Chapter 19

Abby knew that Miller would inform Kane immediately. If the roles were reversed, she'd do the same thing. She understood. But she made it clear that she didn't want to see Kane and would tell Miller everything. Surprisingly, he obliged without arguing. He excused himself and left the room. Despite the thick door, Abby could hear Marcus' muffled voice and bits of their conversation.

In the hall, with his hands behind his back and chewing on the inside of his cheek, nervous Kane was pacing back and forth waiting for any news.

"She doesn't want to talk to you," Miller said as he closed the door behind him so Abby couldn't hear them.

"Like hell, she doesn't. I have to see her."

"Kane, give her space. I promise I'll tell you everything."

"I need to see her."

"It's her decision to make."

"I know. I know, I just—" He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "How is she?"

"Beat up but she's holding up."

Doubtful, thought Marcus but nodded his head. If the past few weeks were any indication of Abby's mental state, she was certainly not holding up.

"Go and join the search party, you'll be more useful there," suggested Miller. "I'll keep you updated.

Marcus considered his options before he nodded in agreement. "Report to me immediately after you're done here."

"I will."

"And Miller?"

"Yes?"

"Do not let her leave this room alone. Deposit her at the medical after you're done. Jackson will be there to take over as well as a guard. Do NOT let her walk alone. That's an order. Is that clear?"

"Understood," Miller said. That would be difficult, he thought as he watched as Marcus strode through the halls toward the elevator.

Once Kane was gone, Miller took a deep breath bracing himself for what he was about to hear as he grabbed the handle and pushed the door open, entering the room.

"Tell me everything," he said and sat down in the chair opposite hers.

His office was small but just enough for his needs. Situated in a prime spot, he preferred it over a more spacious room in a different part of the bunker. A desk, three chairs, filing cabinets, all in shades of green and grey didn't make it the most inviting place but the head of the guard office wasn't expected to be cozy.

Abby took a deep breath buying herself time to form her thoughts into a concise response.

"It was a long day. I needed to be alone for a while so I decided to take a walk," she paused waiting for Miller's reaction but his poker face was on waiting for her to continue. "I knew the risk, so I packed redesigned ripper sticks filled with a sedative. I didn't think I would need them, but I grabbed them just in case, you know."

Miller nodded in response.

"I was on level E, walking the quiet halls when he grabbed me from behind," she recalled emotionless. "I tried to take a look at who he was, but I couldn't turn around as he was holding me." She spared him the details he didn't need to know. "He dragged me into an empty room. It was dark so I couldn't see who it was. I waited for the right moment and tried to sedate him. But I missed." She shook her head in frustration. "He spun me around but it was too dark to see his face. I managed to jab him in the hand before he hit me and I lost consciousness."

"How long would it take for the sedative to start working?" Miller asked.

"It should be fast acting, almost immediate when delivered to thigh muscle. But by hitting him in the palm? It would take longer. He'd start to get dizzy first, but he would still have enough time to run and hide somewhere close by."

"Did you get any other details that may help us identify him?"

"He was tall." She wished she had more to go on. "Skin covered in dirt making it impossible to tell the shade. Tattoo on his arm. Big, complicated design. Grouder-like. I haven't seen it before. It's not someone who's on the citizens' list.

"That's impossible!"

"Is it though?" She raised her brow. "This place is huge, who knows what's lurking in the shadows."

Miller hummed and made a note on his datapad.

"Is there anything else you remember?"

"Not at the moment but if I do, I'll let you know immediately." She promised, getting up and ready to leave, glad that Miller didn't demand details that weren't necessary.

The guard pushed his chair back and got up as well.

"I'll walk you to the medical."

"There's no need, I'll be fine."

"Sorry, I have clear orders. I am to walk you to medical and not let you out of my sight until you're there."

Abby groaned and rolled her eyes. She knew it was Kane's doing but she wasn't going to be difficult, Miller was only following his orders. Besides, she was too tired for that. All she dreamed about was a shower. Her clothes and hair reeked of the foul smell of her attacker.

"Fine, let's go."

"Abby! Are you okay?" Jackson ran towards her as soon as she entered the room.

"I'm fine." Jackson raised his brows at her. "No. Really. I'm fine." She smiled at him and turned around to dismiss the guard. "Thank you, Miller."

"No problem." With that, he left the room to find Kane and brief him.

Jackson put his gloves on. "Let's take a look," he offered. Her injuries needed to be examined.

