Free 03 Saints by Lynnie Purcell

longer.
    I sniffed and wiped the rest of the wayward tears away. The tears had given me a portion of my emotions back. I felt my mind working beyond the shield I had built up. I wasn’t back to normal, but I was working on it. A veil had lifted from my heart, and I realized that I had to keep the numbness away. Keeping it away meant finding the rest of my emotional stability.
    “Yes,” I said suddenly.
    “What?”
    What mattered now that I was free was finding out what had happened to the others I cared about most. I had to know if they were dead. Maybe, I would help the Saints – if they were legitimately concerned with helping people. Maybe, I would go find Anna and show her my new knife – before hunting Lorian down and making him pay. I wasn’t really sure what I would do; all I knew was that I had to know where my family was. They were the only thing that mattered now. Knowing what had happened to them would decide my future. If they were dead, I knew the veil would never lift entirely. But if they were alive…
    “I need to check on someone…multiple someones,” I told River. “I need to know what happened to them.”
    “Family?” she asked carefully.
    “Yes,” I agreed.
    She eyed me curiously. Her words were dark, but I knew she felt she had an obligation to say them to me, to save me despair in the future. They were words born out of experience.
    “If Lorian’s people took you from them, they’re probably dead. They don’t leave human survivors to come looking for their loved ones. It’s too messy.”
    “It’s not like that,” I explained. “Anna took me from Marcus’ nest in New Orleans. My friends and I were trying to free the people down there. There was an explosion after she captured me, and I have to know if they got out.”
    River’s eyes lit up with surprise. Whatever she had thought of my past, she hadn’t included New Orleans into her guess.
    “You were there, at Marcus’ nest when it blew up?” she asked.
    “You heard about that?” I asked, equally as surprised.
    “Are you kidding? When one of Marcus’ nests gets blown up, that sociopath Damian is killed, and a good portion of his Seekers in the city are wiped out, we hear about it. It’s our job to hear about it. I can’t believe that was you!” River said.
    “I have a way with chaos,” I said.
    She was thinking over my words, her face a mixture of cautiousness and excitement. Her next question was curious.
    “You mentioned an Anna…who is she to you?” she asked.
    “Anna is one of Lorian’s soldiers. She’s aiming for best murderer of the year, I think. Keeps killing people. She was the one who captured me and sent me to rot in that hell hole. If I ever get the chance, I’m going to hunt her down and kill her dead,” I promised.
    “Ah.”
    River clasped her hands together thoughtfully and stared at her feet. She frowned as if she couldn’t believe anything I had said.
    “So, all you want is for us to help you find out about your friends in New Orleans?” River asked.
    I shook my head. I had no intention of letting them help me. It wasn’t just that I didn’t fully trust them yet, it was the fact that my life had a way of sucking people into dangerous situations they had no business being sucked into. I was more aware of that than ever. I shook my head for another reason. I seriously doubted New Orleans was the answer to finding them.
    “I just need a ride back to my hometown. If my friends are alive, they wouldn’t have stuck around in New Orleans for long. I mean, I know you guys saved my life and you don’t owe me anything, but even a bus ticket would be a big help. I’ll owe you. I’m good on paying my debts.”
    She waved a hand, dismissing my promise. “Let me talk to Reaper. I’ll see what I can do.”
    “Thanks,” I said, hoping she meant it.
    “In the meantime, I think you should get some rest,” she said.
    “I’ll think about it,” I said.
    She stood. “Are you okay now?” she