"Thanks."

"For what?"

"For everything."

x~x~x~x

The water was so cool and fresh I immediately decided it came from the waterfalls.

I washed the grit from my hair,trying to ignore the mental image of Zach in that very same shower; not a bad image, but obviously not appropriate.

I dried my hair with the towel and put on the shirt. The sleeves were slightly too long, so I folded them once. I put on a clean pair of wool jeggings (jeans plus leggings), taking care not to loosen the bandages, and combed my hair.

Then I went out. Best not to keep Zach waiting.

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When I came in feeling totally clean again, Zach was fiddling with the dagger he used to kill the lynx. He carefully placed it beside the laptop when he saw me. I dumped my bag near the shelves.

Zach broke the silence."I couldn't help but notice there's something wrong with your leg."He added,"Did something happen to you in Russia?"

"How did you know it was Russia? I didn't tell you about that,"I said.

A smirk played at his lips. "Spy."

I rolled my eyes. "I knew you were going to say that. And why should I tell you what's wrong with my leg?"

"So we could do something about it. And,"He pierced me with his emerald-green-flecked-with-black eyes,"Where were you after you trapped me in the plane?"

I hesitated before telling him before telling him the whole story. After that, he told me his and that was when I knew we both know about the blueprints.

"You found the directions?" he asked me.

"Yeah, kind of. But not in Thailand. It was taken to another place because of 'enemy breach'. I broke into Russian Intelligence and found out tracking the blueprints would be like a wild goose chase. Mr. Solomon and my...Dad took turns hiding it and leaving clues on where they left it. Russia was just one of their stops."

"Okay, I got that." He stood up and searched for something under the table. He muttered something when he found what he was looking for. It was a first aid kit."I saw you wrapping your leg after I killed the lynx," he explained.

"You spied on me!" The words were out of my mouth before I realized how cliche I must have sounded like.

He didn't fail to release the comeback. "Spying is what spies do, Gallagher Girl. Unless you didn't know." He studied my legs, which made me uneasy, so I pulled them back and hugged my knees. Zach ripped his gaze away with an expression on his face that was either embarrassment or disappointment or possibly both. It was gone when he saw me staring at him.

"You're better than you think you are,"he said mildly. "Do you know that?"

If I only read his words, I would have thought he was mocking me. But the way he said it, suggested it was the exact opposite of an insult.

I didn't want to ask him what he meant, so I replied,"Yeah, right. Are you going to fix me up, or not?"

"That depends, are you going to show me where-?"

I thought about my options for a minute, then decided it wasn't worth it. To do it myself, I mean. How was I supposed to know what kind of bullets the Circle used? I haven't yet had an experience in where I had to dig a bullet from my skin (Like, ew). Plus, if Zach dares to make a move on me, I will kill him. And I bet he knows that. That's why I slowly rolled up the jeggings on my right leg until the hem was five inches below my butt. Some of the bigger raw scars were still bleeding.

Zach watched the whole thing quietly.

"Don't do anything that would make me regret doing this, deal?"

He smirked. "Deal."

I nodded. I stretched my leg out, wincing slightly when my muscles moved. I started unclasping the buttons I sewed on with my own hair, (who knew hair could be substituted for thread?) when Zach gently placed his hand over mine, and said,"I'll do it."

I swear the temperature rose a hundred degrees. I could barely manage to whisper back my reply."Sure." I was in no mood to argue.

Zach unclasped the remaining button and unrolled the wrappings. I felt shivers (the good ones) rain down my back each time his fingers accidentally (or intentionally, depending how you look at it) grazed my skin. I only found out how fast the beating of my heart was accelerating when the wrappings were completely removed.

My skin pricked with cold where the air touched it. He tentatively prodded the wound. I shivered again, but I didn't think it was from the pain or the cold.

I didn't say anything until the bullet (which is something I've never seen or heard of before but we'll get to that later) was lying in a bowl of antiseptic fluid.

"Do you know what kind of bullet that is?" I said the question partly because I was curious, but mostly because the Cave was all too quiet for my liking.

He stopped halfway in the act of spreading some kind of gel on one of the bigger scars. "I'm not sure. Maybe I have seen it before on one of the files on her desk." He went back to the scar."I'll check later."

"You sneaked in-?"

He gave me an exasperated sigh."Always the tone of surprise."

I shrugged lightly."I thought you're scared of your mother?"

"Don't call her my mother. I'd rather believe we're unrelated. And I'm not scared, it's more like...careful?"He said the word like it just occurred to him. "If she catches you doing something forbidden...well, let me say that you've never seen her angry. Yet."

