AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Jered was more vindictive. He wanted to hurt you, so he thought telling us all about you would make us want to hunt you down and kill you. He wasn’t entirely wrong, but he didn’t understand what it would mean to keep you alive and kicking.”
A few seconds after he spoke, the waitress came by and set his drink down. "Food will be out in a little while."
They both nodded, and the woman moved on again to a different table.
Mykie had to hold back a smirk. So, the Vultures needed her alive. Interesting.
"Why did you tell me about Jared working with you before, if you were getting information out of him?" Mykie questioned. “How did that benefit you?"
He chuckled lowly as he ripped the paper off the straw he had. He slid it into his drink once it was unwrapped and took a long sip before he looked at Mykie to answer. "Simple. I don't like snakes very much, but we hate rats more. They're cowards."
Mykie sat back in her chair and thought about it. Jared ratted on his own family, so the Vultures fed him to the snakes. Why? Why would they care so much about someone deflecting?
"He knew something about the Vultures that you didn't want anyone else to know. Adam, too," Mykie realized.
"Very good," Zack murmured, rolling his eyes. "Nothing gets by you. It's really a surprise why so many guys are chasing after you. You don't let them get away with anything. That is, after you takeforeverto figure things out. I thought the Valkyrie was supposed to be smart.”
"I rather not speak about my personal life with you," she muttered. "I don't see how it's your business, anyway."
"I'm supposed to be following you, so can you at least make it fun?” He rolled his eyes again as he bent his head over his drink. "Think of me like that other blonde guy that's always around you. If you can tell anyone about your personal life, it's me."
"Last time I checked, I'm supposed to be able to trust my confidants. I couldn't trust you farther than I could throw you," she stated.
The waitress came by soon after with their lunch, setting the plate with the burger in front of Zack and the other in front of Mykie. "I'll leave you two sweethearts alone, but let me know if there's anything else I can do for you."
"Oh, we aren't together," Mykie said.
"Don't mind her," Zack said in a conspiring voice. He laid his hand on top of Mykie's in the middle of the table. "It just isn't official yet."
The waitress winked at Zack. "Oh, I remember those days. Young love is so scary at first. Don't let anyone get in your way of true love, dearies."
"Thank you, M'am. We'll take that to heart," Zack said with a gentle smile. He squeezed Mykie's hand in his, which made her want to bend it backward and break a few fingers. She held back until the waitress walked away.
"Don't touch me again," she hissed, yanking her hand away. "It's torture enough sitting with you."
"You don't have to be so harsh. I'm trying to be nice to you, but you aren’t making it very easy." he frowned. He pulled his hand back from the middle of the table and picked up his burger before taking a bite.
"That's because you're a Vulture. I shouldn’t have to be nice to someone that's a part of a group of uncultured psychopaths," she sneered.
"Last time I checked, I'm highly civilized. It's not very nice to group people together into one category, either. I don't think you're a slimy, conniving snake that doesn't have morals, but you do hang out with a slimy bunch,” he said with a knowing smile.
"I don't hang out with a 'slimy bunch’," she hissed, stabbing her plate with her fork.
"You do. But you don't like me insulting your friends and family all the time, so don't insult mine. Just because you're standing on the other side right now, doesn't make us that different."
Mykie couldn't help but let his words circle in her head. Were they actually that different, now that she thought about it? They both had their rules to follow, and she was sure they both had their own opinions on their assignments, even if they did what they were told.
She shook her head.
No. They were different. Mykie wouldn't kill someone for telling her 'no', as much as everyone in her life thought she would. What Zack did to Earl Harper was overboard, and she couldn't commend or understand that.
She thought about it the entire time they ate lunch. His boss wanted to give her a message, but he sent his subordinate on a mission to follow her around? Why? Was he the one she felt was watching her all the time? What was he trying to find? And what did Zack mean by being on different sides “right now”? If his job was to create distrust between the Cantil and her, it wouldn’t work.
Once she finished her plate, she set her utensil down and sat back in her chair. "What are you hoping to accomplish by following me?"
"No clue," he said between bites. "Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you. We’re both just doing whatever keeps us alive for another day.”
Mykie rolled her eyes. She reached down beside her and grabbed her bag. She shifted through her stuff until she found her wallet and grabbed just enough money to cover her own meal. "Since your information has dried up, I'm done trying to entertain you. It's getting me nowhere, so I'm leaving."
