glaring up at a very angry Jayden who'd been standing over
him and looking as if killing him was a very real possibility.
Before I could reason with Jayden and let
him know Isaiah hadn't harmed me— not
really —Dad and Barone had come barreling into the
kitchen. Since neither man had known about the kiss and I'd been
too embarrassed to mention it, there was an assumption that Isaiah
and Jayden's long-standing rivalry had finally escalated to the
point of brutality.
"JAYDEN ST. ROMAINE! I won't have fighting
in my house or in front of my daughter. Apologize to Soldier
Manniless and retire to your quarters. I'll meet you there later,"
Dad had seethed.
Hating to see Jayden in trouble for doing
nothing more than coming to my rescue, I'd stepped forward. Jayden
shook his head, silently pleading for me to stay quiet.
Before I could say the first word, he'd
bowed elegantly toward Isaiah and said, "Please forgive me,
brother. I should not have lost my temper like that."
Just like he was today while pacing around
Gran, Tawney, and me, he looked calm, cool, and composed. The exact
opposite of what he'd been when he'd snatched Isaiah off me,
punched him in the face, and threw him to the kitchen floor.
That was the very reason I didn't trust his
facade. There could be a burning inferno inside Jayden and no one
would ever know. Much like he managed his body and its ability to
tolerate physical challenges, he had learned to control his
emotions in such a way that no one— not even
those closest to him —would ever really know what he was
thinking or how he felt.
Since I was familiar with Jayden and
Isaiah's history, I was confident that a meeting right now between
the two of them, especially if it was one where Isaiah had been
ordered to take us into custody, would end in death for either
Jayden or Isaiah. While I was sure that Jayden was the strongest
and fastest Surrogate on the planet, I wasn't willing to risk his
life on my rose-colored assumption.
I was snapped from my thoughts when Tawney
wrapped her arms around her stomach.
"Are you okay?" I whispered.
Nodding, she put her water bottle to her
mouth and tilted it. When she did, her hands shook so bad that I
was sure all of the water would spill out and onto her shirt.
Quickly and without taking a good drink, she put the bottle back
between her legs and let it rest there. Rather than let anyone see
her shaking with exhaustion, she was opting to stay dehydrated. I
couldn't imagine why. Jayden had never given her a hard time in her
life.
Hell, he'd probably even
throw her over his shoulder and carry her if she'd agree to it…
which she'd never do.
I was confident he would just leave me
behind if I couldn't keep up. Where he'd always had the patience of
a saint with Tawney, he'd demeaned and berated me at any point he
felt I was showing any sign of weakness. There'd been more than one
occasion when I'd wanted to knock his beautiful head off his
perfect shoulders.
I might not agree with President Barone's
plans for a nation of perfect people, but I couldn't deny the fact
that he'd done everything right when it came to Jayden St.
Romaine.
There were several noticeable differences
about Jayden. One thing that hadn't changed was his uniform. He'd
always worn the same black soldier fatigues, an all-purpose jacket
and pants with so many pockets I'd wondered on many occasions if
he'd actually needed a backpack.
Ignoring the fact that Jayden was apparently
going against Barone— Only because Dad ordered
it , I quickly reminded myself—Jayden was military to the
core and usually kept his hair shaved into a close crew cut. Today,
his hair was longer on the top than I'd ever seen it. If I'd been
asked my opinion, I'd confess that I liked the length. The military
cut coupled with his inflexibility made him too harsh. The new
longer bangs coming nearly down into his Surrogate jade-green eyes
made him heart-stopping.
Surrogates' telltale sign was their
unnaturally green but
him and looking as if killing him was a very real possibility.
Before I could reason with Jayden and let
him know Isaiah hadn't harmed me— not
really —Dad and Barone had come barreling into the
kitchen. Since neither man had known about the kiss and I'd been
too embarrassed to mention it, there was an assumption that Isaiah
and Jayden's long-standing rivalry had finally escalated to the
point of brutality.
"JAYDEN ST. ROMAINE! I won't have fighting
in my house or in front of my daughter. Apologize to Soldier
Manniless and retire to your quarters. I'll meet you there later,"
Dad had seethed.
Hating to see Jayden in trouble for doing
nothing more than coming to my rescue, I'd stepped forward. Jayden
shook his head, silently pleading for me to stay quiet.
Before I could say the first word, he'd
bowed elegantly toward Isaiah and said, "Please forgive me,
brother. I should not have lost my temper like that."
Just like he was today while pacing around
Gran, Tawney, and me, he looked calm, cool, and composed. The exact
opposite of what he'd been when he'd snatched Isaiah off me,
punched him in the face, and threw him to the kitchen floor.
That was the very reason I didn't trust his
facade. There could be a burning inferno inside Jayden and no one
would ever know. Much like he managed his body and its ability to
tolerate physical challenges, he had learned to control his
emotions in such a way that no one— not even
those closest to him —would ever really know what he was
thinking or how he felt.
Since I was familiar with Jayden and
Isaiah's history, I was confident that a meeting right now between
the two of them, especially if it was one where Isaiah had been
ordered to take us into custody, would end in death for either
Jayden or Isaiah. While I was sure that Jayden was the strongest
and fastest Surrogate on the planet, I wasn't willing to risk his
life on my rose-colored assumption.
I was snapped from my thoughts when Tawney
wrapped her arms around her stomach.
"Are you okay?" I whispered.
Nodding, she put her water bottle to her
mouth and tilted it. When she did, her hands shook so bad that I
was sure all of the water would spill out and onto her shirt.
Quickly and without taking a good drink, she put the bottle back
between her legs and let it rest there. Rather than let anyone see
her shaking with exhaustion, she was opting to stay dehydrated. I
couldn't imagine why. Jayden had never given her a hard time in her
life.
Hell, he'd probably even
throw her over his shoulder and carry her if she'd agree to it…
which she'd never do.
I was confident he would just leave me
behind if I couldn't keep up. Where he'd always had the patience of
a saint with Tawney, he'd demeaned and berated me at any point he
felt I was showing any sign of weakness. There'd been more than one
occasion when I'd wanted to knock his beautiful head off his
perfect shoulders.
I might not agree with President Barone's
plans for a nation of perfect people, but I couldn't deny the fact
that he'd done everything right when it came to Jayden St.
Romaine.
There were several noticeable differences
about Jayden. One thing that hadn't changed was his uniform. He'd
always worn the same black soldier fatigues, an all-purpose jacket
and pants with so many pockets I'd wondered on many occasions if
he'd actually needed a backpack.
Ignoring the fact that Jayden was apparently
going against Barone— Only because Dad ordered
it , I quickly reminded myself—Jayden was military to the
core and usually kept his hair shaved into a close crew cut. Today,
his hair was longer on the top than I'd ever seen it. If I'd been
asked my opinion, I'd confess that I liked the length. The military
cut coupled with his inflexibility made him too harsh. The new
longer bangs coming nearly down into his Surrogate jade-green eyes
made him heart-stopping.
Surrogates' telltale sign was their
unnaturally green but
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