Page 8 of Us Defiant Few

Her feet were cemented to the floor, her eyes locked on Takeshi. “I’m staying,” she declared.

Jericho’s brows pulled low. “You can’t.”

“Says who?”

“Jack.”

“Well, relay this to Jack. I don’t give one flying fuck what he says. Someone needs to be here when he wakes up, and that person is going to be me.”

Adan cleared his throat, shuffling his feet. “Khalani, what if he attacks again?”

“He’s chained up.”

But the others gave her pointed looks, like they knew the chains might not be strong enough to contain him.

She let out a deep breath. “I’ll stay against the wall, out of reach.”

“If you stay, I’m locking the door with you inside.” Jericho’s eyes narrowed. “I won’t bring water and food for a while. Are you still sure?”

“Absolutely.” Her voice didn’t waver.

But her fingertips shook as Winnie, Serene, and Adan hugged her goodbye. Brock nodded at her before the metal door slammed shut, leaving her alone with Takeshi.

She turned, taking every inch of him in. Even unconscious, his presence held a weight that demanded attention.

His silky black hair hung over his face as his head dipped to the side, eyes firmly shut. No marks marred his body. The chiseled lines of his cheekbones and strong jaw stood out. But something in his cold energy made Khalani shuffle back.

The deadly parts of him had always been evident, but in the past, she could always sense a light in him. His uncompromising need to protect others. The child who loved to paint, still looking out for her.

But now, all those parts of him were absent.

Not as if they were missing.

As if they’d never existed in the first place.

How much torture must Takeshi have endured for the chip to work? She started to unravel after only a few hours under Doctor Strauss’s scalpel.

Takeshi was gone for three days.

“I’m so sorry I left you behind.” The whisper was barely audible as her back met the wall and she slid to the floor.

Khalani brought her knees to her chest, wrapping her thin arms around her legs, curling tighter on herself. Trying to hold everything together as Takeshi lay in chains before her.

She waited for him to wake up.

Fought sleep as long as she could.

But without her permission, her heavy eyelids began to drift shut.

It could’ve been hours later before she startled awake, wiping the drool off her cheek. Her butt ached from sitting on the stone floor for so long.

Khalani lifted her head and abruptly froze, every inch of her tensing. Takeshi was awake.

And he was staring right at her.

3

You were born of violence.