Guardians: Away Mission Book 2 of the Guardians Saga COMPLETED except for edits

Heads Will Roll... Ch. 11.2

The next morning, Alex sat on her bed, hands pressed to her ears, listening to Morgan shouting in her head. It had started with trash and whore and had gotten worse from there.

The short circuit built in her head so that she barely heard the knock on the door and she regretted making her bargain with Cale.

He had decided to keep them both away from her, so she had spent the night alone. The nightmares had racked her sleep and set her up for a short circuit to start this morning.

She had never had one on the Anolis home world and had almost forgotten them. The noise in her head was so loud that she barely heard the knock on her door.

"Alex, I want to talk to you," Gabe called through the door.

"No," she called back.

"You must leave that room in your dwelling at some time."

"What part of 'no' didn't you understand?" She pressed her hands harder to her head. "Unless there's a mission, go away."

Gabe hiss-growled and stalked out of the apartment.

"He's gone," Rile said to the closed door.

"Yippee." Alex slumped on the bed, the voice in her head quieted, the short circuit now over.

"Come out."

"No, I'm done. Leave me be."

You and your brother fight enough. You're not fighting over trash like me.

"I'm not done with you. Come out and spar. You can't hide forever. I'll break down that door. I'm not the Perfect Eldest Son."

Alex wrenched open the door and glared at Rile. He bowed in an exaggerated manner to the training mat he had placed in her living room.

They squared off while Cale watched, unhappiness written on his face and clacking his claws.

"Keep your hands up," Rile ordered Alex. "They're too low to block well."

"Please take it easy," Cale begged. "Alex left the hospital only days ago."

"Alex will not get better sitting on the couch. She needs conditioning, as well as training in sword, staff, and dagger. Hermann and that agency that created her are still out there, looking for her."

"Thanks for talking about me like I wasn't here," Alex said.

Rile rolled his eyes and punched at her with easy, test jabs that she parried decently.

"Keep your hands up," Rile said and Alex complied for a few punches before her hands dipped again.

"I'm not telling you again." Rile punched through her too-low hand position.

Alex stumbled, her back hit the corner of the wall, and she went to her knees.

"Did you have to slam me against the wall?" Alex gasped. "That dagger wound still has sutures in it."

Cale jumped up to help her and raked Rile with an appropriate glare.

"You deserved a dagger in the lung. What were you thinking, chatting to someone who wanted to kill you?" Rile said, returning Cale's look. "You kill or disable your opponent, rather than tell her how anticlimactic your fight was."

Alex was settling painfully into the couch when Gabe walked in. He was at her side in a flash.

"I heard scuffling from downstairs. What happened?" He pried away her hand from her back and saw fresh blood, the tang wafted to all the brothers' sensitive nostrils.