Inching forward, I warned him with my eyes, dared him to attack again. If this was a ruse, I'd be ready. “Just looks like a bloody nose from here.”
“Take a closer look,” he said softly. His grin was monstrous.
“You're not tricking me again, dick-head.”
He chuckled darkly at my comment. “Guess not.”
The pounding in my skull wasn't slowing down. Were we done? Had I won, was Jacob going to hold to his promise? I maintained my stance, waiting for him to do something. Anything.
Sighing loudly, Jacob leaned against the wall. His hand was held up, fingers spread. It was as if he'd never seen his own blood before. I knew that wasn't true. “Look at us,” he whispered. “What the hell are we doing?”
“Fighting for Marina's soul.”
The statement had slipped out of my mouth. It felt right, though.
Something familiar glistened in his stare. It took me back to a tiny playground in a forgotten chunk of Upstate New York. “This really means that much to you,” he said.
The energy in his tendons had vanished. Taking the cue, I let my body relax. “She means that much to me. Don't tell me you can't understand that.”
His wet hand became a fist. Red stained his shirt, the mat, and his frown. “I understand, Kite. I never said she meant nothing to me.”
Hesitating, I folded my legs and sat heavily. I was itching all over, burnt and drained. It was like I hadn't slept for days.
Or perhaps, something in me was finally waking up.
I said, “For once, shake off your paranoia. Imagine a future where she lives. Where we get our freedom and Marina Fidel.”
The edges of his lips twitched. “I'm a practical man. It's hard to picture that.”
Leaning forward, I pushed my triumph like a knife into an open wound. I had to cut deeper, hamstring him while I had the upper hand. “I won. You said you'd give her a chance to prove she can be trusted.”
Still as a statue, Jacob considered me for a long while. The only motion was the occasional drop of blood from his nose. Shame over being the one who had injured him was settling in. I had to stay strong... I had to stand my ground.
Jacob had been the most important person in the world to me.
Until now, no one had dared to share that space.
“Yes. You won.” Groaning, he pinched the bridge of his nose and looked upwards. “I'll give her a chance. I promised you that much.”
My heart thrummed, a smile so gigantic it was embarrassing split over my face. I was lucky he wasn't watching anymore. “Thanks.”
“You know,” he said, his voice wistful. “Part of me really does want to trust her. What an experience that would be.”
A flutter of doubt poked at me. I thought about our fight, the angle he'd had me at, his experience with grappling. How he'd abruptly stopped choking me out.
Shaking my head, I studied him with suspicion. “You didn't let me win... did you?”
His smile was jagged. Peeking at me, he kept squeezing his nose to stem the flow of blood. “Grab a towel from my bag.”
His lack of an answer said volumes.
I yanked out a rag and soaked it in the small water fountain. Jacob taking the fall intentionally shouldn't have made a difference. Except it does, I thought silently, handing him the wet cloth.
Watching him clean his face, how quickly he returned to cool, composed Jacob, I stayed hooked on what this meant.
If he had let me win... then Jacob really did cling to the same hope that I did.
He wanted Marina to live.
If the both of us were on the same page, the outcome had a greater percentage of becoming true.
But even with our combined desire, Marina was still an anchor dragging us down in the river of death. If we worked together, could we pull all three of us to the other side?
Freedom.
It waited for us.
We just had to keep ourselves from drowning a little longer.
- Chapter 24 -
Jacob
––––––––
My face ached—and for a good reason. I was still amazed that Kite had gone as far as he had. I had to admire him.
In my bathroom mirror, I pressed the ice to my nose and chuckled. It didn't look that bad, it just felt awful. There was a constant thudding from the cartilage to my brain. The blood had stopped an hour ago, but I could still taste the copper on my tongue.
Leaning close to the mirror, I stared into my eyes, searched for whatever was making me behave like a mad man. It was pointless. I knew the reason.
It all came back to her.
Dammit, I cursed myself. Lifting the ice away, I gingerly touched the side of my face; tender, enough that I winced.
Kite had a hard head, literally. I should have made him tap-out, I'd had the upper hand.
So why did I lose?
My eyes held the answer that time.
Out of disgust, I wrenched away, unable to face myself. Marina is twisting me up inside.
The revelation was like a second collision. Scrubbing at my hair, making my scalp tingle, I threw the ice in the trash. This situation was going off the rails.
Kite wanted to fight for her, and I'd been roped into agreeing.