brutal

Chapter 41

VERENA
2 weeks later

How long does it take for someone to completely lose their mind from not doing anything? If I did not have the scientific research to back me up, I would say it was as long as the number of days I've been conscious: ten.

My hands moved faster than my mind. I loaded my gun with a magazine and cocked it back, holding my breath as I aimed and squeezed the trigger within seconds.

I emptied the magazine quickly, and when I sighted the target, the accuracy of each bullet in the middle of the dummy only made me sigh.

Good.
But not good enough.

Once I started training again after I escaped, when Oscar Dagon started becoming more of a father and everyone else my family who instantly supported me, the question of my skills hounded me. Even today, I wonder if I was as great as they all claimed me to be because of me or the Professor.

The question has remained unanswered, of course. If I had, I would have given up already. I knew deep down what the answer was, but there was no way I would ever physically accept it.

"You should be resting, little sister."

I gritted my teeth and wrestled over the thought of pointing the gun at him. I didn't need to turn around to see him by the door, but I did anyway, if only to show him just how annoyed I was by him and his odd assumption of the role of helicopter sibling.

Reid has been by my side since the moment I woke up in New York. He tried to fill me in with everything I missed, from how I was saved up until why I haven't heard from anyone from Siege in the past week I've been awake.

It was no surprise that, no matter how much I prodded for answers, they were always half-assed. Not really lies, but not full truths, either.

"They're probably busy dealing with their shit company," he replied when I asked the latter a few hours after I woke. When I asked again a few days later, he said the same thing and added, "I heard Deimos got promoted, so there's that."

I frowned then, unable to stop myself, at which Reid seemed taken aback by. My brother had no idea what relationship Kai and I have— or at least, had. If he didn't ghost me right after he basically confessed he'd kill anyone for me, then it wouldn't be up for speculation.

"And you should really mind your own business." I returned the gun back in its case and shoved it in the shelf to the side of the room where we kept our armory. When I faced Reid, he didn't look too pleased with me.

Good. Let him know how it feels to be treated like shit.

He let out a breath and crossed his arms. "You haven't fully healed yet. Sabine told me so."

I rolled my eyes. Yes, I absolutely adored my brother's wife— she was one of the brightest in her field and also a great sister— but I really hated how they were so open to each other about everything. They're a single unit at this point. There was no Reid without Sabine, and no Sabine without Reid. They were too perfect for each other.

Which meant wonders for my health and recuperation having Sabine as my doctor, but absolute hell for my personal space and privacy. While there were things that she definitely wouldn't tell him with respect to my wishes, there were some that she would outright say she couldn't because of how much it worried Reid.