"It's just a few scratches—"

"I'll be the judge of that. You lost consciousness, you may have a concussion."

Abby couldn't help but roll her eyes even though she knew he was right. She was a great doctor but a terrible patient. "Fine. Let's get this over with. I just need to go to the bathroom first."

"I'll be here so don't even try and run away," he smiled trying to lighten the mood.

Abby smiled back in response.

The bathroom was small and covered in greyish-white tiles. Above the sink was a small mirror in front of which Abby now stood. It was the first time she was able to examine her injuries. Busted lip. Hair sticking out in all directions. She grabbed a hair tie and tried to smooth them out as she put her hair into a messy ponytail. Bruises already forming on her neck.

She splashed some water on her face and hissed in pain. Her split eyebrow stung as the water hit it. She lathered her hands with soap, her wrist was bruised. She wiggled it. Painful but likely not sprained. She sighed in relief.

Abby lifted her blouse to look at her stomach where his fingers dug into her flesh. Bruises on her side and above her hip.

It could've been so much worse. She took a deep breath. She could've been dead by now. But would that be so bad? She questioned. After all, she had wanted to be on the other side of the door. Did she still want that? She didn't know. What she knew was that this was different. This wasn't her choice. She gritted her teeth. Focused and determined, all she wanted was to catch him so he couldn't hurt anyone else.

She didn't know if it was because she was still full of adrenaline, but she was surprisingly fine considering the attack. She knew the reaction could be delayed but she'd survived worse so she hoped this wouldn't be the case. She truly didn't need another breakdown, she thought.

After taking a deep breath, she went out to face Jackson who waited for her with a concerned look on his face.

"Let's get this over with."

During the examination, Jackson shone lights into her eyes, prodded her with his tools, waved his hands in front of her face… All to make sure that her responses were appropriate and she didn't have a concussion. They were almost done and as Jackson was putting skin closures on her split brow, there was a loud knock on the door.

"Jackson, I need you here for a moment," one of the guards said.

Abby got up from the examination table, ready to leave the room but Jackson was faster.

"I'll be right back," he said and left the room without giving Abby a chance to put her shoes on to join him.

Sitting back on the table, she picked up her shoe when the door to the room flew open.

Startled, she dropped the shoe to the ground staring at the man who entered the room.

Marcus Kane, dressed all in black, walked inside the room and closed the door behind him. He looked at her, concern visible in his eyes. Before she knew it, he stood in front of her, towering over her. He bent his knees to lower himself, meeting her at her eye level. Personal space be damned.

"Are you okay?" he asked. His hand flew to her cheek, but he stopped it inches away, remembering what she'd been through. Not sure if it was okay to touch her, not wanting to scare her. But when she didn't react or pull away, he slowly brought his fingers forward. Barely touching her, he brushed a strand of stray hair out of her face and behind her ear looking into her eyes. Without a word, he gently caressed the bruise on her cheek with his fingertips.

Abby found her voice.

"I'm fine," she breathed out shocked at the sudden contact, lost in his eyes.

With the back of his hand, he caressed her cheek before pulling away and taking a step back to really look at her.

His eyes moved from one bruise to another, from her split lip to her neck. He pressed his lips firmly together and clenched his fists.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Satisfied with her answer even though he didn't quite believe her, he asked, "Why didn't you tell me?" His voice was full of emotions. Concern mixed with disappointment and a hint of annoyance. Or maybe anger? She wasn't sure.

Abby averted her gaze from him without responding.

"Why, Abby?" his piercing eyes stared directly at her.

In reply, Abby just shrugged her arms.

"That's not an answer."

"I told Miller and Miller told you."

"You should have told me!"

"You don't get to tell me what to do!" she spat out and got off the exam table. With her bare feet, she walked across the room to put some distance between them. She couldn't' think that close to him.

Again, he closed the distance between them. Realizing that his reaction was out of order, he softened his voice and took a step back. "Why didn't you tell me?" His fingers tingled eager to touch her, to feel that she was still alive. But it wasn't the time. He rubbed them against his jeans to stop the sensation.

"You were occupied," Abby said without looking at him.

"Occupied?" he tilted his head in confusion trying to understand what she meant.

Abby cursed herself for blurting it out, she didn't want to go there and now she had to.

"You were with Leanna."

Marcus' eyes widened.

"I didn't want to disturb you," she said matter-of-factly.

Marcus was speechless. He opened his mouth and closed it unsure of what to say.

