Adapt (I)

SCARLET

“I hate this plan.”

I do. I hate this plan with every molecule in my body. So many things can go wrong. And things always go wrong with plans like these.

Boe ignores me as he claims the driver’s seat of me Jeep. Boe seems so sure of this plan - so sure that he knows what HQ will do, that nothing can dissuade him now. Nothing would dissuade Logan either.

Typical men, I think to myself. Ready to risk everything.

Boe buckles his seatbelt as I fold into my seat.

This plan is precarious, at best. A disaster at worst. When I argued that to Logan and Boe, they ignored me.

The only thing that prevented my immediate departure, to surrender to HQ, was Boe’s stern stare. This green eyes promised me that nothing good would come of that.

It is a simple plan, really, but one that relies on too many behavioural factors for my liking. Boe will take me to an exchange location, to meet Alex and the team he will bring. I will ‘break loose’ before Alex arrives. We will stage the scene to look like Boe had no choice but to kill me. When the hunters arrive, they will find me laying on the floor. Logan’s roll is to manipulate the minds of the hunter’s, from the shadows, so they will not question my death.

And then Logan will take me into hiding. Boe will leave with the hunters.

And I have little to no hope of seeing Boe ever again.

“This isn’t going to work.” I defiantly say for the fifth time.

“Yes, it will.” Boe says. “It has to.”

“What if they come with more numbers than what you think?”

Boe shakes his head. “They won’t. They have very strict rules when it comes to exchange protocol.” Boe had already explained this to Logan when they were formulating the plan. It had been bazar to watch. The two men who had, moments earlier, wanted to tear each other’s throats out, now building a strategy together.

And leaving me on the sidelines of their discussion when I am at the centre of their plan.

“What if it doesn’t look convincing?” I ask, knowing that all of my questions will result in futility.

Boe shrugs. “Then he can manipulate their minds into thinking it is real.” The loathing that leaches into Boe’s tone when he refers to Logan is palpable.

I chew on my lip and slump back into the seat, arms folded.

Boe reaches over and puts a comforting hand on my leg. His warm touch soothes me instantly, which is dumb. The plan is still stupid, and I am having no luck convincing Boe not to go through with it.

“Ranger, I know you are scared that something will go wrong, but it is a good plan, and one that ends in a win for everyone.”

I grind my teeth. I will probably never see Boe again. The thought sends a wave of bone numbing chills through my body.

“It’s not a complete win.” I mutter.

“What do you mean?”

I look over to Boe’s heartbreakingly handsome face, and tears instantly come to my eyes. I can’t help it. God fucking damn it, I am crying over this man again! I swore I would never do that again. Yet, here I am.

“I still won’t see my family and friends again.” I swallow. “I still won’t see you again.” My words break and I have to swallow back the sobs that are threatening to burst from me. I turn to the window and wipe my face.

Boe’s hand on my knee tightens. “We will figure out a way for you to see them. I will work inside of HQ to protect you. Whatever it takes. You will have a normal life again.”

I scoff, the sound ugly and wet with my tears. “Normal? I never had that! And I never will.” Breaking down, right when I needed to be clear headed and focused. Good one, Scarlet. I study the door handle of my car, afraid to say anything else.

Boe huffs, strain lacing his tone. “Fine, you haven’t had a normal life. That doesn’t mean you haven’t had a good life. And it definitely doesn’t mean you won’t have a good life in the future.”

Not without you. Thankfully my face is too preoccupied with snotting and sobbing to say the words.

Boe squeezes my knee again. “Scarlet, look at me.”

Reluctantly, I look up at him. He rations his gaze between me and the road, as he speaks. “You are looking at this like the death of your old life, which it is, but it is just a little earlier than you anticipated. Once you finished high school, your life was going to change anyway. Let’s just pretend that there are no hunters chasing you, you didn’t have a Therian half and you had never met me.” Those last words sting my eyes to new tears, but I don’t say anything and let him continue. “Without school, you would have quickly spiralled deeper into hunting. Eventually you would have moved away, either to pursue other therians or protect your family and friends because you had gotten on the wrong side of a Therian nest. You would eventually grow apart and lose contact, through no fault of anyone’s.”

The tears are still running down my cheeks. He is completely right, of course, as much as I would like to deny it.

“And as for seeing your family and friends, I will fight tooth and nail so that one day you can see them again. What I need you to do is bide your time, stay safe – get through this ‘coming of age’ thing in one piece - and be patient. I promise I will get you back to your family and friends. As for me.” He curls his lips into a wry smile. “You can’t get rid of me this easily.”

