Page 21 of Immune

“Mhm. You did that,” he says with another nod, like he’s already made peace with the fact that he’s been caught and there isn’t a damned thing he can do about it.

I frown. “Do you have a head injury I don’t know about?”

He pauses. “Not at this very moment in time.”

“Huh,” I mutter. “It would have explained a whole lot.”

A small sound leaves him, and I’m pretty sure it’s almost a laugh, but he chokes it out before it can actually morph into one. It's the smartest thing he’s done today, because if he laughs with my gun pressed against his skull, there’s every single chance I might take it personally.

A long pause stretches between us before he finally admits, “I wanted to make sure you got somewhere safe.”

That sentence hits me in a weird, unexplainable way, because it’s too soft. Too reasonable. It’s way too close to something I flat-out refuse to want. Nothing good ever comes from wanting something in this world, and I’ll die at the hands of a hundred Zeds before I cave into that luxury.

Pressing the gun a little harder against his head, I snap, “I don’t need you to make sure of anything.”

“Yup. Caught on to that little fact,” he quips, far too unserious for the situation he’s currently in. I mean, what’s not serious about someone holding a gun to your head, right? Pretty sure this Alpha is defective or something.

“Did you?” I question, not entirely sure he’s being truthful.

“Took me a second, but yeah, I see it,” he answers instantly.

I pause, maybe for dramatic effect. Got to get my thrills somewhere in this thrill-less world. “Huh. Yet, here you are.”

“Here I am,” he agrees again, and I shake my head at the guy. I genuinely can’t tell if it’s the audacity or the nerve that is baffling me more, but either way, the Alpha is full of it and I refuse to be impressed.

Narrowing my eyes at the back of Kaito’s head, I tilt my own to the side and mutter, “You’re not really good at staying alive, are you?”

A funny sound escapes him before he answers. “I don’t know. I think I’ve done pretty well so far.”

“You got yourself trapped in an alley by Zeds after slicing your side open,” I remind him, pointing out his stupidity like it needs highlighting.

“And then I was saved by someone who calls Biters Zeds,” he points out, returning the favor, and my mouth snaps shut. See? The fucking audacity. Where the hell does he get it from?

Slowly, stupidly, I realize I must have called the dead Zeds at some point. Probably when I was occupied threatening him, which is honestly where I do some of my best work. I have no idea why it’s something he remembers, though.

“You remember that?” I prod, not really sure why I’m asking in the first place. He very obviously remembers, or else he wouldn’t have said it.

Kaito nods. “I remember a lot of things.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Why does that sound like a threat?”

A sound huffs from his chest, right before he counters, “It wasn’t meant to sound like one.”

Rolling my eyes, I tell him, “Most people don’t generally announce their threats, Kaito.”

Weirdly, the Alpha stills slightly. Not enough for just anyone to notice, but I do. I catch the very moment his shoulders tense, his breath stills, and his body turns to stone right where he stands. Then he quietly says, “You remember my name.”

I’m not sure I like the soft tone in his voice, nor do I like the little moment that’s forming, so I repeat his words back to him, “I remember a lot of things.”

“Now that sounds like a threat,” he breathes.

“It was meant to,” I confirm, nudging his head with the gun once more, just in case he’s forgotten what kind of situation he’s found himself in now.

It must do the trick, because I’m pretty sure I hear him swallow hard before he utters, “Noted.”

The house settles around us, a soft creak crawling through the walls as the wind outside brushes the siding. Somewhere upstairs, something drips steadily into a bowl I placed under a leak.

Plink.