Blood and Bone | 1

6 | 2

I whirled around and marched out the door to Hunt's office. I had no time to waste. Shoving past Hunt's escorts, I searched for the nearest exit. I was halfway down the first flight of stairs when Arlo caught up with me.

"What the hell were you talking about in there?" he asked me curiously, not winded at all despite having had to sprint to catch up to me.

"Move," I told him as he blocked me from going down the steps. "This is urgent."

"What exactly is urgent?" Riley questioned from the top of the staircase, looking down.

I was practically snarling when I said, "Why don't I tell you on the way?"

"To Romania?" Hunt asked, appearing next to Riley and the others.

Narrowing my eyes at him, I stated firmly, "You know what used to be in northern Romania."

"Yes, Delphinium, but it's gone now. You, of all people, should know that. The United States government investigated it for months."

"What's going on right now? I hate being left out of things," Jaxon put in his opinion amid the argument.

"You can never be too cautious," I reminded Hunt, ignoring Jaxon. "You have to admit, it is suspicious."

Hunt struggled for words before he finally got out, "Be that as it may, that doesn't mean that anything relating vaguely to your past needs to be thoroughly investigated again. We need you here, especially with everything that is going on."

I took a threatening step toward him. "You brought us here to protect the nation. And for the first time, that is what I'm going to do."

The director was quiet as he thought. I could practically see the gears turning in his head, trying to decide what to do. I knew that he wanted us here, but I'd planted a seed of doubt in his mind. I could only hope that it would sprout.

Finally, Hunt answered, rubbing a hand over his tired face. "There will be a plane waiting for you on the southern quadrant. You have two days to be back here."

I nodded my head once to express my gratitude and continued down the staircase. I had no time to waste.

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Staring out the window of the plane, I watched the ocean pass by below us. It was vast; as far as the eye could see to the horizon line was water. I half-wished I could drown in it and escape this mess.

No, I told myself hurriedly. It could be nothing. My suspicions could always be wrong.

They aren't alive.

They can't be alive.

I repeated this mantra to myself as I fixed my eyes on the carpeted floor of the jet, almost as if in a trance. It had to be true. It had to be true.

I closed my eyes, purposefully allowing myself to remember. It almost felt wrong; I'd done the opposite for so long. But now, I was hoping it would bring me peace of mind.

Alarms blared as debris rained from the crumbling ceiling. Ashes fell like snow against the raging red backdrop.

Covering my mouth and nose with my hand to lessen smoke inhalation, I ran through the long hallways as I desperately tried to find escape. Flames were all I could see; it was like an ocean.