Page 72 of Fractured Memories

I roll my eyes and stand up. “I left my naked wife in bed for you.”

He presses a hand to his chest, leaning back in his chair with the dumbest fucking smile on his face. “I knew you loved me.”

“I should shoot you myself,” I mutter. “I wouldn’t miss.”

“You wouldn’t. You care too much about me.”

Now I kick his foot. “Get up and go home. I need to go find my girl.” Lochlan laughs, but he pushes up to his feet. His eyes flick behind me, his expression faltering, so I slide in front of him. “Don’t worry about that. Rohan’s already at your place, and Jude’s going to get your sugar fix.”

He turns his head, but not before I catch the actual emotion on his face. “I expect you to bring Eden and some food over later. Don’t leave me at Rohan’s mercy.”

I know how rough that can be. “You got it, Lo.”

CHAPTER 24

EDEN

“Ithought I’d find you out here.”

I turn to see Mika derobing as she approaches the pool. She’s wearing a pretty light blue bikini that shows off her thin figure—and so many scars. Small little dots that I’ve learned mean she grew up near the valley. She was probably lower class at one point, near the dangerous lower elevations.

I have the scars, too. They’re all faded, but there—though mine aren’t as plentiful as hers.

“There’s breakfast on the table.” I’m not sure who alerted the chef that I was out here, but Ash brought out a tray of fruits and pastries for me just minutes ago. Unfortunately, she had to go to the training grounds, but she was able to tell me that Lochlan is supposedly fine.

The gossip in this place moves fast.

She waves her hand. “I already ate. I came to see how you were doing.” Her teeth sink into her lip, and her gaze darts toward the door. “Have you seen him?”

I shake my head, the curls I piled up into a bun bouncing with the movement. “Kieran wanted me to wait. Have you?”

“No. Gale came by the house to let me know. She didn’t want me to hear and freak out about Jude.”

My brows pinch. “Was he hurt?”

“He drove Lochlan down there this morning. He didn’t get hit, though.” She props her arm on the edge of the pool wall. “I can’t believe someone shot him.”

Something tugs in my chest. I’ve grown to really care about Lochlan and Rohan. All of Kieran’s little family. And Lochlan, more than any of the other guys, is so playful. Funny. I know not to underestimate him—that dangerous edge is still obviously there—but for him to have been targeted…

It makes me a little murderous.

“Kieran said it wasn’t serious.” He was almost too calm about it. “Do they get shot often?”

Her lips quirk. “I wouldn’t say often. But between fighting in the cages, training with each other, and the occasional rebel lashing out, they are no strangers to pain.”

That doesn’t surprise me in the slightest.

But my mind snags on one thing she mentioned—the rebels. Since Kieran found me, we never talked about them. It’s one thing I haven’t pushed, but I know so little about what happened that day. I’ve worked to repair the relationships I once had, to understand things about myself I’d forgotten, but that attack is something no one has brought up. Myself included.

“Mika…” Her light brown eyes turn to me, and I steel myself. For someone that hates being vulnerable in any capacity, I’ve been flaying myself open lately. “Those rebels. Are they trying to take charge of the city?”

Her expression quickly turns hard. “They’re citizens unwilling to actually work for a better life, so they interfere with everyone else’s.”

There’s something bitter in her tone that makes it feel more personal. “What do you mean?”

She sighs, turning toward me. “The city has a class system, one that directly ties to where you can live. Instead of working within their classes—or living in the housing they are given as a result—they default from their jobs, live in a moving camp in the woods, and accuse the Elites of purposefully poisoning everyone else.”

“So they’re mad about the toxic air.”