Trapped (The Condemned Series #1) - Alison Aimes Page 0,39
trying to lessen the space between them. “If you hadn’t killed those men, they would have killed us. You were acting in self-defense.”
“I haven’t always.” His admission was a harsh whisper. “You say I’m some kind of good guy, but these hands that have been all over you? That have been deep inside your pussy and worked you good? These hands you’re thinking can easily tag along when you fly away from Dragath25? These are killer hands, fighter girl.” He held them out in front of him, curling them into fists, making the web of milky white scars stand out all the more against his bronze skin. “There’s no washing that away. Or pretending otherwise. No matter what.”
“People can change,” she said a little desperately, not sure how they’d ended up here. Or why he kept deliberately trying to push her away. “People can make mistakes and then fix them and move on.”
He took a step closer, his voice a low, menacing rumble. “What if I don’t think I made a mistake? What if I’d do the same thing that put me here over and over again?”
She took a step back, the certainty in his voice, in his guilt, in his conviction that he wasn’t worth saving, raising her own doubts. “I don’t….” She honestly wasn’t sure how to respond, but there was one thing she did know for sure. “Whatever happened in the past, you can't use that device to bring down another shuttle. That would make you a monster.”
His hands fisted by his side. “I’m going for some air.” He stalked toward the door.
“But there’s a dust storm. You can’t go out in that.”
“It’s settling now.”
She couldn’t let this drop. She couldn’t let him dodge this issue because she feared his disapproval or worse. “I won’t let you use this thing on another shuttle like mine.”
He paused with his hand on the door handle, his back still to her. “People can change, huh?”
“Yes.” Relief whispered through her. Maybe she’d reached him after all.
“You sure you believe that, fighter girl?” He looked over his shoulder, his jaw tight. “Because I never said I built that device intending to bring down a shuttle.”
She opened her mouth to respond. Nothing came out.
“That kind of stuff is for sadists like 225 and his pack,” he continued. “I might be a killer and a criminal, but I’m not like them. I planned on using my jammer to seize control of one of the unmanned droids that dump trash twice a year. More recently though, I was trying to get it to jam a device similar to itself so we could stop 225, save your precious search and rescue team, and get you the hell off Dragath25.”
He shut the door firmly behind him.
It didn’t escape her notice he’d only mentioned her departure.
Or that the first time the tables were turned and he’d needed her to be his hero—to believe in him no matter what—she’d failed.
Chapter Thirteen
“I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Breathing hard, Caine wedged the last of the boulders into place in front of the door.
Bella tried to keep her worry at bay. The storm had indeed settled down. But the tempest between her and Caine remained. He hadn’t gone far when he left, only just outside the cave entrance, but he’d stayed there a long while. He’d come inside caked in red dust only to inform her the weather had improved enough for him to go warn her colleagues. Then he started dragging in boulders the size of small planets.
It was clear he didn’t want to talk about what had happened before.
“Are you sure I can’t go with you?” She trailed in his wake, the distance between them as vast as ever. “You’re going to have a hard time getting them to listen without me there.”
“I’ll do my best.” He strapped a small knife to the pocket of his camo pants and seized his spear. Even before their argument, he’d been immoveable in his refusal to take her. She got it. She’d only slow him down when speed was of the essence. Still, she hated the idea that he was off to risk himself without her to watch his back. More so when things were so uneasy between them.
“If for some reason I can’t make it back in a few hours,” he said, “there are additional glow sticks in the third drawer from the top. There’s also enough dried food in the kitchen to last a lifetime.”