I sniffle out a half laugh. He is able to turn my emotions around so quickly.

It doesn’t take long to get to the meeting point. According to Boe, HQ has a very specific set of requirements for an exchange location when the captive is unwilling. It has to be an open space so that HQ can secure the area before showing themselves. It also has to be inconspicuous to civilian eyes, to minimize the potential collateral damage.

I inwardly wonder how many unwilling captives Head Quarters has taken.

Boe explains the plan again before we get out of the Jeep. We are parked at the edge of the field, the Jeep’s headlights illuminating the overgrown green grass in a haunting way. It has a barbed wire fence edging its perimeter. The wooden posts look as though they have seen better days, and the wire looks as though it is hanging by a thread. I barely listen to Boe, too distracted by the sickening feeling lodged in my throat.

“Now, all I need is my phone.” Boe says.

I look over at him, my gaze vacant. “Oh, right.”

I twist and reach to the back seat. After a moment of rummaging, I come up with the phone. I hand it to him.

I expected him to immediately dial and tell HQ our location. Instead, he just spins the screen in his hand while his gaze is fixed on me.

“This is going to work.” He says.

I swallow. I must have doubt all over my face. I force myself to nod, then gnaw on my lip. I don’t think I have a choice. This seems like the only plan that Boe and Logan are going to help me with.

Boe takes one slow breath in, then out. He closes his eyes for a moment, as if trying to summon some strength, before he pops open the door and disappears into the night.

I let out a breath that I hadn’t realized I was holding. This is it.

Then my door pops open and I jump. Boe’s green eyes shine like jewels in the light of the Jeep’s dashboard lights, his gaze fierce and intent.

For a split second I think he might be double crossing me. Maybe he has been playing a game the entire time and now he really is going to hand me over to HQ.

But then Boe shifts me in my seat so I am facing out of the car, my feet on the side steps, Boe’s hips between my thighs. Without hesitation his hand winds around the back my neck and slams me with the fiercest kiss.

Heat explodes over my body and I shudder. He sets every molecule of my body on fire. This kiss - its more than the ones before it. This one is a wildfire, burning hot and fast. My hands trace up his chest and around his neck to fist in his hair, pressing him closer to me than we already are. He obliges, snaking his other arm around my waist, pulling my body to his and pressing his body to mine. His tongue works with mine, coaxing me. All of my hesitation crumbles and I let our tongues dance together, forgetting that I am probably the worst kisser in the world. A low growl rumbles in his chest as I let the walls of my defences down.

I feel his exhilaration. His emotions trickle into me. The want, the desire.

And the regret. The regret for pulling me into all of this. He wishes he had the strength to walk away when he realized how much I meant to him. He wishes he had the ability to keep me safe without asking a Therian - or anyone for that matter – for help.

However, over shadowing all of it is a recognition that he would give everything he has to just share this moment with me. The emotions bore into me, fusing with my bones and leaching into my muscles. The heat of them charges my soul.

More. I want more. I need more. My hands slide down his body and under the hem of his black shirt. Under my hands his muscles contract and a shiver racks him, causing his lips to still for a moment as he enjoys my hands on his skin. Then his kiss is twice as hard, commanding all of my attention. His lips are determined, melting me under his heat. My hands move of their own volition, back to the hem of his shirt and lifting.

Boe’s body tenses. The emotions flowing from him disapate. Boe swallows before slowly pulling back from me. He doesn’t go far though. Just enough so we aren’t kissing anymore.

Did I do something wrong?

Who am I kidding? Of course, I did!

He takes in a slow breath, his green eyes reminding me of a forest in a storm. He lets out that breath, a tremor lacing it. Bit by bit he lets go of his hold on me, coming to a much gentler embrace.

I hate it.

The hand that was around the back of my neck is now tracing a gentle line around the edge of my face. He swallows again. “You need to stop biting your lip. I have no idea how to control myself when you do that.” His tone is deep with a thousand dark promises.

Oh shit.

I had been biting my lip before he had gotten out of the Jeep. “I’m sorry.” I blurt, my mind hurriedly restacking the crumbled structures of my mind. Why is he able to undo me?

His fingertip traces my bottom lip. “You should be.” The smile on his lips is teasing. My cheeks flush hot. He gives a small chuckle before resting his forehead on mine. “I nearly got carried away, but I couldn’t stand the thought of not kissing you one more time.”

My heart thuds in my chest. Kissing?! He calls melting me into a puddle with heat and passion kissing?! I don’t know what I call it, but it was sure as hell more than kissing!

I don’t say my thoughts though. Instead, my idiot face flushes even more. “I’m sorry.” I say again, referring my lame attempt to undress him.

