Free Unremarkable (Anything But) by Lindy Zart Page B

whispered, striding toward the channel on the right.
    Ryder went after her, the silence of their surroundings making him uneasy and hurrying his step. Honor was close to noiseless, but not that quiet. When he didn’t see her in the passageway before him, he sprinted the rest of the distance, his heart racing.
    At the mouth of another spherical space, he stumbled to a stop, his chest clenching painfully. She was surrounded by a dozen or so young men and women circling her, eyeing her up, their expressions hostile. His first thought was that they were UDs, only they couldn’t be. Nothing noteworthy stood out about them.
    Honor’s eyes met his, firm resolve in them. That look made him nervous. It said she would do whatever she had to do, whatever she thought was necessary, and screw the repercussions. She was unarmed—Ryder’s eyes briefly closing at the realization.
    He moved for her and two men immediately left the group to flank him, rigid with barely controlled injustice and rage. They had to be UDs if he and Honor were the enemies. Only she’d said UDKs were chasing her. Hadn’t she? And why would they be after her ? She was a UDK, just like him.
    “ Ryder.”
    The voice was high, faint, but biting. His head swiveled and Ryder took in the petite form huddled near the back of the cluster. Wrists shackled, Natasha kept her head high. She should have looked ridiculous in her position, but somehow she came off as regal. As far as he could tell, she was unharmed. What were they doing with her and how did they get her? Last he’d known she’d transferred to another facility to continue her UDK career.
    “Is this the one that attacked you?” someone asked.
    The boy Ryder had almost accidentally hit with his car suddenly appeared near the wall beside him, nodding. “That’s him.”
    He stared at him in incredulity. “I didn’t attack you. I was just trying to talk to you and you know it.”
    The boy shrugged almost imperceptibly, slinking away as Ryder snorted in disbelief. Really?
    “ What do we do with them?” one of the men beside Ryder wondered.
    A tall, slender young woman with brown hair stepped forward, her gaze divided between Ryder and Honor. “We wait. Christian should be back any minute.”
    Honor inhaled sharply, eyes wide. “Did you say Christian? Christian Turner? He’s alive?”
    “ Maybe. What’s it to you?”
    When Honor looked down, her throat moving as she swallowed, looking unbelievably relieved to know Christian Turner was alive; Ryder felt anger furl up in his veins, like spirals of fire ready to lash out. He stiffened and the two men inched closer, ready to battle if need be. His fingers flexed in longing.
    “Are these the ones that were after you, Honor?” Ryder clipped out.
    “ No talking.”
    He was roughly poked in the back and he slowly turned his head to meet his bully’s gaze. It was gray. He switched the direction of his eyes and noted every pair of eyes that briefly met his was gray, but not glowing, and not silver-hued. UDs then. Unregistered ones, or something else?
    “How do you know Christian?” the woman demanded, her face inches from Honor’s.
    Honor stared back, not speaking.
    When the girl roughly grabbed her arm, Ryder reacted, his body instantly taut and seething with heat. “Back off!” he shouted and shouldered the woman away.
    She fell back, caught by one of her cohorts, surprise on her features.
    Ryder stood in front of Honor, her front colliding with his back, and moved them toward on unknown corridor, shielding her as best as he could. “No one touches her,” he growled.
    “ There are two of you and over a dozen of us,” the woman said, watching him intently. “Who do you think is going to win?”
    “ Don’t care. You’re not getting her.”
    She straightened her shirt, saying dismissively, “Tie them up for now.”
    A mass of UDs swarmed him and hands grabbed at him in an effort to haul him away from Honor. Ryder fought, ducking and weaving,