Page 56 of Destruction of Two
“Smokey. Dark. Deadly,” he lists.
He can fucking smell all that?
“Which way did they go?” I look around at the several towering buildings of Academy of Six. He doesn’t glance that way at all though.
He points in the opposite direction. To the faculty building resting alone in the back.
Shit. Here we go again.
* * *
I don’t have to flirt with Professor Henn this time. Thank fuck. Saint breaks the front doorknob with a harsh twist of his wrist. We pause, shoulders stiffening for an alarm that never sounds.
On soundless steps we slip inside. Saint’s head tilts to one side, and he looks up the stairwell to the right. Cool fingers wrap around my wrist, halting me in place.
“If guards come, ditch me. I can get out of trouble. You can’t.”
My eyes narrow on him and his serious features.
Ditch him. Bullshit.
I harshly shrug off his grip as well as his warning. “I can take care of myself, thanks.”
“Just because you can take care of yourself doesn’t stop me from also taking care of you.” He smirks at me as we climb the dark stairs.
It’s odd thinking about someone looking after me. Worrying about me. Maybe because no one has in a long time. It’s always been me and Kayos. Me looking after her, protecting her. It’s nice to be on the other end of it.
We don’t stop walking until Saint’s scent leads us to the fifth floor. Specifically room 606 B.
Shade’s apartment.
Again.
Shit.
Saint twists the handle casually, as if this is now his home too. Honestly, we’ve been here two too many times in my opinion, but it seems I’m the only one who feels this way.
When he strides inside to confront the spying professor, the living room is empty.
That burnt smoky smell he described assaults my nose the moment I walk fully into the apartment. A single armchair and a coffee table sits vacant in the corner where we met the Professor last. I don’t know why I expect him to be there waiting for us now. Maybe because Shade just gives me that vibe that he always knows what people will do before they do it.
Like a dangerously curious cat Saint prowls farther, into the kitchenette and past the small two person dining table. My nerves itch with every step he takes deeper and deeper into the dark apartment.
Voices shake into the darkness, aggressive and deadly. The slamming of my heart stops me in my tracks.
“I told you to alert me if she came to you!” a voice growls.
I take a step back from the open door leading to a dimly lit room but Saint’s such a sadistic fuck he takes a quiet step closer.
Fuck!
My jaw grinds and I sneak closer, my palm gripping around his bicep and squeezing there to get him to pull away from the argument that’s blazing through that room right now.
But he ignores my silent pleas.
The thin wall between the kitchen and the room shakes violently. My pulse is like clawing nails raking through my veins.
“Saint,” I hiss as loud as I dare, barely a breath at all.
