Page 30 of Martyr
“Did you rush out here after me?”
“Because I thought Kade was going to sweep you away and I’d never see you again?” I grimace. That’s too close to the truth for my liking. “Don’t flatter yourself.”
“You’re shivering,” he points out. “Weren’t you yelling at me about not wearing a jacket?”
I cross my arms. There are goosebumps on my skin that I do my best to ignore. From the street behind us, it sounds like the small local police force is clearing the streets.
I stride forward, within reach of Kade and Reese, and clear my throat loudly.
They both start. Reese doesn’t seem surprised to see me, but Kade’s eyebrows shoot up.
“As much as I’m enjoying whateverthisis…” I gesture at Kade’s grip on Reese’s shirt. “We should get out of here.”
Kade slowly releases Reese’s shirt. He wears a fitted long-sleeve black shirt, also at odds with the weather. His hair appears recently trimmed. Reese takes one look at me and pulls off his coat. He offers it to me.
I’m not too proud to ignore it, so I turn and let him slide it up over my shoulders. Then, wordlessly, he spins me back and zips me in.
Warmth—and his scent—envelops me.
“Where to?” Reese finally asks.
Kade scowls. “I would’ve said my boat, but you blew that up.”
My eye twitches.Reeseis behind it? No—he’s going to deny it at any second. But then he doesn’t.
Reese blew up the marina?
I smack him. “What is wrong with you?”
He points at Kade.
Well… that’s fair.
“We should get off the streets,” Saint says. “Like Artemis said.”
I glance back at him, but he’s focused on the mouth of the alley. The flash of blue and red lights from police cars paints the sides of the buildings on both directions. We really shouldn’t be caught out here. Not when one of us is guilty of the crime.
“Kade should leave,” Reese interjects. “You two should go back to the center. And I’ll…”
“You blew up my boat.” Kade crosses his arms.
“He said that already,” I mutter. “And…”
How do I convey to Reese through mind-speak thatKadebeing here is actually probably better for us? We can get answers about the Sterling Falls takeover.
“This island is going to be on a full lockdown in a matter of hours,” Kade says. He eyes Reese, then me. “If you wanted a way to keep me here, congratulations. You succeeded.”
Reese grimaces. “I didn’t want to keepyouhere.”
I snort.
Saint’s gaze bounces between us, his eyebrows up to his hairline. He’s probably trying to figure out the dynamic—and, pre-amnesia, he would’ve added a whole new layer to it. Now, he’s partially removed to observer.
“We can go to my house,” Kade finally says.
My jaw drops. “Excuse me?”
His gaze meets mine—for the first time, he directsallof his attention to me. It burns, a million emotions in his expression. None of those emotions are malicious, though. Pity, concern… happiness?
