Super Secret | Half Hero Book 2 [ON HOLD]

Chapter 24: Snot to Spare

Cyrus, Isla, and Valentina took off immediately after dinner while the rest of us cleaned up. Without any television or electronics, Nawell, Basem, and Mac settled in to play cards, while I took myself to the porch with a blanket.

Wrapped up in my pilled fleece cape, I settled on a low bench to listen for the nocturnal animals stirring tree branches and rustling bushes. It was going to snow soon. The cumulous blocking out the full moon over the lake looked ready to drop at least a good foot.

The temperature was flirting with below freezing, but I needed to feel the bite on my extremities to distract myself from the horror-loop in my head.

Everything Varun led me to believe was just part of his selective (and elitist) reality. Not even the Scion's wanted to talk about their adoptive father, but the betrayal they felt was etched into their mannerisms whenever he was mentioned. The emotional devastation had rattled their foundation so severely that they were unable to discuss the trauma.

I was more confused than ever, and my family was back in the clutches of the government we'd been fighting while I was crippled by Varun's experimental technology on my arm.

My hands were going stiff from the cold when a cloud of tangerine swirls appeared a few feet away from the porch. 

Cyrus stepped forward, flashing his black eyes my way. I sprang up, anxious for whatever news brought him back so early.

"Your family is safe," he reported, reaching a gloved hand up to pull off his mask and reveal his spectacular face. "Your brother is in a coma, but alive. Doctors expect him to recover in about a year, with intensive physical therapy and surgery. Varun won't leave your mother's side, and she won't leave your brother. Jonathan Miller's men have the hospital heavily guarded, and he just told your mother of your escape."

I dissolved into the sobs I'd barely been able to hold back and crouched over to stop the stabbing sensation in my side. Blood rushed to my face and my pulse thundered uncertainly as boiling hot tears overtook my eyes.

I didn't hear Cyrus rush up the stairs to catch me, but I didn't struggle when he cradled me to his chest as I crumpled. His hand stroked the back of my matted hair tenderly, letting me sob into the blanket until my cries (eventually) dried up.

Somehow, I still had plenty of snot to spare, and I wiped my nose raw before pulling away.

"Thank you," I sighed, startled when I found a pair of tortured brown eyes, instead of the black orbs I'd been expecting.

Something in his expression tugged at my already unraveling thoughts as he reached up to tuck a lock of my hair behind my ear. I leaned into the warmth of his gesture and closed my eyes to fully absorb the relief.

I probably should have apologized for being a gaping butthole to him earlier, but I couldn't find the words. 

Since Cyrus wasn't big on talking, I let the silence settle while we regarded one another carefully. Our breathing condensed in the cold, circulating the strangely charged air between us.

"Aw, they made up guys!" Isla's trilling voice range out over the trees.

Cyrus pulled away so fast I fell backward, tangled and flailing. He leaned over to help me up and grunted when my blanket-covered foot clipped the side of his head with a dull thud.

The cabin door swung wide to accommodate Mac and the rest of the team as they joined us on the porch, laughing like a bunch of hyenas. Mac's face, however, was hard as ice while he watched the two of us scuffle around to separate.

"What the hell are you two doing back here?" Mac barked over everyone's hooting laughter.

"Valentina is tracking Jonathan Miller, and Aaron is alive but hospital-bound," Cyrus replied, straightening up to fold his trench coat over his legs. "I came back to give Ella an update on her brother before Isla and I headed out again."

"What about Anne?" Mac growled.

"My mom just found out that I escaped captivity," I piped up. "And Aaron is in a coma. So, this shit is bananas."

"But her brother should make a full recovery," Cyrus corrected over the crack of my voice.

"What about C.E.?" Mac pressed.

"Not much yet," Cyrus shook his head in defeat. "Valentina's running down leads."

"Alright," Mac nodded, folding his lips into a thin line. "Bedtime everyone. Cyrus and Isla, when can we expect another update?"

"Four days," Cyrus replied, his expression hardening. "If not sooner."

"Ella?" Mac said pointedly. "You need to get some rest."

Cyrus stretched upward and offered me a hand. His grip was firm as he pulled me up until our bodies were almost touching. The ions in my blood rushed hungrily, swirling, and thrumming until the heat nearly burst from my chest. 

Cyrus' eyes morphed into onyx orbs, robbing me of the profound emotion in his expression.

"She heals fast, I've seen her in action," he commented. "Let's go, Isla."

Cyrus hopped off the porch while his little sister trailed after him, almost skipping over the rocky terrain. Nawell came over to help me inside. I wasn't going to be able to sleep, but at least Cyrus had managed to bring me a tiny bit of comfort. My family was safe, for now.

"Hey," Mac called out, closing the door of the cabin behind us. "I want to talk to Ella for a minute. Alone."

"Oh, goodie," I muttered under the crackle of the still blazing cast iron stove.

Basem and Nawell offered me pained glances as they slunk out of the room to leave us. I flopped down on a cushy, moth-eaten loveseat to watch Mac lumber toward me.

"They're going to be alright," he assured me in a low voice. "I promise you, I won't let anything happen to Anne or Aaron."

I stared, dumbfounded. How was Mac ever going to keep such an outlandish promise?

We were outnumbered and outgunned in every possible scenario. Galen had said it himself, the government had world armies on speed dial ready to pledge their allegiance to the United States if I stepped out of line.

This wasn't just rogue soldiers for hire we were facing. This was world nations. Everyone was going to want me back in captivity the moment they knew I'd escaped.

Hmmmm, is it just me or does there seem to be some *interesting* sexual tension building between Cyrus and Ella?