Wild Tiger Chase | Book #2 (Complete)

53: the whisper in my heart (Part II)

— Léon —

"... And there. Safely cracked open and ready for your perusal," Satina said with a smile. She checked her phone. Turning it around, she smirked; her screen read 00:19:13. "With a few seconds to spare, Rafaela."

"I'll be damned. She really did it," Rafa said with a chuckle. She didn't sound impressed—only amused, as if she already knew about Satina's talents.

The others cheered, and for a moment there, Léon almost felt like he was back to working alongside Mary and Tiny back at Invidia. In some ways—and there was no lying to himself about that—he almost missed his job as a villain. It would sure be useful to have Iara's help in this situation.

Rafa leaned forward to peek over Satina's shoulder. "What did you find?"

"There's only a bunch of confusing formulas and scientific bullshit in here," Satina said. "Notes about a serum, logs with all that happened during experiments, and so many formulas." She clicked her tongue. "From all of us, the only person who might understand all this shit is Aunt Kali, and who knows where she is."

"Maybe we can find someone in the hospital who can make sense of it," Léon suggested.

"Good idea," Rob said. "But if we're really looking for someone, we'll need to rush." He strode to the door and paused in front of it, ready to go. "I'll try to find Kali first, but if I—"

"Wait." Rafa straightened her back and furrowed her brows. "There's no need. I can understand it."

"You... can?" Rob echoed. There was more than a little disbelief in his voice. "But how?"

Phillip perked up. "Wait. Is that...?"

Rafa looked at Phillip and gave him a slow nod. "The memories I received in Toni's undimension. Rio gave me his memories, Phillip. Look at this section here." Rafa pointed at the projected screen and showed part of the text. "I remember writing this while you complained about your Godmother Ilda and how distant she was—at the same time I cleaned your burned hands."

"The burns caused by Léon's powers being freed," Phillip said.

"Yeah. The patterns in your palm's skin tissue and the way it was molten by the cosmic trace looked exactly like the degrading process caused by the sickness. And this one?" Rafa scrolled to another part of the text. "In this one, you were describing Léon's powers and what it was like to travel with the step-through—"

"Which is exactly what Jackal used to create this fucking trap," Phillip growled.

"And also the basic idea for the serum." She stopped and turned around. "In an indirect way, your proximity with Léon helped them to develop their research, Pheels. The memories Rio has of you are all tangled with his research."

The room grew silent. Somehow, Phillip's silence was the heavier among them.

And Léon could imagine why. Léon exchanged a look with Rob and Satina. Like him, they showed a mix of pity and sadness.

Phillip rubbed his chin. He paused, his palms up as if to weigh his own words. "So... what? He's been using me all along? Not only four years ago"—his voice cracked, so Phillip cleared his throat—"but during the whole time we've been together?" He raised his eyebrows and let out a mirthless chuckle. Phillip didn't seem aware of how much he was blinking and how fast he was breathing.

"It's what it looks like, mate. I'm so sorry," Rob whispered.

"Yeah, not even a jerk like you deserves this," Satina muttered.