Page 112 of Runaway Magic
“Sterling!” Cym ran toward his brother but skidded to a halt when he noticed the body on the floor of the lobby. “Whoa. Who’s that?”
Fourteen snapped into full soldier mode. He knew exactly who it was.
The navy blue peacoat was unmistakable.
Fourteen moved Cym away from the body and kneeled down to inspect it. Harper. The man who had been sent to capture Fourteen and drag him back to the fold had the tale-tell signs of strangulation.
“What are you doing here?” Cym asked Sterling. “Did you do this?”
Fourteen highly doubted it. With Fourteen’s spare armor and Harper’s skill, Sterling would be dead in a fight before he knew what hit him.
“I came to talk with you about family business, and this guy was on the steps.”
“Someone got through our shields like they were nothing,” Marshall said. He was perfectly coiffed and looked nothing like he did the night before. His face, however, was the picture of irritation. “We wouldn’t have known if Sterling hadn’t told us.”
“Harper had a set of my armor. The person who killed him probably took it and used it to slip past any magical security you have.”
“That would probably do it. Samantha, you need to look into that. Talk to your companion and see if there’s anything she can do about it.” Marshall’s expression had evened out and he was all business.
Jack stepped forward and held out a piece of paper to Fourteen. “There was a note.”
Of course there was. Even though Fourteen got the message loud and clear, the Colonel would still have left a note. It was his style to be as much of a bastard as humanly possible.
Even though he knew it was going to piss him off, Fourteen opened it and read the brief contents.
Thanks for the gift. See you soon.
~ The Colonel
Fourteen’s face was impassive, but inside he was boiling.
Yes. Fourteen would definitely be seeing that fucker soon.
“Who’s your dead friend?” Jack asked.
“I don’t have friends. He was a coworker.”
“Elaborate,” Marshall said. Fourteen still didn’t like the man, but at least he knew how to get to the point.
“My old boss killed this guy for helping me, and now he has a set of armor like mine. He probably wants me back.”
“Wonderful. I’ve been wanting to meet the charming people you used to work for.” Jack had a bloodthirsty smile.
Cym moved over to Fourteen and wrapped himself around Fourteen’s arm, twining their fingers together so their skin was touching. “He can’t fucking have you.”
Emotion flooded Fourteen, but it wasn’t what he wanted, so he gave Cym’s hand a squeeze and moved away enough to become what he needed to be.
Marshall’s voice was cold as ice when he said, “I’d like to meet him too.”
“Uhh…would someone like to tell me what the hell is going on here?” Sterling’s voice cut in.
“No,” Fourteen said automatically and held out an arm to bar Cym from going to his brother in case he tried.
Sterling didn’t give off bad guy vibes, but Fourteen still didn’t like him. Fourteen didn’t give a shit whether he’d been a child or not while Cym had been locked up. He was still an accomplice and not to be trusted.
Plus, he seemed basically useless, so there was no point in keeping him around to distract Cym from paying attention to Fourteen.
“What Fourteen means is that it’s overly complicated, and I’ll explain it to you later.” Cym put a hand on Fourteen’s arm and pushed down, trying to get him to lower it. The pressure was nothing to Fourteen, and he could have held out against it for hours without any strain. When his arm didn’t budge, Cym made a noise of exasperation. “I don’t need you to protect me from my brother.”
