Nothing Without You | Eric Coulter [2]

twenty-six

ERIC

While it seemed like it, violence has never been my first choice no matter how much I excelled at it. And jumping head-first into a fight has always been more of a necessity than a want. But after living like that for a while, you'll find that it quickly becomes second nature whether you want it to or not.

Even though I knew it wasn't a well-thought-out plan, the look on Nessa's face when she heard the news about her brother caused an ache in my heart that I knew would go away until I saw her happy again. And so, I volunteered to be the one to cross enemy lines to get Four back.

What I wasn't expecting was the reaction my words had gotten.

First, there was Zeke's disapproval of my suggestion. We weren't particularly close, but there was a mutual respect between us. And despite Uriah's silence, I saw it in his eyes that he'd agreed with every word his brother said.

Then, there was Nessa.

The hurt in her eyes when she'd spoken to me after had me cursing at myself for putting that look there in the first place. But what she was asking of me went against every nature of my being. And even though it was hard, I was willing to try for her.

Now, we were gathered in the large meeting room that I had grown very familiar with over the years so as a Dauntless leader with Nessa at my side, holding my hand tightly in hers as if she was worried that I would bolt at any time.

I squeezed her hand, hoping it would convey some reassurance that I wasn't going anywhere.

"What information do we have about the situation right now?" I asked, kick-starting the meeting.

"Not much," Zeke says in frustration, "We know that he was taken and that he's being held with the Factionless. But that's about it."

"It's enough," I say with a nod, confident that I knew the Erudite Headquarters, where the Factionless have taken up camp, well enough for us to get around. Looking at Lynn and Uriah, I asked, "You're with us, right?"

"Fuck, yeah," Lynn responds without missing a beat. She's the more aloof of the group, but while she doesn't outwardly show her affection, she shows her care and support through her actions. And that was enough for me to know that she would have Nessa's back no matter what.

"There's no stopping any of you, is there?" Mr Kang spoke up from the corner of the room.

He and Johanna had been so quiet during this entire meeting, letting Zeke and I take the reins that I almost forgot they were even there. But it was clear to all of us in this room that this was our war.

"No," Nessa replies, and I would be lying if the conviction behind her voice didn't scare me a little. Because for all we know, we could be walking into a death sentence in trying to save Four.

Johanna nods from beside Kang, "Take whatever you need," She says. "We'll hold the fort down here."

Nessa smiles gratefully at her, "Thank you."

We all end up in the armoury, with Zeke and Uriah shoving extra weapons into a bag, and Lynn handing out Kevlar vests to each of us.

There's a thick layer of tension in the air like it's just starting to sink in for everyone how stacked the odds are against us. But even with the stark realisation, I knew that none of us were going to bow out of this.

As everyone starts to deck themselves out in gear, I help Nessa with hers first, tightening her vest over her chest for her.

She looks up at me, taking advantage of the proximity it puts us in and stretches up to kiss me. "I love you," She mutters against my lips and I smile.

Before I get the chance to tell her how much I love her too, someone gags from behind us and I turn to glare at the offender.

"Eck," Lynn pretends to throw up, "Get a room or something, would you?"

A smirk lifts at my lips as I turn back to Nessa, who had a blush colouring her cheeks, and curled a hand around her neck. I crushed her towards my chest and kissed her slowly and deeply, "I fucking love you, too." I mutter against her lips as we pulled apart.

"You guys are fucking gross," Lynn groans, not bothering to hide her disgust and I chuckle to myself, looking up to see Uriah staring at me like I've grown another head.

When he sees me looking back at him, he quickly turns his attention elsewhere.

"Stop messing with him," Nessa smacks me in the chest with the back of her bruised hand and winces.

A scowl pulled at my features and I silently vowed to kill Edgar the next time I saw him. And I had an inkling that the opportunity was going to turn up for me soon.

"I wasn't," I answered Nessa instead, "He was the one staring. Why's he so freaked out by me, anyway?"

Nessa raises a brow at me in amusement, "Have you seen yourself?" She uses her pointer finger and thumb to lift the edges of my lips up teasingly, "It would do you some good to smile more. You always look like you're thinking about stabbing someone."

I don't tell her that I was, in fact, thinking of stabbing someone- Edgar, to be more specific.

In response, I moved quickly, closing my teeth around her finger lightly and she pulled her hand back with a laugh.

The others pay us no mind, but from the way Zeke looks like he's hiding a smile, I would say that he seems to be happy that Nessa and I had each other.

Everyone got ready quickly as we made light, mindless chatter as if we were trying not to dwell on the reminder that it's entirely possible we might not make it back here alive, or at the very least, seriously maimed up.

"Is everyone ready?" Zeke asks after a good twenty minutes ticked by and everyone nods in response. "Alright, let's head out then."

As everyone filters out of the room, I held Nessa back for a minute, pulling out the pocket knife that I always keep on me and bending down to tuck it into her boot.

"Just in case," I told her, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

I know I promised her that I wouldn't do anything reckless. But as we followed the rest of our team out the door, I couldn't help but feel like I would be breaking that promise very soon.