Page 107 of Even Robots Die
“I couldn’t find any compress or fabric that would stop the bleeding and I knew we needed to stay discreet after. I couldn’t use my shirt to stop the flow, so I did what I always do when it happens to me. I putmy finger in my mouth. Except, well, I kinda forgot for a second that I wasn’t the one who was bleeding.”
She closes her eyes at the admission.
“It’s kind of cute.”
I think she expected me to say it was a stupid thing to do because her eyes fly open at my words and the chuckle that follows.
“Can we try to avoid that kind of situation in the future?” I ask her. “I have a short trigger when it comes to blood.”
“I’ve seen that,” she says as she drops her eyes. She looks disappointed and I have no idea what brought the feeling.
“Come. We need to find your dad,” I tell her as I pull her after me by the hand I grabbed and can’t seem to let go. She’s not fighting me either, so I’m gonna count that as a win.
I didn’t creep her out completely.
Now to deal with her father.
I have a feeling she’s about to be disappointed and I hate it already.
60
Florentine
Idon’t think Brice realizes that he’s still holding my hand and I don’t know how to react to the feeling of intimacy it gives me.
I never hold hands.
I always have something to do and hate when people get in my personal space.
But once again, I don’t feel the need to pull away.
Even if Brice basically just rejected me, it’s like every push and pull when it comes to him is lowering the walls I built around my most tender parts, the ones I never show to anyone.
When we arrive atquatre boulevard Haussmann,I look at the names on the bells. There is no Isabella, but there’s someone with her family name.
I guess we’re at the right place.
“How do you want to proceed?” Brice asks me.
I toy with the bell and send Milton through the system. A second later, the door opens for us and I smile at Brice.
“We surprise them.”
“I guess it’ll do,” he says as I pull him after me up the stairs. It’s one of those old buildings that never got updated with lifts, and I’m alreadyregretting eating that damn amazing pastry hours ago because it’s on the fifth floor and I’m already panting by the third.
Brice caught up to me quite easily and he’s not even breathing hard.
He scoops me up midway through the third and the fourth floor and carries me up to the right level.
I’m not even fighting him. I’m not in the best shape on a normal day, but today after being shot, barely resting, and running right and left all day, I’m exhausted.
You weren’t exhausted when your legs were wrapped around his hips and his tongue was in your mouth.
True.
But now all I want is to find dad and call it a day.
When we arrive on the fifth floor, Brice gets his gun out of his holster and I’m surprised to see that it’s one of mine.
