The Offering (Lesbian, Gay, Girlxgirl)

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Talin's chest was leaden with added weight. Her arms were immobile. The breaths from her mouth were coming in short, rapid bursts. She was stationary on the floor of the truck, feeling every vibration of the vehicle as it traveled the desert. She was trapped.

"Nobody is going to hurt anyone," Vincent had said. "It's a promise."

"Where's my father?" Brielle asked. "What happened to him? Why won't anyone tell me anything?" She was about to step forward when Talin blocked her way.

"Not so fast," the defender murmured her cautions. "Let me talk. Stay behind me."

Vincent removed his glasses and began wiping it on his sleeves. A corner of his mouth lifted. "Isn't that nice?" he said. "The two of you have been spending more time licking each other's wounds than clashing throats. I can't say I'm not pleased. But tell me. Who is on top?"

Brielle gazed at the defender quizzically, but Talin wasn't to be lead in this kind of conversation. It was the sort that invited trouble. "If you're asking who is on top, I'll be, if you don't go straight to the point," she said to the man. "And I'll make sure you don't enjoy my knife ripping through your gut along the way. Where do you plan to take us?"

Vincent replaced his glasses, not smirking anymore. "It is just as the soldiers said. You are no fun." He gestured to the space behind him, to the land that only he and his cohorts could see at that height. "I can't tell you for now. It's going to be a surprise. But. . ." He held up a finger. "Everything you're searching for is there. Are you willing?"

"I don't make deals with—"

"Give us a moment," Brielle cut off. She grabbed Talin's hand and pulled the defender toward unmanned rocks farther behind them where no one would be prying.

"What do you think you're doing, dragging me around?" Talin said, soon as they were secluded. She didn't like taking her eyes from the enemy. Vincent could give new orders and try to corner them. The small spot where Brielle took her offered no shelter from above. It had little room for maneuvering too. "This is no vantage point."

"I don't care about that," Brielle said. "Or anything else other than the answers. Let's think about this first before you say no to Vincent."

Talin seized her with a look. "You're acting suspicious. That's exactly what you'll say if you're working with him."

"Oh give me a break." Brielle squeezed the defender's hand. She still hadn't let go. Noticing this, Talin did the honors and tugged her hand away. There was no reason to get carried away with this. "You and your skepticisms," Brielle continued with a roll of her eyes. "We both know two things- one, you trust me now. I don't know how, but I can feel it."

"And the second?" Talin said. This conversation was dragging more than it should, but she still felt the need to ask. A part of her couldn't believe that this was how they ended. She didn't trust Brielle fully, but from the way she saw things, the girl could be in danger from Vincent. Anyone in danger from Vincent wasn't her enemy- wasn't her responsibility either, but special circumstances called for different actions.

"I don't know what the second is," Brielle admitted. "Neither do you. That's the point. We both know that we don't know anything, and Vincent is going to tell us what's going on. Does that make sense?"

Talin's left hand closed onto the knife. She still had it clutched, forgotten with all the disruption. At a moment's notice, she could throw it onto someone's neck, if she so wished. Was it needed now? She mulled over the options and released air through her mouth. Fog occluded her face before it cleared out. The temperature was getting lower and lower. As if to prove her point, Brielle shivered.