The model meant to be the biggest, the strongest, the one who could take a hit and keep going, had been reduced to nothing more than a constant mess of uncertainty and longing.
Maybe Reaper was right. Maybe I needed to forget her. Move on and find another female.
No!My processors rebelled at the mere thought of anyone but Nara. It’s why I had sought out Dr. Shaw. I needed her to either tell me I was malfunctioning or help me solve this.
She gave my arm another pat then sat back on her chair. “Enough about me. What can I help you with, Brone?” Turning towards me, she studied my face, her dull gaze now sharp and focused.
This was the Dr. Shaw I knew. The woman had the uncanny ability to make you feel like you were a slide under her microscope. I swallowed hard, past the sudden lump in my throat. “I think I might have found myself inside one of Nara’s memories.”
Her green eyes narrowed. “What would lead you to think that?” Yep. Dr. Shaw had gone into full scientist mode. It put the fire back in her eyes, and the knot that had formed inside my chest finally loosened.
She needed us, and we needed her.
All of us were battered and bruised, but we could only heal if we remained together.
“One minute I was sitting on the couch in my quarters and the next I found myself with Nara in a place I could not recognize. I attempted to talk to her, to get her to notice me, but it was like I wasn’t even there. I quickly caught on based on what I was seeing that I was witnessing the aftermath of her parents’ death.” The gut-wrenching sound of her sobs would be forever seared into my processors. I had wanted to pull her into my arms to offer comfort, but I had only grasped air.
“I ran multiple scans of my processors, and each one informed me that I was free of any malfunctions or viruses.” I met her eyes. “But I know what I saw.I know what I felt. It was real. I feel it,” I tapped the spot directly over my heart, “in here.” Reaching out, I clasped Dr. Shaw’s hand in my larger one. “Please, do you know what is happening to me?”
Her gaze softened. “I think I do, but-” she stopped and let out a sigh.
“But?”
“Reaper is not going to like it.”
Reaper?My circuits were spinning. “Why?”
“Because I think you may have started the bonding process with Nara.”
My brow furrowed. “What?” Any cyborg who had formed a bond with a human female had kept the process private. There had been whispers, but those without females of our own refused to pry.
A flicker of hope ignited in my veins. If it was true…if Nara and I had started to bond…then maybe I could be with the female my heart and soul ached for.
Had my processors been aching for her, too?
I smiled, warmth filling my chest. For a moment, everything I wanted was within reach, but then a new thought struck.Reaper believed Nara was the enemy.He was going to blow a gasket.Or worse.
My frame slumped against the seat, that beautiful flicker of hope threatened by a Military Model with a battle axe. I shook my head. I would kick his ass again if I had too.
He was big.
But I was bigger.
I wanted my chance for happiness, and I was going to take it.
Reaper and his battle axe be damned.
Nara
Screams pierced the veil of darkness surrounding me. I blinked, trying to clear the smoke from my eyes. Smoke? Screams? Where am I?
The sounds of plasma fire made me jump before I threw myself to the ground, arms covering my head as I curled into a ball.
Remaining as small as possible, I fought my rising panic. The ground shook under me as something heavy landed beside me. I rolled, attempting to escape whatever had fallen, a whimper making its way past my lips.
“Get up,” a choked voice pleaded from somewhere above me.
I shook my head, unsure if they could see me but too afraid to move. Screams and plasma fire still echoed all around me. Some primal instinct kicked in, ordering me to remain as low to the ground as possible.