Page 97 of Conform
“I’m fine,” he said, but remained bent over, bracing himself on my desk.
“Sit down,” I commanded, grabbing his free arm and directing him back to the chair. “What happened?”
“Nothing,” Hal said again.
“It’s not nothing, you fucking martyr,” came an exasperated voice behind me. I whipped around to find Barrett half hidden behind my open door, dressed in a black shirt and dark green pants. His red hair was pulled back, exposing a fang earring. He had stubble on his chin and dark circles under his emerald eyes. Weapons were strapped to his legs and on a harness over his shoulders. His golden chain necklaces winked at me. “Hi again. You need to be more aware of your surroundings,” Barrett told me.
“I told you, Barrett, that you could only come if you kept your mouth closed,” Hal growled from the chair.
“Right,” Barrett scoffed, pushing off the wall, “and like I toldyouwhen I found your sorry ass trying to hobble all the way here, you wouldn’t make it if you didn’t have help. So you’re welcome.” He paused at the door. “Make it quick. Things aren’t like before.”
“Thank you,” I told him before he could leave.
Barrett nodded. “Don’t forget what Thea said, Hal. No physical activity at all for at least another week. Afraid you’ll have to keep this reunion more subdued than your last one.” Barrett’s eyes flashed mischievously. Hal rumbled next to me as Barrett chuckled the entire way out.
I perched on the edge of my desk, my cheeks red. “You told them?” I asked, embarrassed.
“No, Kane did,” Hal said, clutching his side and taking a deep breath, the pain evident on his face.
“You shouldn’t have come, Hal. You should have rested.”
“You sound like Barrett now,” Hal said, rolling his eyes.
“Maybe he’s right.”
“Don’t let him hear that. It’ll go straight to his head.”
“Too late” came Barrett’s amused voice from the hall.
Hal dragged his hand through his hair, huffing something between a laugh and a growl. “I thought you said you were leaving.”
“I said no such thing. I just left the room. You can barely stand. I’m not leaving you alone. Thea is already going to kill me for bringing you,” Barrett said. I glanced back at Hal to see his lips tugged up in a half smile. He was in a white shirt and gray sweatpants. I couldn’t see any weapons on him.
“What happened?” I asked again, leaning toward him. Hal rolled the chair toward me until I was between his legs on the desk. His hand found the outside of my thigh, and warmth seeped into me, chasing away the uncertainty of the last week. “I have been so worried. I thought . . . I thought horrible things.”
“It’s why I came,” Hal said. “I didn’t want you to worry.”
Our eyes met for a moment. “Tell me what happened, and who’s Thea?”
“Thea is our best healer,” Hal said. My brows pulled in. “A healer is someone who takes care of injured and sick people. They used to be called doctors. Majors get hurt from the manual labor a lot.”
It was strange to think of the body getting hurt. It was unheard of on the surface.
“The Force attacked the Underworld like you said they would,” he continued. “Thankfully they don’t know the extent of the tunnel system like they think they do. We cut all the power below. They weren’t ready for that. Not all of them had night vision. They came during the day, thinking we were all nocturnal. Gave us an advantage. So did you telling us about the river entrance.”
“Really?”
“We had planned to smuggle some supplies out using the river. Our scouts saw a small Force Unit there the day of the attack. We had to scrap the plan. It’s unfortunate and puts us behind, but the supplies weren’t harmed or confiscated. We owe you.”
“Did anyone get hurt?” I asked, catching my lip between my teeth.
“More of them than us,” Hal told me, his left thumb rubbing absent-minded circles on my thigh.
“Your friends?”
“They are all okay. Gerald needed a couple of stitches. Bri, Kane, and Barrett came out unscathed.”
“Unscathed?” Barrett’s outraged voice floated in. “I dislocated my pinky finger on my trigger hand. I would hardly call that unscathed.”
