury. Her heart hammered. Retaliation might make her feel better for a second, but it wouldn’t sustain. Something clattered behind as Cay dropped whatever she’d been holding, and Natalie felt her fill with the power. Her eyes narrowed, but she didn’t turn to calm the girl. It wasn’t a bad instinct.
“He trusted you,” she said to Axel. The words were sharp as glass, the and I don’t implicit, but non confrontational. She didn’t have to trust him. She didn’t have to like him either. Men prepared to betray the bloodied bonds of brotherhood did not usually capitulate so readily under the sort of pressure she imagined Jensen had chosen to apply. But she’d listen to what he had to say.
Cay dragged the hood off her head. “What’s normal supposed to look like?”
Natalie smirked. Her thumb ran along the inside of her wrist until she could feel the memory grit her jaw, but it wasn’t Pavlo’s face she saw. “I was in Sierra Leone during its first civil war for fifty years. My mother moved mountains to get me out, but I still refused to go,” she said, raising her gaze to the teenager. “So I get it, Cay. But if the chance comes for you to get out safely, whether your parents agree or not, you’re taking it. For him.”
A political ally was better than a hostage. Jessika was a mother. How difficult would it be to convince her to let them slip free if they did so now? The favours could stack a mountain to crush her later, but at least the promise would rest at ease in her chest. She didn’t make those lightly. And she knew Jensen would continue to search for Jay, even if he had to do so alone. It would only require one small cut to snake the chains free; hardly arduous. He’d understand. It was what he’d told her to do.
But she never claimed to be a saint. She never even claimed to be a good person.
They took Jensen’s advice. Hot water sluiced the dirt but left the sins. Those were a familiar weight by now, so what was one more? Jay could hate her all he wanted for letting the opportunity to escape disappear like the water beneath her toes, but if she could see him safe first, it’d be worth it. Defiance fought and won. She pressed her head against the cold tiles. All she had to do was protect Cay in the meantime.
The kitchen was quiet. She let Cayli search through all the cupboards for food and utensils while she finally sorted through Marcus’s reply. “Mom says he’s like a miracle man.” The girl snorted laughter, but the shadows had receded from her face. Even her swollen eyes were free of last night’s tears; every anguished blemish soothed clean. It was trust, Natalie realised. Cayli trusted wholeheartedly that Jensen was going to fix this. “It’s going to be okay.”
Natalie said nothing.
Her pale gaze lifted a moment later, attention rolling past Jensen to the man behind him. Conciliatory words made little mark on the single, cold inspection she gave him, but beneath the surface everything roared into sudden fury. Her heart hammered. Retaliation might make her feel better for a second, but it wouldn’t sustain. Something clattered behind as Cay dropped whatever she’d been holding, and Natalie felt her fill with the power. Her eyes narrowed, but she didn’t turn to calm the girl. It wasn’t a bad instinct.
“He trusted you,” she said to Axel. The words were sharp as glass, the and I don’t implicit, but non confrontational. She didn’t have to trust him. She didn’t have to like him either. Men prepared to betray the bloodied bonds of brotherhood did not usually capitulate so readily under the sort of pressure she imagined Jensen had chosen to apply. But she’d listen to what he had to say.