Wingless (The Lia Hunter Chronicles #1)
Chapter 18

The alleyway was a pit of darkness below me. My screams filled the night, underscored by cruel laughter. Blood dripped down my back, feathers shed themselves one by one. As they fell from my back they dissolved into thin air, and I tumbled to the ground. Landing with a bone breaking crash, pain crashed into me. Gasping, I lay there dying. I waited for Hutch to appear, for him to come and save me. For him to stumble into the alleyway but he never showed. Bleeding to death I cried out for him, screamed his name. But he never came.

I snuck out of Hutch and Mallory’s early the next morning, heading to HQ. Desperate to escape the awkwardness and confusing mix of feelings that hung over the house. Thankfully, I managed to change into some clothes I’d left behind before I’d moved out. I spent the morning sorting out the mess of my apartment, filing the police report, checking my insurance – surprisingly enough I wasn’t covered for explosions, who knew – and searching for another perfect apartment. I only managed to page through a few ads before anger and sadness forced me to stop.

Gabe waltzed in the front door, dropping into his seat he propped his boots on his desk.

“Lia, good to see you back in one piece...almost.” He said flashing his trademark grin.

The bruises had almost faded, instead of the intense purple bruising of yesterday, they were now a yellowish green. They’d be gone completely by tonight’s charity ball.

“Thanks, Gabe.”

Chewing gum, his boots hit the floor with a loud thud. Flicking through the files on his desk he grunted.

“I’d give my left leg for a case like yours right about now.”

“Slow week?” I asked.

“Last night I was chasing a perp through the city. A behemoth Pyro. I’m talking seven feet of pure muscle, and he was lightning fast.” Excitement lit up his baby blues and I felt myself getting sucked into his story.

Nothing was quite like the adrenaline rush of chasing down a perp, especially when you knew they were dangerous, “So finally I corner him in an alleyway, he turns around, chest heaving, crazy in his eyes. And he scrappy looking so I’m sure I’m in for a good brawl. He pulls out a silver knife and begins to rush me, I don’t have time to pull my gun but hey, we’ve all jumped into knife-fights armed with nothing but our fists before so I’m not too worried. So he’s coming at me fast and just as I’m preparing to attack he stops, drops to his knees, and vomits all over my boots.”

Disgust washed over me and I shudder in sympathy. Unfortunately, we’d all been there before too.

Seeing my expression, Gabe nodded, a grimace of remembrance creasing his features. “Exactly.”

“That’s rough,” I said grimly.

“Yeah, you’ve got a lot of jealousy heading your way in this bullpen. I’m pretty sure after the doc confirmed you’d survive yesterday, Petra went into one of the empty conference rooms and cried out of envy. And last week she busted a Jaxai body part smuggling ring.”

I couldn’t help the grin that curved my lips at the mental image. Petra might be a fellow agent but god, she made it hard to not kick her ass sometimes.

“Don’t grin too hard,” Gabe smirked, “I think she might actually try to poison you in the hopes that she’ll be put on the case when you die.”

“I’ll be sure to watch my coffee cup.”

“So what did you think of the Aviary?” Gabe asked, propping his boots back on the desk. I eyed them dubiously as I answered.

“It was...interesting. You ever been?”

“Yeah, I go every now and then with my dad. A bit fancy for my taste but the main hall is pretty cool.”

I murmured my agreement. My brain busy wondering if Zachariah and my mother had stayed together if I would have sometimes visited the Aviary or if we would have lived there.

Gabe’s phone cut through the background noises of the bullpen. Plucking it from his desk he hit answer.

“Miller.” Pausing he listened for a moment before replying. “I’ll be there in twenty.”

Sighing, he rose to his feet.

“Duty calls.” He grunted.

“More sick giants to arrest?” I teased.

“Careful, I have a poison guy on speed dial.” Amusement sparking in his eyes as his lips flirted with a smile.

Taking a step towards my desk, he paused, his face turning serious.

“A word of advice Lia, when in the Aviary, never let yourself forget that you’re a hybrid.” His blue eyes hardened into ice, “Because they won’t.”

Breezing past my desk, Gabe lazily strolled towards the exit.

What’s the story behind that?

Putting it out of mind, for now, I regarded the property listings on my computer screen. Scowling, I reached for my phone.

“MacLauchlan,” Tess answered.

“You want to come dress shopping with me?” I asked.

“Do you even need me to answer?”

An hour later I was cramming myself into a dress in the changing room of an expensive dress store. I’d managed to convince Tess to come shopping with me, earlier. I was in desperate need of a dress for tonight’s charity ball as well as a completely new wardrobe. Thankfully my bank account could take the hit.

Stepping out of the dressing room I turned to face Tess who was lounging on one of the plush chairs.

“No.” She said flatly and I grimaced.

“I know.” Looking into the mirror at the end of the hall I repressed a shudder. The daisy yellow of the fabric clashed horribly with my skin tone and hair.

“Honestly, you’re hopeless.” Tess sighed, standing up from sprawl.

Pushing past me she entered the dressing room, flicking through the choices. She tossed the majority of them, leaving only three, all floor length gowns.

“Where would you be without me?” she said.

“Probably at HQ with my nice, pleasant partner. One who doesn’t talk back and worships the ground I walk on.” I replied tartly.

Raising an eyebrow she sank back down into her chair. “Please, the only reason I’m your partner is because everyone else was too scared to team up with you.”

Closing the door to the dressing room, I slipped out of the dress.

“I could say the same about you Miss Knocks Out Another Trainee On The First Day At The Academy,” I called out.

“She grabbed my ass, I told her to apologize. She refused and grabbed it again, what was I supposed to do?” Tess’s voice carried across the changing room and I could hear a giggle from another stall.

