Twisted Metal Heart - Eve Langlais Page 0,14
comfort. He glanced anywhere but at the crown of her head. She touched him, and he shivered.
“Do you mind not doing that?” he snapped.
“Just checking that the nerve endings are active.” She flicked him, and he scowled. To which she smiled.
“When do I get the leg?” Titan grumbled.
Riella rolled her shoulders. “Tomorrow.”
Whereas Alfred said, “Day after.”
Titan arched a brow. “So which is it?”
The query met with a twitch of her auburn hair. “Late tomorrow. The last set of modifications will take a little less time than predicted.”
“Waste of ore,” Alfred muttered, wheeling away.
“Ignore him,” she said.
“Trust me, I’d like to.” The man with his disapproving scowl and metal lower body discomfited.
“I have some questions,” she said, not looking at him as she tugged on some straps.
Immediately he went on guard. “I am no one. I know nothing.”
For some reason, this made her smile. “Are you really going to start with a lie? Let me tell you what I know already. You are Titan, part of the Hilltop Haven bunch. You’re second after the marauder leader, Axel.”
“We’re not thieves,” he grumbled.
“You attack Enclave shipments between the domes.”
He couldn’t help a grin. “We liberate them. It’s not stealing.”
“You are proficient with a gun, uncannily so, and are without family or a promised one.”
He blinked. “How do you know all that?” He didn’t bother denying it. She obviously had access to good intel.
“You told us.”
The claim froze him. “I did not.” He would never betray his people like that.
Alfred snorted. “You most certainly did. I led the questioning myself. The drug we used is quite accurate when used in the proper dosage.”
He didn’t remember being questioned. Not one bit.
“What you aren’t, though, is a Deviant gene carrier,” she advised.
“Which matters,” Titan replied.
Even before she said it, he knew her reply. “Yes.”
He struggled to put it in words. “You’re trying to tell me my new arm and leg won’t work.”
She shrugged. “They’ll work, just not as well as a bonded set.”
“Better than nothing.”
“There’s still time to melt them down and reuse the metal for someone worthier,” Alfred muttered darkly.
“Go check on the final molds,” she scolded. “I’ll finish up with Titan.”
Still grumbling, Alfred wheeled out.
“He doesn’t like me.”
“He doesn’t like anyone,” she remarked. She tugged again at the harnesses, making him all too aware that her hand strayed close to a part of him that worked just fine thank you. He didn’t think she noticed as she leaned over him to check the straps on the shoulder piece.
Being ignored was starting to grate. His arm slipped around her, and he yanked her close. He felt her fingers dig into his chest, strong digits, but she didn’t shove out of his grip.
“Unhand me.”
Immediately he let her go, not sure what came over him. “Alfred is worried I’ll take advantage of you.”
She sighed. “Alfred knows I can handle myself.”
“So can I usually.”
“And does handling yourself involve grabbing women you barely know?” she asked pointedly.
A grin tugged at his lips. “Would it help if I said you were special?”
She turned away but not before he saw the hint of a blush on her cheeks.
She pretended interest in a machine. “Just so you know, we did send a message to your group.”
“How? Signals don’t carry far in the Wasteland.” If at all. Complicated electronics often failed. Simplest worked best.
“I have my ways. And before you get your hopes up, they won’t be able to trace it.”
“What did you say?”
“That they shouldn’t worry.” She straightened with a cool smile.
“You lied to my friends?”
“Reassured them, lest they start poking where they shouldn’t. Not all of my security systems are monitored. It would be unfortunate if they fell victim.”
“Are the tigber one of your traps?” he said sarcastically.
“Yes, but only out of coincidence.” She eyed him and quite calmly said, “Natural defenses work best. Encouraging a local predator population keeps people moving quickly through the area if they dare to come at all.”
“Why are you here?” he asked.
“Because it suits my purpose.”
He recognized hedging when he heard it. “You’re hiding. From who?”
“There you go asking questions again. You don’t need to know about me.”
“What if I want to?” He stared at her, noticing the faintest of freckles dancing across the bridge of her nose.
“I’m not very interesting.”
“I highly doubt that.” Everything about her intrigued, especially the curve of her lips at the moment.
She caught him staring. “You want to kiss me.” She sounded surprised by the idea.
“If I wanted to kiss you, I would.”
“That seems rude. A man, or woman for