Puppet {ManxMan}

CHAPTER 11

Dakota didn't like me. At all. He followed Kailas and I down each hall obsessively until we got to a larger infirmary area where quite a few people, men and women alike, were laid up. Most of them were probably there because of my previous psycho tantrum.

Dakota's hand never left his gun, and his eyes stayed glued on me most of the time, although every now and then I noticed his gaze wandering over to Kailas instead. In fact, I caught him outright staring at the man quite a few times, just watching with this dreamy schoolgirl expression that made my nerves coil like a black cobra. The little punk thought it was okay to follow Kailas' every move, touch him openly like they were friends. Fucking prick.

Kailas was never comfortable with any sort of open touch unless he was aware that someone was going to touch him. His past explained that thoroughly, not that Dakota would know anything about it. When we were kids, Kailas never talked about his abusive father to anyone, I'm the only one who ever knew, and it seemed ten years hasn't changed that. I still seemed to be the only one who knew.

Me. Not that clingy child who kept staring at Kailas like a fourteen-year-old girl watching her first crush.

Kailas hadn't told him anything relatively important or personal. Hell, he didn't even know who I was, didn't know I was his best friend, and I felt smug satisfaction at that. He knew nothing about Kailas, and the next time he tried to touch him I was going to have a fit, and there would be a lot of blood when I was done.

Arthur had me sit on a cot before pulling a thin curtain in front of it to keep people from staring as I stripped my shirt, allowing him to check over the stitches and bruises. Malachi was there, of course, I noticed he was rarely far from Arthur's side. Cass was there as well, arms folded and a bored look on his face as he talked with Malachi about whatever mission Ian had gone off to do.

Unfortunately, Dakota was also there, standing way too close to Kailas, and Kailas had his arms folded, eyes on me. I was watching him from behind my bangs, so he wouldn't catch my eye, and I saw the pain in his green gaze as it raked over my torso. I couldn't really blame him. There were quite a few scars marring my body from some of the missions I'd gone on, and a few of them were from the Con Rồng.

Dakota kept looking between myself and Kailas, and the distaste in his eyes kept growing hotter and hotter. The kid just did not like me, but I didn't really mind, I didn't like him either. He kept inching closer and closer to Kailas as they stood there. The idiot didn't seem to notice since he was staring at me like I was a television screen, but I did, and it put me on edge.

"Thankfully these aren't as bad as they could have been," Arthur said, handing back the shirt, which I slipped on over my head.

Dakota snorted from beside Kailas, "Yea, unlike half the men here who can't move because of the fucker. He deserved a lot more than what he got," he reached for his gun, "You should let me shoot out his knee caps."

"Dakota," Kailas spat his name like it was garbage, and the look he got had me holding in a snicker.

Kid looked like he'd just been slapped.

Arthur reacted to his words as well, reaching out to hold my shoulders firmly while glaring at Dakota, which was even more hilarious, because it made Dakota pale considerably, "You'll do no such thing, Mr. Bailey," Arthur scolded, "Demi is a friend, he's one of us."

"He tried to kill your husband!" Dakota snapped, and a low growl rose in my throat when Arthur sunk down.

First he gets too close to Kailas, touching him when he was obviously prone to flinching from his traumatic childhood, and now he was making Arthur feel like shit. He was basically cornering two of my best friends, and I didn't appreciate it.