Pushing open the door, I gave her a flat stare. “For someone who’s all ‘there’s no need to fight when we can talk it out’ you get into a lot of fights.”

Sniffing, her nose tipped up in the air, “That’s only because most people are like you. All punch first and think later.”

Stepping outside, I checked my appearance in the mirror.

“Say what you will, my methods get results.” Brushing a wrinkle from the dress I frowned.

“Next,” Tess said, shaking her head.

Without a word of complaint, I dutifully marched back into the cubical.

“So, have I won that bet yet?” I asked.

“Lia!” Tess exclaimed.

Cracking the door I poked my head outside.

“Are you sure, because you looked awfully close when I was dying in front of you yesterday,” I said, giving her the eyebrow wiggle I so respectfully withheld earlier.

Red bloomed on her cheeks and she tugged on a strand of blue hair. My mouth dropped open.

“You did!” I said barely restraining from squealing.

The color crept further, spreading to her ears. Even through her embarrassment, I could see the happiness radiating from her. Joy for her caused a grin to break across my face and I slipped back inside the cubicle.

Of course, that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to tease her silly about it.

“So how’d it happen? Were you crying tears of sorrow over me being hurt on the roof when Tom suddenly appeared? Sweeping you off your feet, taking you back to his man cave.”

“Lia.” She pleaded.

“Or was it the sexual tension exploding as you stared at each other over the water cooler?”

“Ophelia Marie Hunter.” She threatened.

Chuckling, I stepped out of the dressing room.

“Fine. I’ll stop...for now.” I smirked.

Looking in the mirror I paused. The deep blue dress draped over my body smoothly. The silky material shimmering slightly under the dim lights. Turning I looked at my back, the design of the gown covering my scars but somehow making my tattoos seem darker against my pale skin. Staring, I almost didn’t recognize the woman staring back at me.

I was a complex mixture of dangerous and elegant. The hardness of my eyes offset by the soft waves of my hair. My lethally trained body hidden underneath a thin layer of refined sophistication. For so long I’d looked in the mirror and only seen a bitter victim staring back but now I wasn’t sure who the complex woman in front of me was.

“That’s the dress,” Tess said interrupting my thoughts. “Beautiful but practical.”

Her eyes traced the slit that ran to mid-thigh on my right leg. The perfect place to hide a holster. No way in hell was I entering a charity ball filled with members of Jaxai royalty unarmed. In fact, there was no doubt in my mind most of the guests would be carrying their fair share of weaponry.

Shuffling back into the stall I slipped out of the dress, before pulling my own clothes back on. Grabbing the dress I walked over to the cashier, quickly paying for it. The price tag made my inner child, the one who worked double shifts in order to pay rent, wince.

Walking out of the store, bag in hand I grimaced as I thought about all the pillows I could’ve bought with the money I just spent.

“Stop pouting, you can buy pillows later,” Tess said archly.

She knows me so well.

Unable to resist teasing any longer I smirked. “Actually the money I won on that bet is going to fund my next pillow shopping spree.”

Tess frowned. “It couldn’t have been that much.”

“Everyone in the building put twenty dollars into the pool, plus a few other people.”

Her face bleached white before color returned with a vengeance, turning her face as red as a tomato.

“I can never go back there again.” She groaned, covering her face with her hands. Suddenly she dropped them, a manic glint entering her eyes. “Actually I’ll just kill everyone instead. Yep, that sounds like a good idea.”

Nodding to herself, she took off down the street. Slightly concerned for her sanity, I decided against letting her know her parents were two of the ‘other people’.

I’d tempted fate enough today and the charity ball hadn’t even begun.

Sneaking back into Hutch and Mallory’s proved a lot harder that afternoon especially considering the fact they were both at home. My foot had just touched the bottom step on their porch when the door was flung open. A breathless Mallory stood in the doorframe, an array of emotions traveling over her face: relief, guilt, sadness and something else I couldn’t quite identify.

We silently stared at each other, neither of us moving a muscle. I wasn’t sure what to say. I’d spent the majority of the previous night thinking over their betrayal. Bouncing back and forth between anger, sadness, and hurt like a kid on a bumper cart. When I’d finally fallen asleep it had been to more dreams which upon waking left me feeling even more confused about my feelings.

Part of me wanted nothing more than to easily forgive them and let the issue be swept under the rug but another part flat out refused. It was the stubborn, immovable part. The one that kept me from killing myself like my mother when I was sixteen years old, broken and a newly made orphan. The portion that refused to be just another victim, pushing me to become a PeaceKeeper. It was also the bit that refused to ask for help, the one that demanded I handle everything by myself.

Hutch appeared behind her, placing a strong hand on her shoulder. His grave stare met my own and I saw the emotion swirling in his weathered brown eyes.

“We were just about to cook up some lunch,” Mallory said hesitantly and I knew I was at a crossroads.

I could refuse her olive branch, turn my back and probably lose what little family I had left in the world. Or I could accept it for what it was, an attempt to try and fix the void between us.

Taking a deep breath I closed my eyes. Turning my face up to the sky I let myself just simply breathe for a moment. The emotions that had barraged me seemed to fade with each steady breath. Leaving behind the answer I’d been looking for.

I want to try.

Opening my eyes, I looked back at Hutch and Mallory.

“Grilled cheese sandwiches?” I asked quietly.

Mallory’s face lit up in joy and she smiled, tears brimming in her eyes.

“Of course.” She sniffled.

Hutch smiled warmly and as I entered the house I tried to return the gesture. It wasn’t quite there but one day it would be and that’s what mattered.