Page 94 of Harmless
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An hour later,I knocked on Hudson’s door. He didn’t answer, so I opened it just enough to stick my head in. “Hey, just me.”
“Hey.” He was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling with his feet out wide. It was eerily just like the position he’d been kept in, only now his hands were on his chest.
“Is it cool if I hang for a bit?”
“Do whatever you want,” he said in a flat voice.
I tried to not take that tone personally as I slipped inside and closed the door behind me. “You not hungry?” I gestured toward the untouched plate of food on the bedside table.
“Don’t trust it,” he answered.
“There’s nothing in it, man. Santos made it.”
“Someone else could have put something in it.”
I marched over and picked up the plate of cold chicken tacos. Standing in front of Hudson, I took a big bite out of one, making a show of chewing and swallowing. The meat was grilled to perfection, though it could have been spicier.
“See?” I put down the plate and spread my hands out. “All good.”
Hudson didn’t look convinced. Shit, he didn’t lookalive,staring blankly at the paint up there. “Is Santos still pissed at me?”
I stroked my beard. “Well, yeah. He gets why you did it, but he’s protective.”
Hudson scoffed like that was the most ridiculous thing he’d ever heard. “Protective.”
I sucked in a breath, at first unsure of how much to tiptoe around this with him, but fuck it. He was an adult when he got captured, we all were. His brain was developed enough to know that not all women were the enemy.
And so’s yours, big guy,I thought to myself.
“Her name is Aurora. Rori. And yeah, Santos is in love with her. She’s his woman.” I crossed my arms, watching for a reaction from him. “She’s the one who led and organized this effort to get you out. So yeah, he’s pissed that you shot her unprovoked. And he’s not the only one.”
“You including yourself in that?” Now Hudson turned his head to look at me, those once electric blue eyes now dead and dull.
“Hudson, man,” I sighed. “You’re back in the real world now. You’re gonna have to interact with women. I mean, we’ll provide a buffer for a while and give you some time to acclimate, but that’s just how it is.”
He shot up and came to stand in front of me almost faster than I could track. The guy had always been quick and decisive in his movements. I almost wanted to say it was a shame that he hadn’t ended up in the gladiator ring with us. He would have been honed into an incredible fighter.
And maybe he wouldn’t be looking so dead and haunted.
“I don’t wantthatwoman, or any other, coming near me,” he hissed. “Distance is fine. I can control myself. But no woman willevertouch me or get within range of touching me again. Do you get what I’m saying, Devin?”
“Sure, man. That’s fair—”
“If they do, I swear to God, I won’t miss this time.” He scowled, the burning hatred in his eyes the only thing lighting him up. “If a woman so much as breathes on me, Iwillkill her.”
EPILOGUE
RORI
Iwoke up with three animal faces staring at me in the darkness. Astarte, Tezca, and Lupa, Gwen’s wolf, were all sitting on my bed, their faces inches away from mine. And yet the bed felt weightless, like there were no animals on top of me at all.
“Okay.” I sat up and leaned against the headboard. “I know for a fact that this is a dream. So what’s up, guys?”
Astarte spoke first.Remember what I told you, Aurora. We cannot tell you the events of the future or anything that would alter the decisions you make out of free will. That being said, wearehere to guide you. The decisions you make going forward are tantamount to the objective you seek. Listen closely and remember. You will not know what any of this means now, but you will when the time comes.
I blinked at the white dove, looking like a sliver of bird-shaped moonlight in this dreamscape. She usually sounded annoyed with me, but I barely recognized her tone now. I’d never heard her sound so dire and serious.
