This will pass.
I'll build the house and get her out of this room. We will fix it.
"And Mara?" she presses. "Did they... do they know anything?"
"We're looking." I respond… is that why she’s so worked up. She thinks something happened to Mara on the compound that I keep telling her is safe.
Her eyes widened slightly. "Are you?"
There's that edge again.
"Cypher's on it. Angel's coordinating."
"And Razor?" her voice almost breaks on his name.
My eyes narrow slightly.
"What about him?"
"He seems off... riled up." She says taking a step back.
"He's pissed." I growl.
"So are you." She almost whispers as she takes another step back.
I step closer. "What's that supposed to mean?"
She looks up at me and I see it: she isn't trying to be combative; she isn't even angry... She looks strained, scared.
"It means what I said, you seem angry. I haven't seen you in days, I... I have been here alone and..." She cuts herself off, shaking her head, like she's already made a decision about something.
Fuck, I don't think I have ever seen her this rattled. I take a step towards her, but she takes another step back.
"I need to talk to you." She pleads.
I thought the tension would lessen seeing her, but I have an uneasy feeling and I don’t like it.
"About what?" I ask hesitantly.
"About this place. About what's happening." She almost whispers. "I..."
Voices rise downstairs.
"CHURCH." Angel bellows.
The building vibrates with it. It’s the same tone his father used to use.
"Keep your house tight."That's what Angel's dad used to say. He said it the night he pulled me out from under a rival's boot when I was seventeen and bleeding out behind a gas station.
He said it when he brought me inside the gates for the first time.
He said it to Angel before he died and told us that unity is survival.
Angel's father saved my life, and then Angel did too.
Two years after his father brought me into the club, when a run went bad, and I froze, Angel shoved me out of the line of fire and took the hit meant for me.
That kind of loyalty isn't optional.