“Thanks.”
Wyatt and I are left alone in the room. A wide gulf separates us but his eyes are set on me. I shake my head. “You’re not talking me out of it. I’m going.”
“Since when have I talked you out of anything?”
“True.” But he’s tricked me more than once.
He leans forward and rests his elbows on his knees. “I learned a long time ago that it is an effort in futility.”
“Wouldn’t want to waste your time,” I agree.
“No. I wouldn’t want to do that.” He stands and grabs his heavy military grade jacket, along with the gun resting at his feet. “I’m going to take a look around outside. You rest.”
“I will.” The throbbing has started again but I’m hesitant to ask for more medication. Benjamin needs it more than I do.
He starts toward the door, but pauses, gun clutched in his hand. He turns back to me, reaching behind his back. A moment later he’s offering me a small silver gun.
I take it. “Thanks.”
He leans down and kisses my mouth quickly before heading back to the door. Without another look back, he’s gone.
Chapter 20
“Do you see how the wound is clearing? More red than the purple from before?” Jane holds up the bandage and makes me assess Benjamin’s injury. It’s certainly not the worst thing I’ve seen in my life, but the ragged wound still turns my stomach.
“Yeah, that means it’s getting better?” I ask. I’m leaning on a tall stick Davis brought me to use as a crutch.
“Yes. A normal Eater bite leaves the injured area decayed as the infection travels through their system to the brain. It’s still disgusting at the moment but it will keep healing,” she replies, glancing at the wound once more before covering it with a clean bandage.
“I’m right here, you know?” Benjamin says, looking between us. He’s awake and able to sit and even consume a little of the soup Parker made. She found some dried bouillon cubes in the pantry to boil with water.
“You look better.” I give his hand a squeeze. “You were a little pale for a while.”
“Thought I was a goner?”
“I have faith in Jane’s vaccine, but we’ve all lost enough people. I didn’t want you to be on that list,” I admit.
“I’m glad you don’t find me expendable,” he says. The tone of his voice makes me look at his face and crap, he’s staring at me in a way I don’t want. The way he looked at me in the kitchen two days before. I slowly extract my hand from his.
“You’re part of the team,” I clarify. “We need you. I don’t know if you heard but we’ve got some heavy battles coming our way. We’re going to need your skills.”
He nods and I know he absorbed all the ’we’s’ I tossed out there. He shifts a little, adding to the distance. “Jackson gave me a briefing. I haven’t heard the finer details, but yeah, I do know your infamous Wyatt saved our asses the other night. If I’ve learned anything from the legend, conflict follows him like a black cloud.”
I frown. “My Wyatt?”
He laughs. “You talk about him. A lot. I just figured he was gone and you’d eventually move on.”
I glance at Jane, who studies her notebook. She does take the time to look up and say, “You do mention him often.”
“I do?” I’m not even sure I noticed. I thought I’d done a really good job of pushing him out of my mind. The odds of us seeing one another again were slim—or so I thought before yesterday.
“It’s okay, Alex. I’m glad someone from your past returned. Like you said, we’ve all lost too many people.” His eyes turn serious. “What I am worried about is where he wants to lead us.”
“Wyatt isn’t leading us anywhere,” I say. “He’s making sure we survive what’s coming.”
“Are you sure he didn’t just reveal our location to the enemy.”
I shake my head. “You underestimate Chloe, which, frankly, is the worst thing you can do. She’s usually two steps ahead of us anyway.”