“Get in your beastie truck and do my brother a favor. Ride out of Spring Valley and never come back.” She let her impossible grip on me go.
My face drained of all color at the thought of never seeing Travis again, and I realized that I didn’t want to go through that kind of pain. And there it was. The one thing I was truly fearful of. Losing Travis. All those feelings I was confident were gone, were actually still in me. They had been there all along. Acknowledging them filled me with a determination and protective streak that ran wild inside me.
My emeralds eyes shone with perseverance. No one was going to tell me what to do or who I could love ever again. And I would love Travis until my last dying breath. It didn’t matter what the facility preached; Travis was the exception in my book. I couldn’t control who I loved any more than I was willing to be a pawn in the facility’s twisted beliefs.
Lexi turned on her heel and walked back to her car with her nose in the air. There was nothing left to be said between us. Nothing I could say or do would erase the damage I had already caused. Right now I needed to make it up to the one person who counted the most.
Travis.
Chapter 13
When I got the call that Angel was in custody, I went numb. My toes went icy, my blood went cold, and fear glossed my emerald eyes, because I knew what went on behind the white walls of the facility. And some way, somehow, Angel had grown on me. I couldn’t stand to see that “screw the world” attitude destroyed. I wouldn’t sick the facility on my worst enemy.
Since being released, I’d learned to feel again, to think for myself, and trust my instincts. All my intuition said that Angel wasn’t the threat they all thought she was. She was a girl my age, in love and trying to figure out this thing called life, like the rest of us.
So here I was on some suicide mission to save the girl whose life I contemplated ending not long ago. The way I saw it, ether way I was dead meat. It now was about deciding which was a better way to go.
The facility.
Or Chase.
I chose the damn half-demon.
“Angel,” I whispered, a shudder tearing through me. The facility had that frightening affect. I had hoped, at all cost, to avoid ever stepping foot inside this building again. Looking down at the groggy misfit lying on the cot-size bed, I cursed under my breath. “Angel!” I called with more conviction.
If she didn’t get her ass up and going, I was out of here. I could see my window of opportunity closing.
“Go away,” she groaned, rolling over and ignoring me.
“Damn it, Angel,” I growled. “We don’t have time for this.” My patience was running thin.
She rubbed her big blue, sleepy eyes, deprived of any real rest. They were stuffed with fear and finally focused on me. “What are you doing here?” she mumbled, like she just had a dose of morphine. There was an edge of cynicism in her voice.
I glared at her in annoyance. There was no time for small talk, so I spoke in a language we both understood: sarcasm. The corner of my mouth twitched. “What does it look like? I’m saving your sorry ass.”
She shot up from the bed, swaying on her feet. “Why?” she asked with genuine confusion.
I got that she had doubts, but I didn’t have time to hold her hand and walk her through a breakout. She was just going to have to trust me. “Do I need a reason?” I said, getting more irritated by the second. “Now get your hybrid butt moving, unless you like it here?”
She ran an unsteady hand through her scraggly dark hair. “I don’t understand.”
Why the hell was she arguing?
I huffed. “Look, mutant. I don’t have time for this. We only have one shot here, and we are losing precious time arguing. Later we can play the fifty-questions game, after we get out of here. Capiche?”
I gave her a moment of consideration. Then, to my relief, she nodded, tongue-tied and in shock.
Thank God.
“You better not be shitting me,” she added as I popped my head out the doorway looking for guards.
I should have known she wouldn’t keep her trap shut for long. I glanced quickly over my shoulder, placing a finger to my lips, and prayed she got the signal to shut up. My presence here wouldn’t cause too many raised brows, but leaving with Angel would definitely put a red flag on our backs. We needed to maneuver around the guards patrolling the halls.
As soon as I was sure we had a clear window, I gave the signal. “Move your ass!” I commanded, leaving no room for argument. It was do or die, and I sure as heck wasn’t ready to die. I wanted out of this hellhole once and for all, no longer under the facility’s thumb. It was past time for me to take charge of my life again. To dream again. To love again.
Angel scrunched her nose at me. “You are the worst rescuer ever,” she muttered.