Close #Wattys2015

Eighteen

Chapter 18:

*MATT'S POV

The day dragged on endlessly with no kind of lead. How was I supposed to protect Kiara when I didn't even know where to start?

The guilt knawed at me still because of the fact that I'm the reason LMS found her. I was careless, and now I have to fix it.

I've known Kiara since the beginning of high school and only because Leanna asked Marcus to find a way to protect her. He did, but he could never get as close to her as I did, so it automatically became my job. Those nights I spent with her changed everything for me. It stopped being a job and became something I had to do and watching the pain she went through, tore me apart inside. There were times when I was on the verge of telling her the truth about everything, I mean, she deserves to know.

'The more she knows, the more danger she's in' Macus had told me. My brothers and I were close, but Marcus and I could never agree on Ki and that's what built a wall between us. He wanted to keep her in the dark to protect his precious Seekers and I argued that she deserves to know.

Now that I think about it, maybe Marcus was right. I should've stayed away. I shouldn't have stayed with her that night at her condo. If I dissapeared, she could have a normal life, and not have to worry about her biological parents and all of this that is going on. I should've dissapeared. Maybe if I had, I wouldn't have fallen in love with her.

I swerved into the ally that I knew was my only way of solving this. I jumped out and slammed the door behind me. I was tired of the war between LMS and the Seekers. The people I loved kept getting caught in the crossfire. I had to speak to TC. It's crazy, I know, but I had to do something.

I opened a blood red door and stepped into the sharp glow of the lights

inside. A scout stopped me and I clenched my fists.

"Matthew Walker. What is your buisness here?" He said meniacally.

"Stand down Scout. I'm not here to kill your precious friends, I need to speak with TC." I hardened my tone and bore my stare straight into his eyes. He shifted a little and pressed a button on the wall.

"Matthew Walker requesting to see you." He spoke into the box. He let go and a hissing sound escaped it.

"Send him up." A voice replied. The scout nodded at me. And crossed his arms over his chest. I could see the sleek silver metal of a gun sticking out of his holster and I turned my attention forward to the stairs.

"Which floor?" I asked walking forward and onto the first step.

"13, room E237. And Walker, watch your back." He said with warning. My shoulders tensed and I smiled to myself.

"It's not my back I'm worried about scout. Stick to your damn buisness and stay out of mine." I heard him let out a sharp breath, and I laughed bitterly, running up the rest of the stairs. Finally, I got to the 13 floor and I pushed open the door, striding down the hall. The lights flickered, and the scouts I ran into in the stairs, went into a room, leaving me alone in the eerie hallway.

"Well, well, well is that the infamous Matthew Walker I see?" My jaw locked and something inside me began to ignite at the sound of the painfully familiar voice behind me.

"What do you want Morghan?" I gritted out. I continued walking, quickening my pace. She was the last person on earth I wanted to see at the moment.

"Ouch. Someone's PMSing today. Aren't you going to give me a kiss for old time's sake?" She asked, her words rolling off her tounge like honey.

I stopped dead in my tracks and squeezed my eyes shut. 'Calm down.' I told myself. I spun around and looked her dead in the eye. "Morghan, I wouldn't kiss you even if it was your last dieing wish." The facade she put on faltered and hurt flashed in her eyes. "Don't act suprised Morghan. Someone like you doesn't have feelings for me to hurt."

She let out an annoyed sigh. "I deserved that." She paused then walked closer to me, her perfume filling my nose; I breathed her in. "I need your help Matthew." She whispered.

I laughed bitterly. "Why would I even consider helping you?"

Her expression softened, "Because everyone you love, their lives depend on it." I narrowed my eyes at her and ran my hands through my hair. I leaned back against a wall and sighed heavily.

"You have 20 seconds to convince me." I finally said.

"TC is dieing." She said bluntly. I chuckled.

"That's a good thing for me, he deserves death."

She tucked her hair behind her ear and looked at me seriously. "Maybe so, but the thing is, when he dies.....hundreds of people will be fighting for his place. But only one will get it, and I know who it is." I circled my hands gesturing for her to continue. "It's your....girlfriend's father. Why do you think LMS has been so insistent on finding him? We wouldn't waste our energy to locate someone over all these years just to kill him."

"I don't know what you would do, but I know what you're capable of." I spat.

She stepped closer to me pressing herself up against me. I looked down at her, half shocked and half revulsed.

She skimmed one long finger down my chest sending shivers through me. "I really did hurt that fragile heart of your's didn't I? Look, I only did what I had to Matthew. I only did what I was told, to protect the only thing I know."

My hardened stare turned into a confused gaze as I cupped her face tightly in my hands. She looked up at me and I searched her eyes for something there. And there was, there was the tiniest fleck of a person inside of her. The person she let out only to get into my heart so she could use me to get into the Seekers. "I lied about a lot, but the love I have for you is real. It always was." She whispered.

I saw in her eyes the look that Ki gave me, the one that made me feel like I was falling aimlessly. The look that made me have to help. I looked at the woman who used me, who hurt the ones I loved and I didn't see any of that anymore. I only saw a lost girl who chose the wrong thing to fight for. Maybe if I helped her, she could change.

I grabbed her waist and I could hear her take in a short breath. I smirked, satisfied by her reaction. I was the one in control now. I tucked her black, wavy hair behind her ear and lowered my face down to her's. Her breathing was shallow and I could feel her trembling slightly under my touch. I kissed just under her ear and nibbled on her earlobe. Her favorite spot. Her arms snaked around my neck and tangled themselves in my hair.

I breathed in her scent, realizing that even though she tricked me into loving her, and as much as I loathed her, she still managed to get to me.

I crashed my lips down on hers, softly at first, then she hungrily deepened the kiss. Memories and old feelings flooded back to me as our lips did their old ruitine with each other. I pulled away, too soon for me and for her. My lips tingled slightly and hers seemed swollen. I brushed my fingers over them and she opened her eyes to reveal the familiar, piercing green they held.

She pressed her forehead against mine. "I thought you said you would never kiss me." She breathed.

"I lied to you and myself." I replied swallowing. She gently laid her hand on my cheek, letting it trail behind my ear. I closed my eyes letting her touch warm me.

"I regret a lot of things Matthew. Losing you was one of them." She whispered. I sighed softly and opened my eyes meeting her intense gaze. I wanted her, but I didn't need her. I only needed to help her. That's all that I would do. She meant a lot to me at one point, and she had her own place inside my heart, but she used me to hurt everyone I cared about. She deserved pain, but I couldn't find it in me to do it.

I spun her around and pushed her back into the wall. She looked at me, her eyes wide with suprise. I grabbed her arms and pinned them to her sides. "I'm gonna explain this to you once. I am not a toy Morghan. I will help you, but only for my family and the people who deserve a chance. You listen to me Morghan, if you play me again, I will make sure that you come out of this an empty shell of a person."

She swallowed and nodded. "Fine. I'll wait out here for you."

I let go of her trembling frame and spun on my heel down the hallway stopping at the door that had E237 on it. A slight fringe of guilt tugged at me. I wanted to protect her, not scare her. But maybe if she saw that I was the one in control, she would change her tactics. I shook away the thoughts as I reached for the handle.

Here goes nothing. I thought, and I pushed it open.