The Last Mission of the Living (The Last Bastion #2)(38)

“Well, with the man shortage she felt it was only right for her to share me with her sisters. They even had a schedule worked out. Including...conceiving babies.” Torran winced at the last word.

Hesitating on a step, Lindsey stared at Torran with wide eyes. “You could have had five women at your beck and call and you turned it down. Really?”

“No, no, you’re seeing it wrong. I would have been at their beck and call. Besides, I’m just not wired up that way.” Torran slipped by her and continued up toward the monorail station, his long dark coat swinging around his frame. “I’m a one gal bloke.”

“Ah. Well, if it makes you feel any better, I just dumped my boyfriend because he felt I should be willing to share, too.”

Lindsey joined Torran at the top of the steps and gazed out over The Bastion. The view took her breath away. It was so vast, so gloomy, and yet so filled with life. And that life would hopefully continue. Thanks to the Inferi Boon, there was a chance now. It filled her with optimism, yet left her yearning for more.

“So you weren’t into sharing?” Torran asked, pulling her attention back to him.

“Well, I, like a lot of women of my age, like to fool around. I’ve had my fair share of fun. And I also recognize that men have the upper hand when it comes to actual relationships. But Vaja seemed different. He was really into me and we had a lot of mutual interests. We met on one of the social feeds and it seemed like we could make a strong go of it. So I let Vaja move in with me. I shared my life with him. I expected him to share his with me. I thought that was our arrangement.”

“And it wasn’t?”

“Not on his end. He has three other girlfriends in different parts of the city. He likes to live with one girlfriend for a bit, then move on to the next. When he moved in with me, he didn’t tell me I was girlfriend number four. And when he finally did...” Lindsey thought of Dwayne risking everything to save Maria. She’d seen the love in his eyes when he spoke to Maria over the comm. Was it too much to want the same? “It wasn’t enough. Now, if he had just wanted to f*ck around on occasion and had told me that from the beginning, it would have been a different story. I might have considered it.”

“Gotcha.” Torran regarded her thoughtfully. “Maybe he thought you loved him too much to turn down his proposed arrangement.”

“I liked him. I didn’t love him. I realized that when it was really easy to show him the door.”

“You’re tough. I knew I liked you for a reason.”

“Other than I look amazing in combat gear?” Lindsey teased.

“Oh, that’s a big reason, too.”

Torran strode onto the track platform and sauntered after a group of young people. The tracks had curved sides and handrails to keep people from falling. Even though the intention of the builders was for The Bastion to flourish, there had been some anticipation of difficulties. Making the tracks safe for walking traffic if the grid was down was one of the smarter things the engineers had done. Only a few tracks were powered, and those were used by the military and government. Lindsey kept pace with him, walking at his side. They strolled along in silence for a bit, listening to the patter of the many feet pounding against the walkway. The sun was low on the horizon and soon the streetlamps would be turning on. Down below was the ceaseless chatter of people and the announcements from the drones.

“So, how is the leg?” Torran asked abruptly.

“Fine, now that it’s all new hardware,” Lindsey replied. “Seriously, you remember my limp after meeting me just once?”

“I thought it was odd that you were a hero of The Bastion, but yet disabled.”

The anger returned, but Lindsey fought to keep it under control. “It was done purposefully. Apparently, some higher ups decided that the civilians would be comforted by seeing veterans of the big push with war wounds.”

“That’s f*ckin’ crass,” Torran muttered.

“I was told they didn’t have the resources allocated. Instead it was all a publicity thing.” Pressing her lips together, Lindsey again felt remorse that she’d help save the presidency of the man who had ordered her to be disabled for over a year. Of course, it would have been worse if Admiral Kirkpatrick had taken over. “The procedure was recently sanctioned so I could be a shining example of our situation improving. New leg. New hope. As always, the government uses us for their propaganda. They’re as bad as the SWD.” She instantly regretted her words and looked at him sharply. For months she’d hated the SWD as an entity, but now she had to remember that individuals made up the organization, and she rather liked one of them.

Torran hesitated in his steps, allowing the people behind him to push past. Lindsey joined him next to the handrail. Tilting his head to look down at her, he said, “I may be a part of the SWD, but I serve The Bastion.”

“I didn’t mean that you’re—”

“Remember, I was part of the failed final push, too. I watched my squad get wiped out when the expansion perimeter collapsed. I barely made it to the wall and ascended the rappel lines to safety.”

“I remember you saying that. I’m sorry if I made you feel that I don’t appreciate what you’ve done. I do remember how awful it was. I remember the sacrifices people made.” Knowing that Torran had been a part of the final push did make a difference to her. It meant he understood what she’d seen and endured.