Page 110 of Ramshackle
Dane tenses, his jaw sharpening. “The guy who brought Thorne and Vera back?”
“Yeah. I can confirm his ability to control souls—or bodies, at least. He snapped his fingers, and he had complete control of my body. Like I was trapped inside a puppet.” I rub subconsciously at my arms, remembering the feeling of hooks sinking in. “He only let me go because he recognized me and knows what Gordon is up to. He left through a portal with Vera.”
Kellan curses, and I nod. “I don’t know what his limitations are or if he has any, but he’s going to be hard to fight. He was controlling Vera and I at the same time, and it didn’t seem like it bothered him at all. Who knows how many people he can do that to at once.”
Aiden watches Dane, waiting to see if he’ll say something, before he asks, “He controlled Vera’s body like yours?”
“Yeah. He…made her stop gathering her things there. Threatened to have her hurt herself for not leaving already and then made her follow him through the portal.”
Silence fills the training room.
I think we’re all waiting for Dane to jump on that to try to defend Vera.
He doesn’t.
Aiden rips a Velcro strap on his vest, breaking the quiet, then re-secures the metal there. “They’re up to something. If Royce is as powerful as you say, then it doesn’t make sense that they would abandon the island rather than fight for it. Or else he has a limitation based on quantity, or perhaps a particular gift on the island that put him at a disadvantage.”
I shrug because that’s all I have.
“We’ll have Thorne soon,” Jackson calmly adds. His gaze switches to Kellan. “I need you to make a call to set it up.”
“We can go in two nights,” Aiden speaks directly to Jack. “As long as we have a way to hold him once we have him.”
“Oh.” I reach under my vest and pull the cuffs out. “And I got these back.”
Kellan throws his head back in laughter. “Good work, beautiful. That’ll make this abreeze.”
I roll my eyes at the dumb pun but smile anyway.
Aiden holds his hand out expectantly to see them.
Ha. Ha.
“You’re joking,” I say, holding the cuffs close to my chest.
He frowns. “No. I’ll keep them safe until we go after Thorne.”
This asshole really is serious.
“Do you not remember what you did with these the last time you had them?” His frown deepens, but he doesn’t respond. “You lockedmeup with them. So, no. I thinkI’llhold on to them so you don’t try to use them against me again.”
Aiden’s eyes narrow. “You’re leaving out some important details.”
“Am I?” I demand, my voice rising.
Dane steps between us, hands raised. “It’s fine. Raegan’s not going to lose them. We aren’t even leaving the bunker again until we capture Thorne.”
Aiden concedes with a terse nod. “All right. Everyone, get some sleep.” He strides from the room without looking back, and I stare broodingly at his back.
A kiss on my temple startles me. Jackson smirks knowingly at me.
“I’m going to check on Thorne,” he murmurs.
“Okay.” I’m looking forward to catching the zombie. Then, Jackson won’t be out most nights keeping an eye on him.
Kellan stretches his arms and groans loud enough to echo. “Gaaaargh! Ahhh! Nothing like sleeping after a successful mission of kicking ass.”
We start walking to the door, him on one side and Dane on the other.
