Page 104 of Remnants
“No. This is hers.”
Aiden chimes back in. “Even if that’s true, that doesn’t mean she’s still there. If she had been. Who else did you see inside? Where was Royce?”
Reid’s face tightens. “I didn’t see him. But I did see Holt and Bea.”
“Bea?” I ask.
“She’s the one who can create portals. There were a few other agents inside but I didn’t recognize them. They’re the reason we couldn’t check the basement or upstairs. We got stuck in the living room until Harvey saw Aiden and Dane fighting outside.”
Harvey clears his throat, standing and brushing something from his clothes. “First of all, you're welcome for noticing you before the house full of GE personnel did. That could have been a cluster. And secondly—” Harvey pauses, sweeping the room to look at each of us in turn. “You knew I was invisible and with Reid when we left, right? You didn’t all forget about me?”
“Excuse me,” Cassandra mutters, trying to squeeze between meand Raegan’s bed without touching me to get to Jack. I shift back, and she quickly makes it to him, freeing Dane to check on Raegan.
“She’s okay?” he asks her.
Cassandra nods slowly, her hands cupping Jackson’s face. “It was a nasty wound, but it’s healed now. It was close, though. She almost didn’t have enough strength.” Her eyes close, signaling she’s working through Jack’s injuries and needs to focus.
I hadn’t even considered that possibility. What if she’d overexerted herself with her gift taking down the zombies and didn’t have the physical strength for her body to heal?
“I’m going to assume the answer to that is, yes, you knew I was staying invisible out of fear of being seen by Royce and ruining all our plans and that you do still care about me,” Harvey cuts in.
Aiden sighs, long and hard. “Yes, Harvey. We do still care.”
Maybe he does, but he was under Royce’s influence. There’s no way he noticed or cared if Harvey was there or would have said something if he wasn’t.
It worked out that he was there, but I’m not gonna lie to the guy. All that mattered was freeing everyone from Royce, whether he was there or not.
“There.” Cassandra straightens next to Jack, removing her hands as soon as she’s finished, even though he’s still unconscious. She frowns when she looks at Aiden. “You don’t look well, Aiden. Let me take a look.”
He doesn’t immediately rebuke her offer, which speaks volumes to whatever’s affecting him.
She puts a hand on his chest and another on his cheek, her facedrawn with concentration and eyes shut. “Weird. I felt something like this on the other two as well.”
“What is it?” Aiden inquires evenly.
Cassandra releases him, already finished. Color returns to his face, and he sits up taller. “It’s hard to explain. Like something sticky.” She shivers. “I didn’t like the feel of it, but it’s gone now.”
“Thank you,” he says, and she nods with a small smile.
“Is there anyone else before I get back to sleep?” She checks in with Dane, then Reid and Harvey, who each shake their heads. “Alright, well, goodnight, everyone.”
We wave her off, waiting for her to leave before Aiden addresses the room. “The rest of us need to get some sleep. Reid…I’m sorry we weren’t able to get to Tinsley. We’ll need a better plan for Royce.”
Reid nods solemnly, his lips tight. He grabs Harvey’s arm. “I’ll bring him back to his room.” Harvey opens his mouth to speak, but Reid vanishes before we hear whatever he has to say.
Aiden stands, his fingertips brushing over the hole in Raegan’s shirt where the injury had been. “Kell, grab Jack. I’ll carry Raegan, and we can all sleep in the Loft.”
“I’d put her with Jackson tonight. He’ll sleep better and longer if she’s there with him after what happened.”
He doesn’t look pleased about it, probably wanting her in his bed tonight, but if Jack remembers anything while he was under Royce’s control, he’s going toneedthat immediate comfort that she’s alright.
Doesn’t mean I can’t join them, though.
Chapter twenty-eight
Raegan
“Idon’tknowhowyou sleep with a footboard. Let me kick this annoying crap off, and you’ll see how much more room you’ll have,” Kellan whispers, but it’s so close that I’m instantly awake.
