Free Battlefield by Heather C. Myers Page B

and Rachel knew her friend well enough to keep silent.  Whatever was on Devyn’s mind, she would share when she was ready, and right now, she definitely wasn’t ready.  However, Gerard didn’t know Devyn as well as Rachel, but even if he had, he still would have prodded, especially when he noticed her lip was bleeding and her body was tense.  Who, exactly, was the visitor that had wanted to see Devyn, and why the fuck was her lip bleeding?  It was almost as though somebody had slapped her…  But she hadn’t done anything wrong.  Or at least Gerard couldn’t remember that happening…
     
    So he did what anyone else would do in his position.  Gerard decided to ask.  “What happened to you?”  And though he had tried, his voice came out a bit more demanding than he intended it to.
     
    Devyn flashed her eyes over at Gerard.  “I don’t want to talk about it,” she told him, and though her voice was soft, it was firm. 
     
    The fact that Devyn hadn’t gotten defensive due to Gerard’s tone was how Gerard knew something was wrong, whether Devyn wanted to talk about it or not.  He watched her walk away.     

Chapter 13
     
    Without really understanding what he was doing it, Gerard began to follow Devyn.  She was heading over to a couple of trees, away from her Unit where she could be alone, but he didn’t care.  There was something inside of him that felt as though he needed to take care of her, needed to get to the bottom of whatever it was that was bothering her, no matter what she said or how badly she tried to refuse.  He needed to take care of her, but it was doubtful she saw it that way.  He just didn’t want her to be moody anymore.
     
    “I know you’re following me,” she said, cocking her head to the side but refusing to look at him.  Underneath the trees, she could feel her body cool off, and she reached up to touch her lip.  It didn’t hurt, but her pride was bruised.  She could still taste the metallic taste of blood occupying the beginnings of her mouth, and though she wanted nothing more than to spit it out, she didn’t want to do that in front of Gerard.
     
    “I’m glad your skills are still sharp,” Gerard muttered sarcastically, crossing his arms over his chest as his pale green eyes seared through her back.  He stopped walking, wanting to keep a safe distance while simultaneously blocking her from leaving if she tried to do so again without telling him what happened.
     
    Something defensive inside Devyn snapped.  She had never been taken care of by someone else, and though she doubted that that was what Gerard was doing, the feeling was uncomfortable.  She didn’t want to be the girl people took care of; she wanted everyone to know she could take care of herself.
     
    “God, why do you even care?” she asked him, turning around and narrowing her eyes in his.  “I’m just your breeding partner, your fuck buddy, remember?”  She bit her bottom lip to keep from saying anything else; she had already said enough.
     
    Gerard furrowed his brow, starting to feel his own body react defensively at Devyn’s outburst.  Something inside of him told him this wasn’t her mad at him but mad at whatever it was that had happened to her.  “Your lip is bleeding,” he told her, his voice strained to keep from yelling back at her.  “What… happened to you?”  He locked his jaw at that point, preventing him from saying anything he would later regret.
     
    “I really don’t want to talk about it!” Devyn told him, her eyes almost pleading with his own to understand.  But they didn’t, couldn’t possibly understand.  “What don’t you get about that?”  She suddenly stalked towards him, a determined look on her face.  “You think you’re just some tough guy with a Scottish accent who can fix everything.”  She coiled her long fingers into fists and hit his chest, needing to get her frustration out on something, and he could take it.  It wasn’t as