Freedom & Chrome || Book 1 ENGLISH

New day, new life

As soon as V and Kaden were out of earshot, Kyle wanted some questions answered and this time he didn't tolerate any evasive maneuvers. Maybe the few days off, away from the team, did Ash some good to finally loosen his tongue.

"So you're actually nomads," Kyle didn't even begin to formulate his assumption as a question. He crossed his legs and lit one of his cigarettes. In the shimmering light of the night city, the smoke from the cigarette took on all sorts of colors. Ash pressed his lips tightly together. His gaze darkened and he was too focused on the burning end of his cigarette to seem unimpressed by the question.

"How would you know?"

"Kaden had a jacket with him with a skull and smoke on it and your last name. I told you from the start I wasn't buying that bullshit. That you could be from another city. Didn't think you were the head of a clan, though. So, what happened? Were you unhappy with the ranking? Did your dad try to make you leader and you rebelled?"

"None of your business," Ash replied dryly, finally flicking the half-burned cigarette into the ashtray.

"Sure, it never is," Kyle spat out contemptuously and took a drag from his own cigarette, expelling the smoke slowly through his nose.

"What's that supposed to mean now?"

"You know damn well what that's supposed to mean," Kyle glared angrily at him from the side, but made no move to stop the impending argument in any way. Ash fell silent again, but Kyle could see it bubbling. Ash could get pretty dangerous when he got quiet. He either got loud and snapped or his words dripped with venom. Kyle was used to both, but he could never tell what was about to pass Ash's lips in the next moment.

"Why do you want to know?" The question sounded surprisingly composed for Ash's state of mind, yet Kyle picked up on the sharp undertone in his voice.

"Because I'm tired of having to guess all the time," Kyle replied bitterly, taking another drag from his cigarette before flicking the ash into the ashtray.

"Because you're such an open book, yourself," Ash laughed humorlessly, and he wasn't even wrong. Even though they had known each other for three years, neither knew anything about the other's past. Ash said nothing because he didn't want to be associated with it and Kyle saw it as simply not important. They were both equally stubborn on this point. And Kyle couldn't deny him that, as much as he would have liked to. However, it hadn't always been like that, there were actually times, especially in the early days of their friendship, when both of them couldn't stop talking to the other about anything. But that had changed pretty quickly due to the influence of the team and especially their team leader. Either you went down with the team and did your own thing, like Kyle did, or you let the sheer workaholism of the other guys get to you. The job was their life and they let anyone feel that who didn't have the same passion. Ash, with his temperament, fit right into the image of a proud medic and had risen through the inner ranks faster than anyone before. In fact, he was almost on par with Rooster, and if Ash wanted to, he could command the entire team, even though he had just officially finished his training.

"Or when were you going to tell me you wanted to transfer, partner?" Ash looked directly at Kyle this time, and the green spot in his left iris burned with anger and betrayal. The brown of his eyes rarely reflected his emotions, the iris was too dark for that, but the emerald green in his left eye was a good window to his thoughts. If you had the chance to see it. Kyle stiffened barely noticeably, but Ash noticed it anyway. Even though he wouldn't admit it, he knew exactly how to read Kyle. He didn't speak much with words, but his body language was all the more clear to Ash. They functioned as a team for a reason and understood each other blindly in the field.