The Reaper Saga [Book 1-3]

CHAPTER 29 [EDITED]

5132

I couldn't find a word to say.

After saying goodbye to Keisha, we were on our own. I could just feel the tension between us the more distance we covered.

"How are you?"

The question halted my walk, making me turn around slowly. I thought I'd see him avoiding my eyes like he did before but this time he held my eye contact. Fuck. Maybe I missed having his attention. Good or bad, it didn't matter to me.

"Lana-"

"I'll be fine, Mikhail, I always do. It's like a factory setting. Now let's just find that son of a hellhound." I couldn't help but avoid looking at him. What happened to us? We used to at least talk without this awkwardness between us. Yeah, insults and playful cusses were thrown around a lot but this...I didn't like this wall between us. The last time I saw him, I was leaving for Norcia. The last time I talked to him...one night of drunk call wasn't enough.

He looked at me with concern. "That doesn't sound ok at all."

"No, it's fine. The faster we can find something the better." I was already walking ahead when I was stopped by a hand on my arm.

"Can we actually talk?" He asked quietly as if I would just run. "I begged you not to give up on us but you did. Again and again, you keep running. Are you ever going to stop?"

"I don't know. Didn't find a reason to stop yet."

His stare intensified and I hated it. I hated to see him like this.

"Is this about him? What you said that day?"

"Yes." Fuck lying, I was going to be brutally honest to the point he wanted to leave. "It's about him. It's also about how you want to fix me. How do you think I feel every time you call me Lana? It's like you only want the pre-sanatorium me. The girl who died and has no identity anymore. You look at me and you see a case you can solve. Sorry to disappoint you but I'm not your cold case you dedicated your life to solve."

Without waiting for an answer, I started to walk ahead not even waiting for him to catch up. It will only ever work if he accepted the real me.

Also Zach who's already gone.

"How many people you think are working for Sage?" He asked at last.

He had to stumble twice to reach me. Even then I couldn't answer him with accuracy. "I was taken into a dark room since I was kidnapped. I never saw how many worked for Sage."

A twitch on his jaw was the only emotion to show that he was angry about the fact.

There weren't too many people I'd seen today and it couldn't be just luck. I paused, suddenly noticing the sight. There, just a little ahead was a one-story house and if I was right, all the chattering was coming from there. I didn't want to go farther but what was my other option?

"You stay here, I'll check that place out." He said, trying to rush forward. Shit, this was a suicide mission. You don't want to see the wrong side of Sage. If provoked, he could call his equally disturbing minions which could kill us instantly even before we could blink. So, before Mikhail could get both of us killed, I stopped him with a grimace.

"Let's just go together OK? We don't need the same thing that happened to us before." I reminded him to which we both visibly flinched.

Like hell, I was going to do that same mistake twice.

THREE MONTHS AGO

"You take 5133 and make a move. I will deal with Byron."

He stopped to look at me like I was crazy. "Never. We're going together."