Page 22 of Cyber
Frowning, I turned to him. Was he for real? It should have been pretty clear that things were far from ok. “Do you want to do something about this?” I motioned with my hand to Cyber who was almost hyperventilating.
Monster shrugged. “Not really. I think Cyber has it under control.”
Cyber’s eyes flicked in my direction as I climbed to my feet. The heels of my shoes clicked on the polished wood floor. Moving around the table, I curled my hand around his wrist, trying unsuccessfully to drag his arm away.
“Cyber, stop it,” I tried. This time his eyes landed squarely on me. “Please.”
“Iris.” He shook himself, his giant shoulders slumping as the fight left him. “I thought he was hurting you.” Without another look at the man he had almost strangled, Cyber turned to face me totally. The anger in his eyes evaporated into something softer. Fingers full of rings reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear, and without meaning to, I leant into his hand.
“I like this new colour,” he murmured, his voice barely a whisper.
“Thank you.” I’d had the horrid brassy blonde taken out of my hair the first week that Maggie had been in the hospital. My hair was now more caramel in colour and much shorter. The soft waves flattered me, according to Maggie.
Behind me, Monster cleared his throat with a chuckle. “Are you two done having a moment or do you need some alone time?”
“Alone time would be good.”
Shaking myself, I stepped away. For those few seconds, the rest of the world had melted away. There was only me and Cyber. And I had felt safe. For the first time in God knows how long, I had felt safe. But the moment had shattered as soon as Monster had spoken, and I came back to reality with a thump.
“Are you ok?” Turning my back on Cyber, I tried not to shiver when his hand slipped across my hip.
My date looked up at me, rubbing at his throat. “I don't know what just happened. Who are they?” His eyes darted between the two men at my back.
Frowning, I rubbed the line that appeared between my eyebrows with my finger, trying to smooth away the headache that was rapidly forming. This was a disaster. How was I meant to answer that?
“Monster is a friend. You’ve seen him with me before, and…”
“Yeah, I know him. He's the one that follows you around like a puppy.”
I shot a look at Monster, gauging his reaction to being called a lost puppy, but my eyes landed on Cyber who was smirking.
“But I have no idea who that guy is.” He gave a chin jerk at Cyber who stiffened at my back.
“He’s a…” I chewed on my lip. “An old friend.”
“The way he is touching you doesn’t look like he's an old friend.”
“That’s because I'm not.” Cybers bulk moved closer, curving his chest to my back, and the hand on my hip squeezed.
“You have a boyfriend?” There was real outrage in my date’s voice. “You didn't mention anything about a boyfriend. I don’t want any trouble.”
“He's not my boyfriend. He isn't even a friend. We pretty much hate each other; he just likes being an asshole,” I bit back, pulling myself from Cyber’s hands. I didn’t know what he was playing at but I didn't like it.
What gave him the right to waltz in there and act like that? It had been weeks since I had seen him and that last meeting had not exactly gone smoothly.
“I don't hate you.” Cyber's voice was soft.
“Far from it, I would say,” Monster chuckled unhelpfully, and we both turned to glare at him, making him chuckle even more.
“Why are you here?” I directed my question at Monster. I knew he had been watching me, but he had promised me that he wouldn't interrupt my date unless he absolutely needed to. If he was there, if Cyber was there, then something had happened.
“Is Maggie ok?”
“Maggie is fine. Cyber just needs to see…” Monster’s eyes darted towards the window, his brows slamming down over his golden eyes.
“I need to see a picture of Violet, Iris. Do you have it with you?” Cyber’s hand hovered over my arm. We stayed there in the middle of a romantically lit restaurant and it was like the earth had opened under my feet.
Mutely, I shook my head. “It's back at… What's going on, Cyber? Have you found her?”
