Undercover Badge; Next Generation

Chapter eighteen

"Do I get her an ice pack? Asprin?" his mother fussed left and right while he held me and rubbed my back, still murmuring.
"No, mom. The system works it out." he said quietly. My body was shaking hard in the warm cage his body made and his skin made mine warm. I looked up at him to find him staring down at me with a fierceness that set my blood alight in my veins with adrenaline that I could literally feel pulse out of my adrenal glands as if each drop wanted to be closer to Matthew Dyllan Cavalier. I could see the twisting caramel gold in his eyes, and some part of me realized I'd seen it before I'd met him. His glare was unsettling and his presence was so powerful it made me feel like he was what filled my lungs to bursting. His gaze ran over my face and I could feel them like fingertips on my skin.
Down my forehead and nose, into my eyes, across my cheekbones, across my lips; I swore the gaze there lingered before moving down my throat, to the emerald between my breasts.

Again, I swore it lingered.

He was checking to see if I was all right. It made my gut warm.
"Still feeling it?" he asked, eyes imploring me to answer. Relaxing the muscles that held my jaw tight took more effort than I thought, my molars throbbed with the sudden loss of pressure, and my voice cracked two times when I said the words;
"Little, yeah."
"Can you stand?" He asked.
"Doubtful." I muttered.
"Okay, are you comfortable?" the question was laden with the implication of "Do you want to stay on my lap or not?"
I really, really wanted to stay right where i was.

I was saved from response by the words "What. The. Fuck." Instinct whipped my head around and pain made me regret it with a hiss, hands flying up to hold the back of my neck.

Joey stood with his backpack strap white-knuckled in his left hand, glaring daggers right at me.
"Shit." Matthew and I said it at the same time.
Joey dropped the bag and stomped over. Alex cut him off.
"She's been through enough today, Joey." I then realized what this was. I was being guarded and protected by Gabbe and Alex, and Matthew was their general. Joey glared at his father and stomped up the stairs.

"He hates me." I said it matter of factly, my voice returning with my strength.
"Now does someone want to tell me why I died and came back and why all of you are perfectly okay with it?" I questioned. Matthew snapped his gaze back to me. "You know?"
I stared at him.
"I wasn't sure. But I think your response just there confirmed it. I came back to life?" I asked.
He sighed.
"Matthew-" his father started.
"Dad, they turned her over to me when I turned eighteen. This is my call." Mathew's voice left no room for argument.
"Turned me over?" I asked, suddenly needing space.

On wobbly legs like a new born calf, I got off of him and awkwardly staggered a few steps away from the three people that had effectively confirmed they knew who I was.
"You know who I am." I said, pointing a shaking, accusatory finger at the undeniably sexy and scary man, sitting on the couch, regarding me with a furrowed, concerned brow.
"No." he cut out, raising to his feet but holding his hands up like he was approaching a startled, wild creature.
"No, you know who you are. I know who you WERE." I sent him a cruel look.
"And you never thought to tell me? About my life?" I yelled the latter sentence, pointing the finger from earlier into my own sternum.
"It's a very complicated life." his lips quirked up into a half smile that looked terribly sad.
"A very full, very dangerous, very complicated life." he took a step forward, and I mirrored it back.

"You need to trust me." he tried to coax.
"You pointed a gun at me!" I yelled, tears pricking at my eyes.
"I was protecting you!" he said, and I could see the corners of his eyes pinch. I was angering him. "I'd never hurt you!" he snapped.
"Oh, right!" I yelled, arms flipping out to my sides in exasperation.
"I've been protecting you for fourteen years, Reena." he snapped. It made me tear back and stare at him.