The Girl Who Dared to Think Bella Forrest (best classic literature txt) 📖

was over. That was where and how I was going to die—and then suddenly you were there. Your hand flashing some sloppy Callivax, asking me to play along... And the next thing I know, I’m free. I can’t be upset or sad or worried. Not right now. I’m too happy that I’m still here, y’know?”

“I’m just glad you’re a good actor,” I muttered. “I was worried you didn’t know Callivax and wouldn’t get it. Or that I’d get caught doing it.”

Grey shrugged. “I probably would’ve done the same thing anyway, once I realized it wasn’t working. Tried to get away when they transported the dead to the Medica for disposal.”

“It wouldn’t have worked—Scipio was monitoring your biometrics.”

“Yeah, I picked up on that.”

We fell into silence after that, navigating through the tunnels and heading for the most direct route to Cogstown. The silence wasn’t exactly uncomfortable; it was more due to the state of exhaustion Grey was in. He leaned pretty heavily on me, and his feet were dragging.

“I should’ve made you eat something,” I murmured, trying to keep us both from pitching over.

“You asking me out to dinner, Squire?” he quipped, and in spite of the ache in my shoulders and legs, I smiled.

“Do you ever stop flirting?”

“Not when a pretty girl is escorting me home. Or when she’s just saved my life.”

“I’m beginning to regret that decision,” I replied, my eyes scanning the area above the archways, studying the symbols there and finding the one for the elevator pointing right. That meant it was close.

“Ouch,” Grey said dramatically. “What? It’s okay for girls to go out with the guy who rescued them, but for guys it’s not okay?”

“What?” I asked, coming to a halt in the middle of the hall and giving him an incredulous look. “You cannot, seriously, be asking me out.”

He grinned. “Suave, huh?”

“No, more like idiotic. We barely got out of that place, and we were damned lucky we didn’t get caught. I’m glad you’re happy to be alive, but I’ll feel much better when we get to Roark’s, get you some food, and hash out a plan for how to proceed, moving forward.”

I began to advance again, the elevator within sight now.

“So... you think I’m stupid?” he asked. “That’s rough. Most girls don’t want to date stupid guys.”

I made a very loud and annoyed sound, but couldn’t help the smile that crossed my face again. If he were anyone else, it would seem obnoxious, but on him it was charming. Self-deprecating, with a twist of dry humor, but that confident smile. It was admirable, especially considering what he’d had to face.

And a part of me wished I didn’t like it as much as I did. Because things were only going to get more dangerous from here on out, and attachments and attractions could become a liability.

Roark looked up from where he was pacing, his eyes wary and alarmed. The shadows under his eyes had darkened, and the creases on his brow seemed to have grown deeper, spreading from cracks into canyons. When he saw Grey, however, his eyes widened and relief shone brightly through.

“Grey,” he breathed.

“Hey, old man,” Grey said, stepping forward and away from my support.

Roark wrapped him in a fierce hug, tears springing to his eyes. “You damnable fool,” the old man groused into Grey’s shoulder. “If you ever give away your pills and don’t tell me again, I swear I’ll...!”

Grey pulled away, grinning. “You can’t scare me today, old man. I’m alive.”

Roark scowled. “Yeah, well, you’re extremely lucky you are—and you owe a debt to Liana.”

Grey looked over at me, his eyes steady and calm as they met mine. “I do,” he affirmed. The look caused me to feel uncertain, the heavy, confident weight behind his words making me feel exposed somehow. And for some reason, I didn’t hate it. It caused my heart to skip a whole sequence of heartbeats before breaking into a step-dance rhythm.

“You’re injured,” Roark grumbled, taking a step away and studying Grey. “And you’re weak. I’m guessing they didn’t feed you, did they?”

“They said it was a waste of resources,” I replied, and I felt an accompanying burst of anger at the whole thing. “Listen, we need to talk about all this.”

“In a minute,” Roark replied as he inspected Grey’s wound. “Did you stop by the Medica first?”

“We had to,” I explained. “Gerome sent us.”

“What did they do, and did they give him any medication?”

“Roark, relax,” Grey said, his eyes opening and closing sluggishly. “Just a leech patch.”

“And Zoponal,” I added. Roark nodded, giving me a grateful look, and I knew he was asking in case he had to give Grey any additional medication, so he wouldn’t give him something that didn’t react well with what was already in his system. “I’m not sure what it is, just heard the Medics say it when they gave it to him. Is he okay?”

“He’s going to be fine,” Roark replied. “Zoponal is a sedative, a part of it lies dormant in the system until the heart starts beating too quickly, and then it goes to work.”

“Zoponal is nice,” Grey said, his eyes now mostly shut. Roark looked at him for a second, and then moved over to the table to pick up an injection gun and a vial. He popped the vial in and pressed it against Grey’s neck, injecting the medication.

Grey murmured sleepily and then jerked upright, his eyes widening. “Oh, my

God,” he said, slumping back. “I wish you hadn’t done that.”

“Pain is good, boy,” Roark chided. “Reminds you you’re alive. And I’ll give you something for it later, but I wanted you awake enough to talk. They got you good, though.”

They? Got him good? I frowned and looked at the wound on Grey’s chest, now cleansed of the infection, trying to understand what could’ve left such a jagged cut. I remembered wondering about it earlier, but assumed he had just scraped it on something when he was caught. Now I was beginning to wonder.

“It was