lights up the screen. It’s the same photo that’s on my CN-badge. I’m happy, smiling broadly. It was taken on my first day at Central News. I was young. Hopeful. Naïve.
“Kaitlyn Hunt is believed to be have assisted the Zoran in orchestrating this heinous crime. She’s believed to be armed and dangerous. If you see her, do not attempt to talk to her. Go inside and call the authorities. Once again, she is considered armed and dangerous. We’re now going live to Commander Simopoulos who was the last person to speak to her before the attack…”
4
Tyr
“ T urn it off ,” Kaitlyn says, her voice ice cold. “Turn it off.”
Emma grabs the remote and turns the feed off. “It’s been on the news for hours. They don’t talk about anything else. Imagine our surprise when we find you suddenly on our doorstep… with a Zoran.”
Tears roll down Kaitlyn’s cheeks. “How could they do this? Central News. I gave years of my life to them, and now they’re accusing me of the attack that almost killed me? What did I ever do to deserve this? You believe me, don’t you?” she asks.
“Of course,” Emma responds instantly.
Karen nods rapidly at the same time. “I know you, dear. You wouldn’t hurt a fly. This whole thing stinks.”
I wipe the tears off her cheek. I know better than anyone the heartache that being betrayed by your own kind can cause.
“We’ll get them,” I say. “We’ll show them justice.”
“How?” Kaitlyn cries. “What can we do?”
“We prove your innocence.”
“How?!”
“Tomorrow,” I say. “Let’s think about this with a clear head tomorrow. Can we spend the night here?”
“Of course,” Emma says. “I’ll get the guest room ready.”
Kaitlyn can hardly walk. The news that she’s the prime suspect has knocked the wind right out of her. I scoop her up in my arms and carry her upstairs. Emma has prepared a bed for us, but it’s too small for me, of course.
No matter. I’ll sleep on the floor.
As a soldier, I’m used to worse.
Kaitlyn curls up on top of her blankets straight away, her clothes, stained with dirt, sand, and ash, still on.
“Give me your clothes and I’ll wash them,” Emma says, standing in the door frame. “You’re a hot mess, girl.”
Kaitlyn groans in return.
“Fine, I’ll do it,” Emma says, mock-sighing. She removes Kaitlyn’s shirt, exposing her milky, white skin to me for the first time. Her breasts are round and full, covered only by a bra, and the sight makes my armor feel a bit cramped.
“Your hair is filled with sand, too,” Emma says. “You shouldn’t hover-bike without a helmet.”
“I’ll keep that in mind next time I’m running from the law,” Kaitlyn says.
“Good. Now push up those hips, or there’s no way I’m wiggling you out of those jeans.”
Emma slides Kaitlyn’s jeans past her curvy hips, and I can’t help but drink in the sight of her long, shapely legs. A moment later all that remains is the memory, as she buries herself under a thick mountain of blankets.
“Thank you,” I tell Emma, “for your help.”
“Don’t worry about it,” she says, Kaitlyn’s clothes bunched under her arms. “She’s family, and you saved her life, so that makes you family as well.”
She looks at my dented armor, her eyebrows raised.
“I don’t think I can wash that… sorry.”
I smirk. “It’s fine.”
“Alright. Well, if there’s anything you two need, holler, okay?”
“Will do.”
I close the door behind her, and I exhale a large breath. I rest my back against the door as I try to fit all the pieces together in my mind. It looks like we’re down and out, but I feel like there’s something we missed. Some piece of the puzzle we’ve overlooked.
“Tyr…” Katelyn says, her voice barely a whisper.
“Yes?”
“Thank you… for everything.”
I sit down on the edge of her bed. She’s buried up to her chin in blankets, her brown eyes staring into mine.
“I did just what any Zoran