Page 52 of A Cock and Bull Story
Belle is shaking again.
“Oh, God. Oh, God. I've killed him. I'm a murder. Do I go to jail for this? Did I kill a human? Does it not count when he's like this? Oh, God. What about if they were an endangered species?”
“It's ok, love. I think we have bigger problems on our hands. You're obviously in danger. We don't know who his boss is, and we don't know what they want with humans—aside fromexperimenting on them,” I emphasize those last words so that she understands this could be worse than death.
I have no idea why Tertiaries would want someone like Belle; or even what they want with humans, in general. I certainly know that they find them expendable, though. Humans to Tershes are like flies to humans. They have no problem killing them—or worse—experimenting and torturing them because they find them inferior.
“Belle, I know you don't want to bring danger to your family, but the best thing that you can do right now isleave. You need to get out of this country. Go back to yours. From there, we can formulate a plan, but at least put an ocean between you and us,” I plead.
It's very easy for Tertiaries to spread word—there are so many of them that can live by land, sea, or air—but I don't bother telling her this.
I don’t want to scare her more.
But I do think that her being here is a dangerous decision—and an unwise one.
Tertiaries, as a whole, look down on Secondaries and Primaries but, within their ranks, they don't necessarily work together—especially if they're solitary apex hunters, like the tiger that Belle saw kill the woman.
If this is who the tarantula shifter’s boss was, it's very unlikely that this unknown man is in touch with other apex Tertiaries. Therefore, he will probably want to hunt Belle himself, but it would probably be an inconvenience if she's an ocean away—and not worth the bother.
Even so, Belle will need to constantly be on the move and most likely have to change her identity.
I frown.
Where would she even begin to do this?
Suddenly, I remember that Sian has a cousin who's into sheisty shit—maybe he can help her. I quickly send a text message to Sian to meet me at the apartment—we need to start packing our Yank’s bags immediately.
“Belle, love, we've got to go now,” I reiterate.
She's still staring at the Tertiary who's already crumbled into dust—the church’s cleaning person will think of nothing more than somebody likely dumped a pile of ashes into the center of the floor.
“Is this what happens to you all when you die?” Belle asks me with tears in her eyes.
“Yep, basically a free cremation,” Jack jokes.
I give them a look.
“Now's not the time,” I hiss.
Jack just shrugs. He's of the mind that if you don't laugh, you cry—and, clearly, Belle is on the brink of tears.
“Come on, love. We're going to get you back to your flat. You need to go into the university’s main office first thing in the morning and tell them that you won't be able to study here anymore.”
Belle’s lip quivers at my announcement.
Poor Mite has been through so much—now, to tell her that she won't be able to even get her degree anymore must be devastating, but I'm sure there are plenty of American universities she can go to.
Although, I personally wouldn't recommend it.
Belle's going to want to stay under the radar the rest of her life—if she wants to keep living and not be caught by the man who wants to experiment on her.
I take her hand and squeeze.
“It's going to be all right,” I swear.
Belle looks over at me and manages to crack a grin.
“And to think none of this would have happened if I had just kept on being a sexaholic,” she teases.
