Proof of Life (The Potentate of Atlanta #4) - Hailey Edwards Page 0,66
darkness went a long way toward smoothing out the wrinkles in any disguise.
“I am Hadley.” I touched my cheek. “I think you broke my jaw.”
“Prove it,” she spat with enough vehemence I knew they had used my face against her.
“Tell me how.” I kept out of range of her next punch, though the fight had drained out of her. “What can I say or do to prove to you I am who I say I am?”
Midas walked in, but she snarled at him too, her fingers curving into claws on her lap. “Hello, Addie.”
“Come one step closer, and I will bury my foot so far up your butt you’ll be tasting my toenail polish.”
“We need to move this along.” I rolled my hand. “I would like to find my brother, if you don’t mind.”
Plus, if this place was rigged to blow, I would prefer to not be in it when that happened.
A flicker of uncertainty passed over her features before she blanked them. “Say it.”
“Say what?”
“You know what.” A sisterly scowl cut her mouth. “If you’re Hadley, then say it.”
Embarrassment singed me clear to the tips of my toes, but I mumbled, “I am enough.”
Head lolling back, she focused on me. “I couldn’t hear you.”
“I am enough,” I muttered a fraction louder. “Do you believe me now?”
“Yes.”
“Will you punch me again?”
“I’m sorry about that.”
“Don’t be.” I crouched, more carefully this time. “You gave them hell.” I checked her over. “I’m proud of you.”
“I warned them my little sister would come for me.” She shut her eyes. “Told ’em they’d be sorry.”
“I’ll take it from here.” Ford swooped in and began a more thorough exam. “Find the others.”
Goddess, please let there be others to find.
“I’ll be right back,” I promised her. “We’re getting you out of here.”
Leaving her behind physically hurt, even though Ford was with her, and I trusted him.
If ever I doubted that I loved her, I had my confirmation in spades.
Screw blood ties.
Addie was the sister of my heart.
Midas’s steady presence gave me the nerve to try the next door, but the room was empty, and I wanted to hurl. I was lucky, so lucky, Addie was more or less okay. It was a selfish thing to pray, but I wanted my brother too. I wasn’t sure what I would do without him to annoy the living daylights out of me.
The door after that rebuffed my heel, and I didn’t have to summon Ambrose for him to begin gobbling.
The ward burst like a popped bubble, and I kicked in the door before I could think too much about what might be waiting for me on the other side. It rebounded off the wall then swung almost closed in my face. I didn’t see anyone, but we had lost the element of surprise when I started yanking down wards and smashing down doors. We wouldn’t take anyone unawares.
“Hello?” I took a cautious step into the room. “Anyone here?”
A low murmur drew me to a figure curled beneath a ratty blanket, their face bloody from long gouges. In the dim light streaming in from the hall, I noticed the shortness of their matted hair and determined it to be Mr. Whitaker. Picking my way to him, I crouched to get a better look.
The gouges were from fingernails, and when I checked his hand, I confirmed he had done it to himself.
“He’s in bad shape,” I told Midas. “He needs immediate medical attention.”
“Unconscious?”
“Yeah.” I was afraid to touch him, worried I might hurt him worse. “He’s out cold.”
“Let’s clear the rest of the building,” Midas decided. “We can leave his door open.”
There weren’t enough of us to guard everyone in their individual rooms, but I couldn’t wait around for help to arrive. I wanted to see my brother with my own eyes. I wanted to know he was okay.
Please, please, please let him be okay.
“All right.” I backed into the hall, making sure the way stayed clear. “There are four rooms left.”
The next door slammed me with a ward that made my back teeth ache, but Ambrose devoured it.
Midas smashed it in with his shoulder, since I was limping from one too many blows to live wards.
I was on my back, staring up at the ceiling, admiring the stars twinkling there, before I registered the hit.
Hit? No. Bell-ringer? Yes. That fit better. I had met stone trolls with softer fists than my brother’s.
The right side of my jaw throbbed in time with my heart, and a crunching noise filled my head