My demons: Healing (book 3)

Loyalty

Some time later, Nathan Forbes stepped into the room, and Claire heard him coming minutes before his actual arrival. Sometimes she wished she could be surprised, just to remember what spontaneity felt like. 

She turned around to face him. He hadn't changed much since the last time she had seen him. 

He was dressed in a black tailored suit and she nearly smiled at that, he had always been a smart dresser. He had toned arms covered in dark ink and a lean figure that showed off years of training he had endured. He still had short, ink black hair that matched his eyes. The only thing different was the emptiness of his gaze. Usually, his eyes were haunting, looking as if his ghosts were swimming in them. Now, they were just hollow, an endless pit Claire could easily lose herself in. 

Her heart ached for him but she had no time to simply bond with him. 

"Nathan," she said in a way of greeting, motioning for him to take a seat while she sat on her chair across from him. He inclined his head once before siting down. 

"I hear you don't talk," she said matter-of-factly. She didn't ponder much on his decision to go mute, she knew he had been through more than most can handle. She understood it as his way of coping with it and she would never put it against him. But she wouldn't pity him for it either or show him sympathy. She had been through a lot too, she just found other ways to cope. And where was the sympathy for her?

"You can just respond mentally, if that's something you'd be okay with," she suggested and he nodded again. "You asked for me," he inquired and she nodded, a small smile gracing her lips before her stoic mask fell back on. "I hear you and your sister run things now."

"She is the leader, but I command our troops," he confirmed what Claire had already suspected. Chrystal Forbes could hardly be called a leader. Power-hungry, yes. But capable? Not in the slightest.

"I hear she wants to work with me," she inquired and he nodded. "I don't trust her."

"You need our army, Claire. This is bigger than we thought. It's not just the eastern branch anymore. Europeans had sent reinforcements. They are willing to come here if things go south. You need us and we need you. And the rest of the six, like it or not."

"You need me," Claire nodded, a smile tugging on her lips again. "And I trust you, Nathan. I will only agree to do this if it's you, who's in charge."

"Are you suggesting I overthrow my own sister?"

"Your army is loyal to you, not to her. She is a danger to us all. I'm not suggesting you overthrow her, I'm telling you to kill her."

He stared back at her, his expression blank. She decided to push him further. "Do it, and I'll join you. Hell, I'll even join the rest of the six if that's what we need to win this war," she said pulling out her dagger. He eyed it for a moment before his eyes settled on the killer before him. "Fail to do it, and I'll do it myself. But I won't join you afterwards."

Before she could add more, she got a text that made her go pale momentarily. "You have a week," she concluded, standing up abruptly and making her way towards the closet in which she had stored all of her weaponry.

"Care to show me your loyalty now?" she turned to face him. "Edgar Powell has something of mine."

He nodded, taking the rifle Claire pulled out of her closet. She knew he had been trained to be a sniper. 

"Something, or someone?" he pondered and she shot him a look that was enough of an answer. He nodded, walking out of the door. 

Claire swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat before shaking her head. Sky Lewis was hardly hers at this point.