Forced Bonds (The Bonds That Tie, #4)(44)

I give Gabe a dark look because I don't think it's funny to joke about that sort of thing, but he holds a finger up to cross over his heart as if he's swearing that he’s telling the truth.

I still think he’s full of shit.

“Lord, help us all. What are you doing in my training center?” booms a loud voice, and I find myself grinning, even though I'm still freaked out by all of the attention.

“Vivian! How did I not know that you were here? I would have come out to harass you so much sooner.”

The scarred, surly-looking man stalks over to us and looks down at me as he crosses his arms over his wide chest, squinting at me as though he is dealing with an unruly child.

It gives me the warm fuzzies because I know that despite anything he might say, this man has a soft spot for me that's a mile wide. It was one of the few silver linings to attending Draven.

He scoffs. “Well, I'll be sure to speak to Shore about sending you over here, because if you start hanging around and being a distraction, I'm sure I'll have to find something for you to do.”

I grin and give him a little bow, full of sass and bordering on mocking, and there are some shocked exclamations around us from the Tac guys as they watch me shoot shit with their infamous trainer. Not that I'm being disrespectful, I would never disrespect this man, but sometimes it's fun to be able to play around.

“I guess you're here to see Benson, your gal pal,” he says in a sarcastic tone, and I nod with a small smile.

“She's gotten herself into some trouble, and we're here to dig her out of it. There's absolutely nothing to be concerned about because she is one hundred percent not evil. I know it.”

He gives me a sardonic look and nods slowly. “You just know these things, do you? Because she took out the strongest Shield that we've ever had and somebody who was very important to our community.”

I swallow as the smile slides off my face a little bit. I don’t really want to make light of someone's death. “I know, and I know that that fact will be tearing her up inside. I'm not trying to say that Dara didn't matter, or that someone shouldn't be held responsible for her death. But I think that the right person should be held responsible, and that person is not Sage.”

Vivian looks at me for a second longer and then nods. “Well, we'll just have to see what you guys come up with because you're right about one thing… She hasn't stopped crying since she was brought in, and even when she has been offered her Bonds to try and help her get through it, she’s refused. That doesn't seem like something that a guilty person trying to kill us all in our sleep would do.”

I swallow against the tears that form a lump in my throat.

Gabe respectfully nods at Vivian and then plants a hand at the base of my spine to direct me through the building. I'm surprised that he didn't join in on our banter at all. It's not until we get into the elevator that he breaks down and lets out his secret.

“Vivian scares the shit out of me. I once saw him get on the mats with Gryphon, North, and Nox. He beat the shit out of them, one by one. That memory has stuck with me, and I don't think I will ever be able to look at that man without shaking in my boots.”

I scowl at the security screen in the elevator that shows our images just in case Vivian is watching us in here. I do not like the sound of him raising his hand against any of my Bonded, let alone three of them at once.

“This was early on in their training and they were all still pretty green. I'm not sure he could take them these days, Bonded. But I was young when I saw it go down, and it stuck with me.”

There’s a swirling, violent sort of feeling building up in me and I take a deep, deep breath.

“Yeah, maybe telling my bond about this isn't a great idea. I'm now feeling as though I should maybe go back up there and pull his soul out through his nostril, and Vivian is one of my favorite people on this earth. So, like, let's just leave this conversation where it is.”

Atlas scoffs and laughs at me. “How is Vivian one of your favorite people? Didn’t he torture you in your training sessions?”

That’s a simple question to answer. “Because he believed me when no one else did. He didn't let anyone treat me like shit in his presence, and he didn't try to coddle me when I started at Tac training. He just let me fall on my face over and over and over again until I figured out how to work the system myself. I think that makes him a great teacher.”

The elevator doors make a chiming noise and open up to show us a long hallway with a set of cells down either side, much like the cellblock under the council building.

I guess if something works, you don't mess with it. The design sure is creepy, if nothing else.

Sawyer is already in Sage's cell with her, right at the very end of the hallway. His laptop is waiting on a table outside as he tries to coax her out of her bed, but it's no use. She’s curled up in a ball with silent tears tracking down her cheeks. It makes my heart drop down to my feet to see because I've been there so many times before.

I might seem strong and put together now, but that's only because I’d spent years on the run having breakdowns in coffee shops, bathrooms, empty gas stations, and in the dirty kitchens of highway diners as I had done whatever odd jobs I could to survive. Yes, I was strong enough to eventually pick myself up, but there's a process to it. I hate that my friend is learning that and experiencing it firsthand.