"I—" he started unable to vocalize his thoughts.

"It's okay, you don't have to explain." With that, Abby passed by him and left the room. Still barefoot, she ignored her shoes desperate to get away from him.

Marcus stood in the same spot, unable to move when the realization dawned on him.

Abby tried to tell him. Ask for help. She needed him and he was with another woman. His stomach twisted. No wonder she hadn't told him. His vision blurry. Abby was outside his room when Leanna was inside. She heard them. He clenched his fists, his body frozen.

~Kane's quarters, earlier that night~

A knock on the door interrupted Marcus' shower. Tempted to ignore it, he let the water cascade down his body. But the knock sounded again, this time louder. Kane dragged his body out of the shower, put on a t-shirt and some jogging pants, and went to open the door, worried that something had happened.

He grabbed the handle and pulled the door open. On the other side stood Leanna, a bottle of moonshine in her hand.

"Don't worry, I walked with Miller," she said with a smile. "May I come in?"

"Uh-huh. Of course." He shook his head in confusion and opened the door wider allowing her to enter.

Leanna made herself home, she walked over to the coffee table, placed the moonshine bottle on the table, and plopped on the couch with a loud sigh as she leaned back against the soft fabric.

Still standing next to the door, Marcus watched her.

"Tough day," she explained and unscrewed the bottle. "Need a friendly ear." She took a swing of the drink.

Marcus nodded reluctantly and closed the door. It was odd for Leanna to be in his room, and he wasn't quite sure of her intentions. They were friends. New friends. They had never done this, whatever this was, before. They weren't that close.

He walked over to the coffee table and sat down in a chair next to the couch. Leanna passed him the bottle. He brought it to his mouth and took a sip of the strong alcohol inside. His throat and chest burned as the liquid made its way down to his stomach.

"Clara lost her baby," Leanna said.

"Wasn't she close to giving birth?" Marcus remembered seeing Clara just the other day.

"She was 34 weeks, the baby just died. There was nothing we could do." A lone tear rolled down her cheek.

To Marcus, it looked fake, and he hated himself for thinking that. He ignored that thought.

"I'm sorry to hear that." He passed the drink back to her.

"She still had to deliver the baby," she said. "It was devastating." Leanna's voice was oddly calm.

"I can't even begin to imagine how difficult that must have been."

Leanna nodded taking a sip of the alcohol.

That whole situation was odd and despite feeling sorry for Clara, Marcus found himself wishing that Leanna would just go home. Of course, he didn't say anything but there was something unsettling about this whole situation and it wasn't what had happened to Clara.

But he let Leanna talk. And drink. As that's what she clearly came to do but he found himself refusing the drink or only taking small sips. He wasn't in the mood for moonshine.

"Come on. It's late, I'd walk you to your quarters." He offered after a while.

"I could stay here. On the couch." She hinted and leaned back.

"I don't think that would be appropriate. You're drunk. Let's get you home." He stood up ready to leave.

Without a word, she got up and walked over to him.

"Thank you for listening."

"Anytime."

Marcus looked down at her as she lifted her hand and wiggled her index finger indicating for him to lower his head so she could tell him something.

Reluctantly, he leaned over.

At that moment, Leanna's warm hand landed on his cheek, her fingers entangled in his beard. She lifted her head and closed the distance between them, kissing him.

Marcus froze. That was not what he had expected.

Her tongue pushed against his lips, trying to open them, urging him to kiss her back. With that, Kane sprung into action. He placed his hands on both of her arms and gently pushed her away.

Leanna started at him with wide eyes.

"Leanna, that's not—"

"I'm so sorry!" She interrupted him. "I must be more drunk than I thought I was. Can we forget about that?" she begged.

Marcus sighed. All he wanted was to tell her that it was inappropriate. Set boundaries between them. Tell her that they were just friends. That his heart belonged to another. But Leanna looked embarrassed, and he didn't want to add to that. She was drunk and he made allowances for that.

"It's already forgotten." He smiled at her but made a mental note to talk to her when she sobered up. Clear things up so there would be no further confusion.

Kane shook his head dismissing the memories. That's when they were interrupted by the news about Abby. His stomach tightened and a bile rose to his throat. He felt sick.

Hurt Abby was outside his room while all of this was happening. He clenched his fist.

His stomach twisted, threatening to empty its contents. He took a sip of water, trying to calm it down. He squeezed his eyes shut trying to regain his composure. He had things to do. Criminals to catch.

End of Chapter 19