The Vigilante & The Dragon - Book 1 of the Guardians Saga [COMPLETED]

The Walking Dead 16.3

That night, Alex sat at her kitchenette table, holding an ice pack to her face. Her gut churned with despair that neither her broken nose nor other injuries dulled her confused thoughts or swirling emotions over the brothers. She hated herself for being so desperately lonely and terrified of Morgan that she couldn't desert them and save them from her poison. She hated even more seeing them fighting with each other over her. She pushed the ice pack harder to her nose so the pain would distract her, at least temporarily. Footsteps on the outside stairwell alerted her to the brothers' arrival.

"Don't turn on the light," she warned as the brothers entered. She winced when Gabe did just that. "Please turn it off."

Gabe hissed at the sight of Alex's two black eyes, broken nose, bruised cheek, and split and swollen lip. "What happened?"

Cale rushed to her side. "You must go to the healers' place the humans call a hospital."

Alex flinched away from Cale. "Gabe, Cale, please leave. I need to talk to Rile."

Rile shouldered past his brothers and sat at the table. "Beat it, bros."

Gabe hiss-growled in that way Alex found so intimidating. "What happened?"

"Gabe, I screwed up in a major way and I must talk with Rile," Alex said. "I dint mean to undermine you as team leader and Clan Head, but you just can't help me this time. Please don't make me beg you to leave. I will if I have to, but please accept that I wish I could tell you, but I can't, and that I'll be all right."

I am such a liar. I will never be all right again.

Rile flicked his tongue out at his oldest brother.

Cale gripped Gabe's shoulder. "Sounds serious. We'll leave. When can we return, Alex?"

"Tomorrow morning."

Cale looked at her with dismay and Gabe hiss-growled again at Rile's triumphant look.

"Rile will be leaving soon. I need sleep."

"You really should visit that hospital place," Cale said again, clacking his claws in worry.

"Already been there." Alex lied and waved her hand vaguely. "Don't worry, Guardians of the Universe. Go save it again. Don't waste your time on me."

"It's not wasting my time," Cale said with such feeling that Alex looked up at him.

She grinned a small, lopsided grin. "And you're too sweet to say anything else. Please reassure Gabe while I have a tiny talk with Rile."

Once the door closed, Alex took the ice pack off her face. "Earlier today, I said some things that I shouldn't have. Something came alive in me. I made sure it died. Stay away from me. Your brother is smart enough to not use the four letter 'L' word. I won't use it again. I'm the walking dead. I had forgotten but I gave myself a reminder. Hermann has two less men working for him now but the bastard himself escaped. Please, please go away. I want to sleep."

With a little luck and a lot of neglect, the really long kind of sleep.

"You killed two of Hermann's men?" Rile asked.

"No, but I doubt he'll keep paying two men with useless hands," Alex said. "Go on, shoo. Please?"

The last thing I need is someone patching me up.

Rile regarded her. "Stop trying to convince yourself that you're dead. You went after Hermann, took out two of his men, and are very much alive. Sure, Gabe would freak out if he knew you went after Hermann's men alone, but that'll be our secret. Let's go out for something to eat and drink. I want more martinis."