Took Me Yesterday (book 2 of The Tomo Trilogy)

We Need To Talk

"You don't mind, do you?" Lily asked, before leaving me alone to face the night raid by myself. Miles had returned, after all. She was sneaking off to see him, to make sure her brother was okay, to let him know she was okay too. Of course I didn't mind. I couldn't mind. It wasn't like I was alone. I had Argos.

My drug-trained dog.

I clutched the nape of his neck as I wondered what it would be like. I'd never heard bombs before, let alone seen them. Not even at a distance. But I had seen what they could do. I'd seen it in Louis City. And even though everyone was acting like it was protocol, all I saw on my dark ceiling was rubble and ruin. All I heard was Argos' growl.

I stilled, before I sat up and searched the dark. Argos moved his paws against the stone floor, and I kept my hand on his neck as I tried to find what he could see but I couldn't. What he had been trained to see.

Tomo. Even if it lived in the blood of its user.

"You're already caught," I said to the dark.

Noah stepped forward into the dim light coming through the hallway window. The emergency lights washed out his sun-kissed skin. He looked pallid, ashamed. "That dog really hates me."

"He's not the only one." I laid back down, surprised by my own confession, but Noah stayed silent, as if I never surprised him at all. "What do you want?" I asked.

I heard his sigh before his footsteps approached. He didn't speak, even after he sat down on the edge of my bed. I would've screamed at him, told him to leave, but I didn't want to break the silence I drowned him with. I didn't want to shout at him at all.

"We need to talk," he said.

"About what?" I shot back. "How much of a jerk-off you are?"

He leaned over me. When his eyes met mine, I couldn't breathe. His stupidly perfect green eyes. The ones that reminded me of my favorite trees back home. His golden hair hanging around his face like the sun. He offered a sheepish smile. "Let me explain?"

"No," I whispered. "Don't."

I rolled onto my side, swinging my legs out the other direction. I would leave if I had to. It was the least he deserved.

"Please," his voice followed me to the door, "Sophie—"

"Oh, so now I'm Sophie again?" I spun around, eyebrows raised.

His hardened expression softened. "You'll always be Sophie to me."

His words stunned me, so much so that I didn't see him coming until he stood inches away. He took my hand, his skin hot, feverish, his stare unwavering.

"Earlier, I—"

I yanked my hand away, leaving his open palm hanging in the air. I folded my arms over my chest. "Well, go ahead. Explain," I said, forcing myself to shift further away. My back pressed against the door. "You better do it quickly too, because I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to be in here."

His lips formed a lopsided smirk. "That's never stopped me from seeing you before."

My cheeks burned, but even worse, the sudden blood rush made my injured cheek ache. I winced. Noah didn't miss a thing. A frown replaced his familiar smile as he assessed my injury.

"Don't look at me like that," I mumbled, curling my hands into my sweater. "I'll heal."

"That doesn't make it right."

"Nothing about this situation is right."

Noah swallowed my words. He didn't argue. Instead, he asked me the one question I wasn't expecting. "Do you have my watch?" He almost sounded like Broden.