Page 56 of The Merciless

Micah was sure lingering around them a lot nowadays. Not that Angel minded, he was just wary of the younger boy. He saw Ira jerk in surprise, her shoulders stiffening as Micah sauntered out from the building with his hand tucked in the pocket of his jacket,

“Get the hellinside. Both of you.”Ray snapped, finally losing her patience. Everyone else had already left to do their jobs and seemed as though Ira had waited for the last possible second to confront Ray on this.

“Sure,” Micah replied with a shrug and turned to Ira. But the girl was barely looking at him, was busy simmering in Ray’s direction,

“You need me for–”

“I’m not doing this again.” Ray threw her hands in the air and turned away from her, her eyes clashing with Angel’s as she moved in his direction. He straightened, the helmets tightening in both his hands before Ray neared him and grabbed one, “You get inside now. And you don’t come out. No one will knock on your door. There’s enough food in the kitchen to last you a lifetime and–”

“Whywon’t you just let me come?” Ira interjected loudly and Angel only saw Ray’s eyes flash in warning before she whipped her head over her shoulder and said in a haunted, quiet voice,

“Because I lostsomeoneback then.” Shesaid, pain lacing every syllable. Ira flinched back, her hair swaying violently as Ray continued, tremors rocking her body before him. Angel took a single step forward. Near enough to share his warmth but not enough to touch her, “And Iwon’tlose you too.” She shook her head and looked away, “I fuckingwon’t.”

She tugged her helmet on her head then, and Angel looked over her shoulder to see Ira’s eyes snap shut and open again.

He angled his head, so he was in her line of vision and shot her a small smile.

Ira shook her head at him, her stance softening by a fraction as Ray moved to her own bike,

“She’ll be alright.” He said and Ira huffed out an annoyed breath, but he still took a step forward. The wind whipped past them when he neared the younger girl and continued in a quiet voice, “You aren’t going to lose her.”

We aren’t going to lose her.

Ira nodded, her first sign of acceptance as he lifted his head and nudged his chin in Micah’s direction, “Go on then.” He said and watched as Ira turned to walk back into the building. The security guard that Ray had told him about– Ciera, dipped her chin once before escorting both Micah and Ira into the building. Only when he saw their bodies disappear did he finally turn on his heels to sit on his bike. He couldn’t help a small smirk when Ray shot him a withering look from her helmet,

“She always listens to you.”

“That’s because I say things shewantsto hear.” He responded with a small grin and saw her head shake in response, “Careful Walker,” he continued and tugged his helmet over his head, “Don’t want to look jealous now do we?”

Ray scoffed as Mia’s bike thrummed to life behind them.

“I liked it better when we were mortal enemies.” She murmured loud enough for him to hear as Mia swept past them, bringing forth a cold wave of wind and dust. Angel blinked past it, and lolled his head so he could stare at Ray,

“That’s such a lie.”He sang and laughed when Ray roared her bike to life and took off after Mia, leaving him in the dust.

**

The facilities were far more secluded than she’d expected it to be. For once in her life, she could hear only the crickets and the faint rustling of the wind when she removed her helmet. They’d parked a few miles behind the road that led to the warehouse, but Ray could see no signs of life.

Angel mirrored her expression as he parked his bike beside hers, and swung his leg off his bike, removing the helmet as he did so. Ray took the time they both took to adjust and look around, fishing out her phone and dialing the group in the meantime. She placed an earpiece in her ear as her phone rang, stepping forward to hand Angel the other one.

Mia hadn’t noticed their interaction, and even if she did, it didn’t matter. She was busy staring at the faraway warehouse. Angel blinked down at her when the ringing ceased with aclickand the others all connected to the secure line.

“We’re here.” Myra said, her voice slightly muffled, probably because she was hiding alongside Luke and Noah, “There’s a workingfactoryhere, with multiple people going in and out.”

Ray shared a glance with Angel before replying quietly, “Find out which company they belong to and let me know.”

“Jack?” Angel asked, staring back ahead at the warehouse in the distance. Mia had her hands on her waist, having stepped right in the middle of the path that led up the hill. They’d all parked their bikes a bit behind, hidden by the selective bushes and trees that were planted all across the hill.

“Jack’s here with me.” Sorin said, his voice quiet as well, “It’s a working warehouse here. There are people everywhere, all carrying boxes in and out of the place. It’s like a place where they hoard their inventory.”

Ray’s brows furrowed.

Two out of five were bustling with people. So, what made their place different–

“That’s weird.” Akash interrupted her line of thought, “Me and Irene are literally standing in the middle of nowhere. This place is completely secluded,”

“And it looks completely unhabitual. Judging by the wines and the broken windows,” Ray could swear she felt Irene cringe, “It hasn’t been used in quite a while.”

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