The Six: Genesis | A Reverse Harem Novel

Ninety-Two

"Hey, you okay?" I sigh as Lewis pulls me into his embrace, sagging into his strength. "You've been quiet the last few days. Are you sure that thing didn't hurt you?"

By that thing, he meant the Predator in his place. The damn thing came out of the shadows and tried to murder us where we stood.

The Shadows were similar in design to the Syndicates, but far more advanced. Unlike the Syndicates, Predators don't depend on a central hub or a Worker Queen. Each Predator operates under the guidance of an independent AI, specifically coded to track, hunt and eliminate specific targets.

Though they can operate as a couple or teams up to six. Each one has a specified set of amplified traits. Some are better with hand-to-hand combat, others with shooting, tracking, and assimilation, and on rare occasions, a few have a penchant for scaling tall buildings.

Every Predator has a talent and can dress up like humans and blend in. Their design was seamless, and they served as an extraordinary resource for missions to infiltrate enemy lies. Since each Predator is singularly connected to the network and requires very little human intervention, they could slip into enemy territory and complete their task, then return to their launch location.

They behave as humanly as possible, but have a handler, but can make simple decisions. Tactical decisions involving innocent human lives are sent up the chain of command for human intervention. They have rules, yes, but in the heat of the moment, the Predators behave as intended.

Deadly. Targeted. Unflinching in pursuit.

When I caught the sight of red eyes and my system narrowed down their series, I froze. Without a doubt, if we didn't end this creation, it would never stop and never rest. It would keep coming until we were dead.

It has been a long time since I was truly frightened.

When the Syndicates came after me on the train, I was worried about Jason, but I didn't care for him like Lewis. Watching it strike out at him nearly did me in, but I should know better than to underestimate Lewis. He was always surprising me. Despite it nearing two weeks since we destroyed it, I was still reeling.

Who knew he practiced Muay Thai? No wonder his ass is so great. Discovering it was one of my organisms was easy, especially when he learned to hit it didn't cause much damage. At first, I was afraid to fight back at full strength.

Letting Lewis see me—see all of me—is always a risk. I can't explain how many times I have looked at him and thought about spilling the beans or how much it has haunted me. After all, I left Chris, Charlie, and Michael for the same thing—lying.

And now, I was asking Lewis to forgive me for keeping another huge part of my life a secret from him. He'd been upset, but it cooled and the man I'd come to love never faltered when holding my hand. Which made my glaring mistake even harder to swallow.

I shouldn't have left. Hindsight is 20/20. If it were only my heart longing to see them again, it would be infinitely easier to ignore. Sadly, it isn't.

Every joint, muscle, and bone aches. I need to be fucked. Lewis is happy to do the job as often as I like, but it's not enough.

I need them, and it's only a matter of time before my faltering systems force me back into their presence. Shifting, I sling my arms around Lewis' neck, clutching him close. Could this man deal with sharing?

As my mind floats back to the first few nights on the Hollywood sign, I chuckle. A smile lights up his solemn face and hugs me tight.

"I didn't know my face was funny," he teases.