Chapter 10

Lin rests on my lap in the back of Pryor’s car. We drive in silence as he makes our way back to the house.

I keep my lullaby as I stroke Lin’s hair. She has her stitches back on her arm where they returned the skin over her mechanical one.

“No one ever told me how Lin lost her arm.” I speak up.

Phil sighs, stopping at a red light. “It was before you two were paired. Lindsay tried to help out downtown in Ohio. A building caught fire; Calvert was acting as a suicide bomber. She went in, and rescued seven children, but lost her arm to a block of cement trying to get the 8^th.”

“What did the block do?” I continued to rub at Lin’s wrists where the cuffs cut her.

“Broke her shoulder down to her fingertips. Said she couldn’t feel her arm. We designed a bionic arm hooked to her nerves.” He turns into the driveway. “You’ve got an amazing partner there, Liz.”

“Yeah, Lin is amazing.” I lift her into my arms, and carry her inside. “The drugs must still be in effect.”

“She’ll be out for a few more minutes, maybe an hour.” Phil shrugs and nods to me. “Call me if you need me again.”

I watch him go, and walk to the bedroom. On the way, I stop where Brenden used to be, but Phil’s men must’ve taken his body and removed the bloodstains.

Staring down at Lin, I sigh and continue my walk.

I lay her down, and wrap the blanket around her. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I stare outside the window. Then it triggers in my mind that I’m still covered in blood.

From Dwopp’s men…

And Shame’s.

Should I really wash her away?

I shake my head at the thought and rise. Grabbing a towel, I notice Lin curled on her side. She opens her eyes to me, and smiles.

“Hey.” I brush the hair from her face. “How are you feeling?”

She shrugs and winces at the tug of her skin. “Could be better.”

I run my fingers through her hair. “I’m about to take a shower. Will you join me?”

She smiles at me. “Of course.” Rising, she climbs onto my lap and pulls of my shirt.

Cold rushes over me, and goose bumps follow. I let in a sharp intake as Lin drags me off into the bathroom.

“Lin.” I smile.

“Shh. Yer mine for a few moments.” She pulls.

-----

Lindsay falls back asleep again. And I am dressed for the day. Odd enough, we haven’t been attacked by Dwopp again.

Perhaps Shame and I put a dent in his plans and he’s buying time by creating a new one.

I also know that as soon as the early sun rises tomorrow, Lin’s going to have to wake up and train. I cannot allow her to fall behind.

Peeking over at her, I watch her sleep for some time. Then again, the silence is ruined when the phone rings.

I cautiously stare at my cell, reading off the contact. Restricted. I kill time, muffling it with a pillow.

Lindsay is stirring slightly awake, but I want her to rest.

My hesitant action with the pillow has allowed her to fall asleep again. Fortunately the rings halt completely and silence takes the room.

I click the volume to silent, slip it into my pocket, and turn to Lin. As she sleeps, I give one gentle kiss to her neck.

Arising, I leave slowly out of the room. The AC is on, purring quietly in the living room. Pryors has replaced our coffee table, and the remains of the other one is missing.

I halt to a stop, mid-stride towards the kitchen when I  feel warm blood trickle down my stomach. Looking down, I notice my new white blouse has a red blotch growing larger by the seconds.

And then it hit me…

Just as I turn to escape to the bedroom the bullet lodged in my tummy burns and I’m forced to my knees.

Luckily, as I hit the ground, another bullet whizzes over my head to hit where it used to be. I force myself up as a ripple of bullets go through the walls.

I scream over the spray, torturing my legs to push faster as they narrowly dodge the bullets. The spray is like a hot knife through butter as they tear through my walls.

I make it to the hallway, feeling sick with loss of blood. There’s no way all this running is good for my wound.

“Lin!” I reach her on the bed as our shooters go trigger happy at the hallway. “Babe, get up!”

She opens her eyes just as the bullets ripple through the bedroom. I throw us to the floor, where the wood pulls at her stitches and pulls some off.

Lin screams in pain. She stifles slightly, arching up as I try to hold her down.

“Damn.” She grinds her teeth together. “That really hurt…”

“Lay low.” I warn and keep my hand on her chest.

The bullets stop momentarily, and I daringly peek over the bed. Peeking around, I’ notice they’ve shredded the curtains. I size up our enemy, as they reload. They carry a Gatling gun on the back of a large black van, shielded inside if I were to fire back.

“What are we up against?” Lin cautiously kneels beside me.

“A handful of men, perhaps five, maybe seven. Two operate the Gatling gun, the others act as security.” I glance at her and wipe away some tears from her cheek. “You alright?”

She smiles slightly. “That wasn’t exactly the wake up call I hoped for.” Her eyes travel to my hands that cup the wound in my tummy. “W-what happened?”

“A sniper’s lucky shot.” I assure. “I’ll be fine.”

She takes my word �" for now. “We’re sitting ducks; what should we do?”

“When cornered, fight.” I c**k a pistol from under the bed.

Author's Note

Sorry to anyone who was enjoying this book and waiting so long for this chapter ^^'' my flash drive got erased a month ago and im still trying to recover my old books. Thanks for the patience