Warrior (Relentless #4)(101)

I exhaled slowly. “You’re right. I’ll keep it under control from now on. Are you coming to the lab with me?”

“No. I just wanted a few minutes to talk. Let me know what they find.”

I gripped the hoodie tightly. “I’m pretty sure I know what they’ll find. Karks only behave like that for one reason.”

His eyes flicked to the hoodie. “Scarab pheromone?”

“I smelled something, but it was impossible to identify with the kark stench. I’m handling the investigation myself, and I’ll know something by tonight.”

He nodded approvingly. “Good. I’ll talk to you later then. I’m having a family dinner with Sara and Chris this evening. We think she’s ready to know he’s her cousin. You’re welcome to join us.”

As much as I loved spending time with Sara, I wanted her to form strong bonds with her Mohiri family. And I knew how much it meant to Tristan as well. It was best to give her this time alone with them.

“Thanks. You three do the family thing, and I’ll come by around eight.”

He smiled. “I’ll see you then.”

Tristan left, and I entered the medical ward. Our lab wasn’t state of the art like those at some other strongholds, but they would be able to tell if there was scarab pheromone or some other chemical on the hoodie. If the karks hadn’t devoured it all.

Margot was on duty again, and she started running tests immediately on the tattered hoodie. I told her to test for the pheromone first, and she said it would take at least two hours. She promised she would call me as soon as the results were in.

I hurried to my apartment to shower and change, and then I went in search of Dax. I found the security guy at his favorite spot, in front of a bank of computer monitors in the security center.

“Two visits in as many days. People are gonna start talking soon,” he quipped when I grabbed a chair and rolled it over to sit by him. He grinned. “You know, I don’t think we ever worked together as much as we have in the last few months.”

I chuckled. “That’s because a certain orphan has a special talent for finding trouble.”

“True that.” He tapped a few keys on his keyboard. “Let me guess, you want to see security footage from the kark thing.”

“Yes.”

Most of our security cameras were outside, but we had two in the main hall. Dax brought up the feeds and went back to the moment Sara and I entered the hall. I watched me hand her the knife and smile when she turned away.

Seconds later, the boy ran into the hall, followed by the flock of karks and everyone else. Soon it was difficult to hear people above the flapping and squeaking, and the scene below was partially obscured by the tiny winged creatures.

I kept my eyes on Sara and anyone she came close to before the karks attacked her. Aside from Tristan, Chris, and me, she came into contact with Celine and one of the boys when the three of them had fallen to the floor. I had Dax replay that piece several times, but I could see nothing suspicious, not that I expected to. Celine might have a reputation for disliking other women, but she would never harm another Mohiri. The boy was clumsy and awkward, and seemed eager to help.

Dax snickered as we watched for the fifth time as Sara backed into Celine and they tumbled to the floor. “That girl is after my own heart.”

I laughed. “She’s something else, all right.”

My smile vanished when we reached the part where the karks began attacking Sara, a few at first and then dozens of them. She cried out and stumbled, trying to escape them. And then I ran into the hall and covered her with my body. Watching the karks try to burrow under me to get to Sara made my blood run cold. If I hadn’t gotten to her in time –

“You want to keep going?”

“I’ve seen enough.”

Dax stopped the playback. “Did you find what you were looking for?”

“No. I thought I’d figure out why the karks attacked Sara and no one else, but I can’t see anything here that explains it.”

I rubbed my jaw and thought about where Sara could have picked up the pheromone, if indeed that was what I’d smelled on her hoodie. Could it have been on her clothes before we entered the building?

Once again, I dismissed that idea. If Sara had walked into the hall with scarab pheromone on her clothes, the flock would have attacked her as soon as they caught the scent. So how the hell had she come into contact with it?

Leaning back in my chair, I stared at the monitor that now showed the ongoing cleanup in the main hall. Was it possible that I was making something out of nothing? Where was the motive? Why would another Mohiri want to hurt Sara? I was so used to protecting her. Maybe I was seeing a threat where none existed.

I pushed my chair back and stood. A glance at the time on the monitor told me I had at least an hour before the lab’s pheromone test would be done. The results would tell me if I was overreacting or not. I hoped I was.





*


It was just after eight that night when I arrived at Tristan’s door to talk to him about the kark incident and the results of the lab tests. I felt Sara’s presence inside, and I was a little worried about seeing her after my behavior in the hall. I was trying to take my time with her, and I didn’t want her upset by this.

I rapped on the door. A moment later, it was opened by Tristan.