His wild eyes soften, and a lopsided smirk settles in. “Next time you apologize I’m going to kiss you again. And trust me when I say I will not have the good grace to stop next time.”

I bite my lip to stop my mouth from blurting the words again. Then I stop, because he told me not to do that as well. Oh God, I am losing it! I unstick my hands from where they are anchored to Boe’s waist and put them in my lap. I stare down at them, knowing that I will only look like more of an idiot if I kept staring at Boe.

He chuckles again, the sound both relaxed and strained. He takes a step back, leaving me feeling cold. “I have to make a phone call.” Then he steps around the back of my car. Moments later he is speaking to someone on the phone. His tone is clipped and official sounding. He uses words like ‘subject’ and ‘detained’, describing me as ‘uncooperative’ and ‘hostile.’ I smile at the last one. ‘Hostile’ is a good way to describe me.

He hangs up the phone and opens the back door of the Jeep. After finding what he is looking for, he slams the door shut and comes back to stand in front of me. He purposefully keeps distance between us, which I am both grateful for and annoyed by. He holds an odd-looking set of hand cuffs in his hand.

I grind my teeth but slide from my seat. This is part of the plan. No one would believe that I was detained without being put into restraints. I eye the cuffs. Boe had explained that these cuffs have fragments of hunter’s blade mixed with the metal and small spikes of hunter’s blades protruding from inside the cuffs to pierce the skin and weaken the Therians that are unlucky enough to wear them. It is going to hurt having them on, but no more than a regular blade for me. Boe had proved that by stabbing me with my own blade in my own kitchen.

But, before I put on the cuffs, there is another thing I have to do. I dread it more than being restrained.

Boe squares his stance. “Three good hits to the face, a couple of kicks to the stomach, Ranger. Make them count.”

I grind my teeth harder. “One should be enough. You already have bruises.” They had yellowed from the fight two days ago and the thought of hitting him makes me want to throw up.

He shakes his head. “You have to make it look like I had no other choice but kill you. They know that one hit to the face would not have been enough to force me to kill you.”

“I can’t do this.” I say, shaking my head. How can I hurt him when my lips are still swollen from kissing him?

He lowers his centre of gravity by an inch. “I could always ask Logan to do it. I’m sure he would take great pleasure-”

“No.” I hold up my hand. “No, I’ll do it. The thought of him hurting you is worse.”

“Alright then. Lay it on me.”

I force my mind to go blank. In a few swift motions I lay a series of kicks to Boe’s stomach. I hear whooshes of air and a very quiet cough. I come back to my senses, seeing Boe hunched over in pain. “Oh god,” I whisper and cover my mouth with my hands. “I’m so-”

“Don’t you dare apologize.” Boe sputters and hauls himself up to stand straight. He might be in pain, but his eyes still have their devilish smile in them. “You weren’t even at full force. Now stop fighting like a girl and hit me!”

He is trying to egg me on. I know it, and it works. I still don’t hit him with all of my power, placing a hook, a jab and an upper cut into his jaw. It is enough to bring bright new flushes to his yellowed bruises and send him stumbling back.

“That’s it.” I say through my teeth. “That’s all you get.”

Boe tentatively dabs at the split in my lip and examines the trace of blood. “I suppose it will have to do.” Clearly sore, he walks over to me and holds out the cuffs. I raise my wrists and let him clamp them on. The points of the blades pierce the top and bottom of my wrists, causing me to suck in quick breathes.

Then I feel it.

The tingle on the back of my neck.

My eyes widen as it dawns on me that I have forgotten to take into consideration the absolute flaw to this plan.

And my original plan for that matter.

Being around Boe has made me forget the instant red haze that descends over my vision every time hunters come near me. I have lulled myself into a false sense of security.

And now it is coming back to bite me.

“Boe.” I whisper. “This is a bad idea.”

He doesn’t look up from securing the cuffs. “I know they are uncomfortable, and trust me, I know it goes against every instinct to let yourself be restrained, but this plan will work.”

The tingle turns into needles. There are a lot of hunters on their way. I don’t know how many, but a lot more than I have ever encountered before.

“No.” I whimper. “You don’t understand. When I’m around hunters I-”

“Your senses become over loaded. I know. When you pass out, I will protect you and so will Logan. Anyway, I figured it would make the whole thing look a lot more real.”

I shake my head, desperate now. “No, no, no, that was when I was injured. I don’t usually pass out Boe. Usually…”

But it is too late. The red haze descends over my vision as I hear the helicopter in the distance. Dread and panic evaporate from my mind.

The only thought?

To kill.