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.” She shrugs.“I don’t know how or why or any of the details, but he loves watching two people fight to the death for entertainment.”I’ve seen a lot in my travels.I’ve seen the good in people, and I’ve seen the absolutely hideous side of human nature.I can only imagine the barbaric, animalistic degradation that El Toro makes his captives face.“I’m glad your partner is going to be okay,” Shalana tells us, but in the next second, she pins us with a hard, flat stare.“But never again treat our haven with such little regard.The only reason why this place works is because we religiously guard it.I won’t have you endangering any of my people.”She left us to wallow in guilt, though I suspect Kris couldn’t care less about her words.His eyes hadn’t strayed from Hyde’s almost too-motionless form.“He’s going to be okay.”“You dreamed of him being shot, right?” he demands in a soft, gravelly tone.“That means it still might happen.”I want to refute him, but I can’t, because yes, we might still lose him somewhere down the road.I guess my silence is answer enough, because he pulls away from me and rakes an unsteady hand over his cropped hair.Why am I the only one that can see the hurt, the pride, and the fear gathered in those hunched shoulders?I lay my hand on his shoulder.Kris yanks himself away.“How did they know?” he asks.I blink.“Excuse me?”“This mission is different, and I’ve been racking my brain trying to think why.And the only conclusion I’ve come up with is you.How did they know?”I shake my head, confused.“How did who know what?”“Hyde and I were ambushed.They were waiting.How did they know?”“I don’t know.I wasn’t there.I came up right when the back shooter targeted you.”“Really?” He got directly into my face.“Because from my point of view, it looks to me like they were told.”“Are you serious? You think I’m working with them?”He crosses his arms over his chest.His silence says it all.“You’re just fucking scared!” I yell.He blinks at my sudden vehemence.“You had an orgasm, and now you’re scared.Everything I’ve said is true, Kris.And you know it.”We stare at each other for a good minute.“You say you know about my life,” he says with a growl.“You saw me growing up.But you have no fucking clue to anything, do you? He’s my partner.I’ll do anything to make sure he’s okay.”“Then we’re in agreement.”He throws another fierce glare at me before turning on his heel and stomping out of the tent.I sigh and run a hand through my hair, wondering what the hell just happened.Chapter SevenI find him down the same tunnel as earlier, the home of our tryst.He’s sharpening a very large knife, sitting in near darkness except for a rechargeable hand-cranked flashlight.It’s been about half an hour since our fight, and one sentence that he shouted at me keeps repeating over and over in my brain.“Kris?”“Yeah,” he replies but keeps sharpening the knife.He doesn’t even look at me.“What did you mean, about me not knowing anything about your life?”His hand falters, and there is a small tink as the sharpening stone hits metal at the wrong angle.Very carefully, very slowly, he puts both items away before looking up at me.“How much did you see?”“I saw bits and pieces,” I answer, knowing he meant his childhood.“I saw more when you and Hyde paired up.”He rubs both eyes with the palms of his hands.His shoulders slump and I know he carries some great burden.But damned if I know what.“Kris?”“You said you had a shitty childhood.Why?”It takes a moment for my thoughts to shift gears.“Um, I never knew my father, and my mother drank all the time.She let men use her,” I say, shrugging.“I guess that’s typical when a girl gets knocked up at sixteen and runs away from home.”For a while, silence prevails.I finally sit down on the ground and curl my arms over the tops of my knees, waiting.“My mother skipped out when I was five,” he starts.His voice is low, his tone dark and tortured.“My dad started drinking.Drugs.I remember being eight and cleaning up the vomit on the floor, making sure he wasn’t facedown in it.When I was ten, this neighbor of ours, a woman, came over periodically to take care of us, but—”He falls silent, and I can tell this story isn’t going to have a happy ending.He clears his throat.“She would touch me.And I didn’t want to be touched.”I close my eyes against the wealth of hurt and hate in those two sentences that explain so much.My heart feels like it’s breaking into a thousand pieces.“My father was oblivious.And when I tried to talk to him he would just hit me and tell me to shut it because he couldn’t deal with being a single father.”“How long did this go on?”“Years.She would make me do things I hated.I wanted to kill her, but I never had the guts.I finally escaped by joining the military, but after that I never wanted to be…intimate…with anyone.” He looks at me.“Until I met you.”“Does Hyde know?”He shakes his head.“I don’t want him to know.I don’t want anyone to know.Shit.” He gives a hollow, shaky laugh.Sighs.“The military saved me from doing something really stupid.Without it I would’ve gone crazy.”“The military became family.”“Yeah.I joined a new special ops unit in basic and got paired up with Hyde because of our names.Hyde and Seek.There were twenty-six of us.Now there’s only six.”“And none of them know about your abuse?”“Don’t call it abuse.”“Why not? It was abuse, Kris.Sexual abuse.”“Don’t say another fucking word, Evie.” He stands and grabs his knife and sharpening stone.“I’m going back out.”“What?”“Topside.There’s still the mission.”“But you found people.”“There might be other communities, Evie.People in other places like this who need saving.”“I’ll go with you,” I reply.He shakes his head.“Stay with Hyde.Take care of him.”My heart skips a beat in fear, but not for me.Why do I have a bad feeling that if we part, I may never see him again?“Are you coming back tonight?” I ask.He rises from his bench and walks over to me, reaching down to help me stand.He cups my face, cradling it tenderly as he brushes his thumb over my bottom lip.“I’ll see you at the rendezvous in two nights.”“Two nights! Kris—”“With the sensor chip damaged, I can’t radio position for a pickup, so I’m gonna have to coordinate with the people I find.Maybe even try to search out the other teams.” He shrugs.“And I have to abide by Shalana’s wishes.”I don’t like it, but what else can I do?“You should let Hyde know,” I urge him.I know he wants to rebury the past, but once scabs are open, festering wounds can’t ever be resealed.“I don’t want Hyde to know,” he says harshly.“I don’t want any of the guys to know!”“Kris, what that woman did to you wasn’t your fault! She was a sick fucking bitch!”He sighs again and runs a hand over his short hair.“Yeah.But pity is worse.Evie, please.I’m just happy that I can touch you.It’s enough for me.”He reaches out and pulls me by the neck to meet his kiss.It’s hard, devoid of passion, but full of regret
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