Revolution (Collide, #4)(11)

Cain stepped forward, with Josh…uh, Simon right by his side, and blasted him with his palms out, but the thing just flew back a bit then back flipped back into a standing position. Cain gawked and looked around at us. This wasn't working. We needed to think.

It couldn't end like this. After everything…it just couldn't be the end this way.

Hot Hands



Chapter 5


Ryan



I watched as Jeff crumpled to the ground, taking another hit from the thing we had yet to identify. I ran my hands through my hair with frustration at having absolutely no idea what to do. My human brain just wouldn’t think.

I began to feel the tug and buzz of my conscience. I cocked my head to the side, and hoped and prayed that Calvin wasn't doing anything stupid. He had begun to be aggressive in his efforts to help us and fight, but there was no way in hell or on this Earth I was letting that happen.

And when that thought hit me, so did another. My conscience…it wasn't buzzing because Calvin was in trouble, it was buzzing because this was Calvin's task. In all the hustle of fighting and trying so hard to keep our charges safe, we'd forgotten the most important thing. The reason the Specials were special and needed to be protected was to keep them safe until their task was presented to us and could be fulfilled.

I looked across the field to see Merrick shielding Danny and it all fell into place for me. I gulped down my petty fear and ran. I saw Miguel eyeing me as I ran passed him, like he couldn’t believe I was being the coward I was.

But he didn't know what I was up to.

I yelled to let Marissa know it was me and she swung the door open. I ran past her without explanation right to the door that I knew Ann was guarding on the other side. I stopped for just a second and took a breath. Please, please, God, let me be right.

Ann, it's me. Open up.

Did something else happen? What are you doing down here.

Open the door, Ann.

She opened it with a scowl that quickly morphed into horror as she read my thoughts. "No! Ryan, what are you thinking?"

"He's my Special. Move." I deposited her to the side swiftly and went to Calvin. I tried really hard not to glance at Ellie, because I didn't want to deal with two things at once, but I still couldn’t stop from glancing her way. She stood, her mouth slightly open, and watched me. Calvin looked up, shocked to see me and even more shocked when I took his arm and said, "Come on, champ. You're getting your wish."

He grinned and made a noise of excitement, but then Sherry stopped me with a hand on my arm.

"Ryan, what's going on?"

"He needs to do this," I said low. "I've been so blind lately, we all have. They're Specials for a reason, Sherry. This is his job, his task," I emphasized. Her eyes went too round and she bit her lip. She looked at Calvin with a look that a mother would give. I felt her pain, literally, it hurt me to think about this, but it had to be done.

"O-ok," she stuttered. "I mean," she turned to Lana, "he's not my son."

Lana was a different kind of woman and mother. She was perceptive beyond what most people were capable of. She gave me this look that told me she understood. She smiled and broke at the same time and signed 'What I wouldn't do to change things, but they are what they are.'

I bowed to her slightly in thanks and pulled Calvin's arm. He came willingly and said, "Yes! Finally! I've waited so long for this that I was starting to feel like it would never happen unless I made it happen."

I stopped in my stubborn, inhuman tracks. Was that a message directly for me or was it? I turned to Ellie, who still looked at me with a longing that I had known was there for a while now. She was shy, like me and my human self. I had kept her at a distance because I feared hurting her. If this all ended today, could I give up the After to stay here and die a human? What if I fell in love with her, would that change my decision? Merrick and Jeff were pretty adamant and sure of their decisions.

Could I risk breaking her heart to explore that?

My body answered for me as I found myself propelling across the carpeted floor to her. She let her arms fall to the sides and closed her eyes, squinting in a way as if I'd hit her instead of kiss her. I plowed into her, my arms going around her like I'd seen the other men do so many times. My lips took their first taste of female flesh and I felt a growl work its way into my throat. But she whimpered and that halted all movement, until she gripped my neck and tugged me closer. I felt clumsy and awkward, but she didn't seem to be complaining, and when she opened her mouth to me and I felt her tongue reaching for mine…

I pulled back and licked my bottom lip. I could still taste her there, smell her. Gah, I had to get out of here. I hugged her to me and spoke against her ear. Something in me that I didn't understand was extremely satisfied when she shivered. "I'll be back. I just couldn't go another minute without knowing what that felt like."

"I'm glad you did," she said breathlessly and laughed as she leaned back and touched my chin. "Please come back, because I really want to do that again."

I felt myself smile and stole one last peck before sprinting toward the door with Calvin. We'd wasted too much time already and I knew that I was going to have a fight on my hands with the other Keepers.

"Thanks, Calvin," I told him as we rounded the corner and clapped him on the shoulder.