Deviants

Chapter 41

Amee

All my bones seem to shake. I'm not sure if it's from the freezing weather or from the anxiety. The wet weather certainly isn't calming my nerves, that's for damn sure. I feel as if this is my first time all over again. It would've been easier on my own, I shouldn't have let them help me. I shouldn't have brought Jesse with me.

In the lightly sprinkling rain, crouched behind a fallen tree, I look at Jesse, who is next to me, keeping a watchful eye on the road. He wears a black jacket with a bandana over his mouth and nose since he doesn't have an aramaki hood like me. I am so stupid. What if something goes wrong? What if he is stupid and gets shot? What if he is even more stupid and doesn't eliminate one of the agents? What if he doesn't have the gut to do what needs to be done? What if he actually tries to stop me from killing one of them? If Kevin were alive... he'd probably ditch me for being so stupid. Jesse's never killed anyone. Kate's never killed anyone. What the hell was I thinking?!

"You know, I just had a thought," Jesse says, turning to me, his British accent a quiet whisper but he seems calm. "We should probably have code names or something, in case we need to get the other's attention." My lips part in disbelief. Nicknames? He's thinking of nicknames?! Can he even comprehend what could happen? He could die! And he's thinking of nicknames?!

I close my eyes and take a breath. I need to relax. Jesse is a capable guy, and it isn't as if I'll be having to tend a three-year-old while being in the middle of risking my life. And, he has a point. It would be a dead give away if I had to shout his name and one of the agents ended up living. I nod my head and look at him.

"That's a good idea. You should also hide your accent. They could track it back to you or Shad," I say. He nods his head.

"It probably would've been easier if I had Kate's ability, but I can manage," he says. I nod my head.

"Okay, what are our nicknames?" I ask.

"Well, it just sounds stupid if you say it like that," he says. I roll my eyes, but I can't help but chuckle, reach helps the twisting feeling in my stomach lessen. Maybe that's why he is thinking of something so odd and slightly insignificant. Because he must be at least kind of nervous! I know that I couldn't shut my mind off when I first did this, but also, maybe that's because I have faced these guys before, so I knew how dangerous it was.

"Okay, how about... batman and robin?" I say, the first superheroes popping in my head. Jesse raises an eyebrow, and it isn't hard to guess what he's thinking. Are you bloody serious?

"Only if I get to be batman," he says. I smile and shake my head.

"Excuse me, but I'm the genius of the operation," I say. He gives me a challenging look and at that moment I can a whiff of his scent, which smells of books and parchment. I hate that my heart does a small flutter.

"We'll just see about that," he whispers, his attractive smirk on his face. I thank the stars that my phone vibrates then, giving me an excuse to look away from his penetrating gaze. I pull out my phone to see a message from Kate.

"They are on the road," I whisper to Jesse as I glance at the road a few yards before us.

"She should probably have a code name too," he says. I think for a second before shrugging a shoulder.

"Eh, she can be catwoman."

Headlights appear at the turn of the highway. My heart beats faster with the excitement that's starting to become familiar to me. Both Jesse and I shift. I refrain from reminding him what we had gone over. He knows. He knows what his job is.