Page 26 of Lone Wolf

But she’s already walking away, leaving me in the puddle of our own mess that I guess I’ll have to clean up alone. I flop back, frustrated, angry, and yeah, maybe a little hurt.

“What thefuckwas that?” I mutter.

The empty gym gives no reply.

CHAPTER 10

Ariadne

I haveno idea where I’m going until I arrive there: my dorm room. I pace the length of the small room—exactly eight steps from wall to wall.

And I feel like a caged animal.

I have no idea what came over me. Sunny Santiago is a decent partner if I have to have one, but she’s nothing more than that. What iswrongwith me? She’s just a temporary partner in the Syndicate. A decent one if Ihaveto have one, but nothing more.

I stop at the small mirror mounted on the wall, catching my reflection in the harsh fluorescent light. My pupils are dilated, cheeks flushed. For a moment, I don’t recognize the woman staring back at me—this isn’t the face of Ariadne, Grandmother’s perfect weapon. This is someone else.

Someone…compromised.

My head is still unclear. Sunny said something about having worked off steam, but I’m still buzzing. I need to get rid of this feeling before I do something stupid. Like try to kiss her again.

It’s nearly dawn, and I’m pretty sure Scarlett Fletcher was on shift this morning. So after a thorough shower—scrubbing my skin nearly raw to wash away the lingering scent of Sunny Santiago—I dress in clean black clothing. Everything buttoned and zipped just so.

Control in all things.

I head back to the house, cautious to keep a lookout. But I don’t see Sunny anywhere. I make my way to the war room, because usually there’s at least one person there, and they might have seen Scarlett, but I’m lucky this morning: Scarlett herself is there, looking over the same plans Hadria was a few hours ago. She looks up when I come in, that always cautious look in her eye.

I’m not sure how she stands it sometimes, being in the same room with me. Surely she wishes she could kill me. I killed her precious brother after all.

“I want to talk to Katy again,” I tell her without preamble.

Scarlett raises her eyebrows. “You don’t get to give orders around here.”

“Please,” I add coldly.

Thankfully, she stops arguing about manners. “I hear you did well on the mission,” she says. “I’m glad to hear it. I knew you and Sunny would make a good partnership.”

My stomach tightens at the mention of Sunny’s name. “She was adequate, but I could’ve done it alone.”

Scarlett sighs. “That’s the point,” she says. “You shouldn’t be doing it alone. The Syndicate is about teamwork?—”

“I get it,” I say bluntly. “And in fact, that’s why I want to see Katy. Iwantto be part of the team. I want to get whatever information she has so that the Syndicate will be safe.”

Scarlett considers me for a moment and then shrugs. “She hasn’t said another word since you last spoke to her. So maybe it will do some good if you could get her talking again.”

What I said to Scarlett about getting information from Katy—it was a lie. But she doesn’t seem to realize it. Or if she doesn’t she doesn’t care, because she wants Katy to talk.

The fact is, I have no idea myself why I want to see Katy so badly.

But when I get back into her cell, I think I know what it is. I just want to see someone locked up more tightly than I am. It calms me, somehow, knowing that someone in this place is worse off than I am.

The air is colder here, the lighting harsh and unforgiving. It feels familiar. It feels like where I belong. Katy is still lying on the ground, but Scarlett tells me that at least they’ve gotten her to eat recently.

I sit cross-legged across from her, like before, and I say, “You were right.”

She turns her head, sees me, and sits up slowly. “Is that so?”

“This place is not where I belong. Maybe…not what I want.”

---