Page 8 of Black Bay Defender
“Feeling guilty.” He pointed to his face. “This isn’t your fault. Ineverblamed you,” he told her gruffly.
“It’s my venom that did that.”
“But you weren’t the one wielding it.” Pulling her into a rough hug, he whispered in her ear, “Don’t you dare take even an ounce of her guilt. It’s all hers. She needs to carry it, and one day, she’ll pay for it.”
On that vow, Erik released her and walked away. Lark watched him go, still sunk in the sick miasma of guilt despite his words.
Erik was the most damaged, more than any of them, because he had to confront what was done to himevery timehe caught a glimpse of his reflection. He would never be able to put it aside and properly heal.
Lark understood to a point. When she was younger, she’d longed to be pretty, feminine; normal. Something she’d never be and she was reminded of that every time she saw her eyes and her scales in the mirror. She used to cry herself to sleep at night, wishing, wishing so hard… She’d chosen the name Lark after she’d been freed from the lab because she’d wanted something about herself to be lovely even if it was only her name.
But at least she could go out in public with minimal disguise. Sunglasses to cover her reptilian eyes, a hood or a pretty scarf over her hair and tied under her chin to conceal the scales on her face, and long sleeves to cover the scales on her arms – all relatively easy. But not Erik. He didn’t even have that small mercy. Lark had seen it firsthand. He’d been seventeen years old, newly arrived at Black Bay, and so full of overwhelming hope – until people had gotten a look at his face. The shock and horror in their expressions that they hadn’t even tried to hide. It had turned her stomach. She couldn’t imagine how much it must have hurt him. So much so that he never left the island. He barely even left his room. All because Lark was toxic.
He might say that it wasn’t her fault, but if she didn’t produce the venom in the first place, Doctor Dietrich wouldn’t have had it at her disposal. So ultimately, the blamewashers.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she pulled it out to see the General was calling her. Hopefully, he had something for her to do because she could use a distraction. “Sir. What do you need?”
“Why aren’t you sleeping?” he demanded gruffly. “I got word that Commander Carter returned to his room almost thirty minutes ago yet I’m also hearing that you were spotted over by the brig.”
No goddamn privacy. That was the only problem with Black Bay. The General insisted on knowing everything. Rolling her eyes, Lark let out a sigh. “Fine. I’m heading that way now.”
“Good! Get it done!” On that blustered order, the General hung up and Lark let out a little chuff of laughter. As fathers went, the General was a good one, and she loved the man to pieces. Her eyes shifted to the brig and narrowed much like Erik’s had earlier. Unlike their mother.
As she headed back to her Jeep, she contemplated disobeying the General in favor of going to see Grady, see if he’d cooled down enough to finish their discussion. He needed to understand that he didn’t need to protect her. She saw it clear as day. She’d been around Jace and Kong and other guys long enough to recognize the signs of that protective instinct kicking in. Dollars to donuts, that was exactly where Grady was in his head. Thinking he needed to protect her from his big, bad self. But there was very little he could do to her that she couldn’t heal from. If he even managed to hurt her in the first place. Which was unlikely. She wasn’t some untrained civilian. Hell, she wasn’t even a normal human. But Grady Carter had a core of honor in him that was harder than titanium. He’d see what happened today as him being a threat. He was probably thinking that he had to leave to keep her safe, maybe implement that ridiculous plan of his that would have him right back in enemy hands… Not on her watch.
They just needed to figure out how to bypass any automated responses programmed into his neural chip.
Hmm. If she was right, and he was thinking of leaving, he’d probably wait until dark before he attempted to elude his guard and escape Black Bay, so she had time.
Maybe a nap would be a good thing after all. She’d have to be sharp to take him down if he tried to outmaneuver her, and exhaustion would only make her response time sluggish.
Plotting her plan of attack, Lark laughed as she sped toward the residential area. Oh, Commander Carter, you have no idea what you’re up against.
Grady didn’t know what had happened that had his usually overly-attentive guard detail suddenly becoming lax in their duty, but he wasn’t going to complain. He was able to sneak by them easily, relieved that he hadn’t had to hurt them to incapacitate them.
Black Bay at night was lit up thanks to some high-powered lights, so he kept close to the shadows formed by the buildings as he headed for the tunnel exit. Logically, he knew there had to be another point of egress somewhere on the island, but he hadn’t been made aware of its location, so the main tunnel was his only option. He’d have to override their security system, and the moment he did, they’d know he wasn’t where he was supposed to be. But he’d shut them out once before when he first came to Black Bay, he could shut them out again. Even if they’d since updated their system against him. His tech learned, adapted…
He glared down at his mechanical arm. He hated the thing, but it did give him an advantage. The ones who did this to him had made him – and the others like him – soldiers for a technologically advanced world. The upgrades made them able to bypass any currently known security systems and hack into any database with ease. So while he hated it, he fully intended to use it to his advantage. And when he finally caught up with the ones who’d done this, he’d use their own technology against them. It was poetic really.
Not using his laser sight as the green light would potentially draw attention his way, he didn’t see her until it was too late. Lark was sitting on the ground in a pool of darkness close to the tunnel, her long legs stretched out in front of her and her booted feet crossed at the ankles. Shit. No wonder he’d gotten by his guards so easily. They hadn’t suddenly grown sloppy, he’d been herded into an ambush.
Admiration filled him. A small, rueful smile twitched his lips as he shook his head. Well played.
She grinned as he approached, looking quite pleased with herself. And she should be. He hadn’t suspected a thing.
“How’d you manage it?” he asked as she turned up the light on a battery-powered lantern.
Lark tried for an innocent look, but she wasn’t able to maintain it, her lips quivering with humor. “I may have promised to bake the guys some blackberry pies.”
“Pie? Seriously? That’s all it took?” Things at Black Bay might be less regimental than any base he’d ever been on, but the General still ran a tight ship. Too tight for his people to be so easily bribed.
“I also may have called in a favor or two. Dall did threaten that if the General murdered him for letting you go he’d haunt me into eternity.” She shrugged up a shoulder, that smug smile back on her face. “Worth it.”
“And if I hadn’t come? Hadn’t fallen for your trap?”
“I came prepared.” With that, she lifted a box and grinned at him.
“Boxed wine?”