"I wasn't planning to."I glanced at him curiously."Do I want to know what 'forbidden' things you were doing?"

"No. Yes." He started re-applying fresh bandages to my legs, skimming his hands lightly over them to make the wrappings lie flat. My breath caught in my throat."Maybe. My running away was one of them, but I wasn't exactly careful, if you know what I mean."

I agreed. "Mine wasn't legal either. My mom will probably kill me when I get back." And Macey and Liz and Bex. Especially Bex. Though her reasons for killing me wouldn't be exactly the same as the other's. A thought occurred to me and I added,"How were you included in the Gallagher-Blackthorne exchange if you ran away? Did you go back? I mean, you can't just walk in and- you know."

He didn't answer me until the wrappings were secure."It wasn't like I had a choice. Solomon himself came to fetch me."He closed the kit."You're done, by the way."

I barely heard the last part."Mr. Solomon went here to get you himself?" I heard myself saying."You must be really special."

"I never thought of it that way,"He pushed the box under the bed."But thanks."

I tested the leg. It still ached a bit, but it felt a lot better.

"Have you done this before?"

"Once or twice, but never before to a Gallagher Girl."

I almost smiled at the nickname."So. Tell me about Blackthorne."

He avoided my question by falling back on the covers, grabbed an apple from the bowl, and took a big bite.

"Zach." I complained. "Spill."

I've never seen his ink-flecked eyes look so vulnerable. This was one of the times I actually saw the weak side of Zach Goode. It was always unnerving. His eyes were almost a clear emerald green, only a few of the black flecks were left.

He looked away."What do you want to know?"

I decided on what I thought was the easiest question."This is the Cave, right? Why did you come here?"

"To get away from my mom. What else?"

"Well...,"I got that squirmy feeling you have when somebody's not telling you something. Which, if that somebody is Zach, doesn't take a genius to figure out. He always knew more than he was telling. "I get the feeling there's something you're not telling me."

He hesitated. Then sighed."Yeah, there is. But you don't have to know that."

I thought about my response throughly."If you don't, I'll run, fly to the nearest airport, and give myself up to the Circle. Right now."

"You wouldn't."

"I would. In fact, I'm going right now." I picked the bag up and fast-walked (as fast as I could with my leg) to the direction of the exit, trying to hide the grin on my face.

"Okay, okay. You win, come back here now."I almost laughed from the desperation in his voice.

He must really care about you said a voice in my head. I know that I told the voice.

"Did I give you a scare?"

"Yes," he admitted.

"So, what was it you weren't telling me?"

"It wasn't just my mom. It was Blackthorne."

I raised an eyebrow."Explain?"

"The education there was...terrible. When I was younger, they'll starve you if you can't execute a perfect Taung Maneuver." He ran his fingers through his hair. "I was only four at that time."

I was shocked. "They do this to that to four year olds? That's completely evil."

"That's assassin training for you. Do you want to hear more?"

I shook my head viciously."Don't. What else did they teach you?" a question occurred to me. "How did you use a dagger so well, then?"

He didn't say anything for a minute.

Then with a move that seemed like it was a reflex, he snatched a knife lying on the table near him and flicked it away with a swift and graceful motion. It turned over once in the fire light and landed twenty yards away, stabbing the direct bull's eye of the dartboard hanging on the other side of the room.

It happened in less than a second. I was speechless. "How did you do that?"

"Suppose you had to throw that knife across the width of twice this room into a canvas sack, glazed with tar, stuffed hard with sawdust and is no larger than an apple."

"Okay..."I could tell there was a next part, and the next part, wasn't good.

"And if you failed to stick it once in every three times, you got five strokes with a half-inch rattan across your bare back by the end of the day."

My blood boiled in my veins. I tried to hide the shake in my voice."Did that happen to you?"

"Once or twice."He glanced at his watch."I've said enough, I feel."

I shook my head. I asked the question that instinct made me ask."Did that happen to the others too, or was it only you?"

Zach took another bite out of the apple."Only me."

He threw away the core of the apple and made enough space for me to fit on the bed. He looked at me knowingly."We'll talk later. Go to sleep."

I knew it would be no use to argue."Fine."I threw the covers over my head."Later."

My excitement level dropped and I only felt exhausted. I closed my eyes.

I was vaguely aware of something warm and strong circle my waist.

And all I did was sigh in relief because I knew I was in safe arms again.

R&R!