The Elite

Thirty-Three

Tass

I was so happy to see him alive that I didn't stop to consider why or how.

I should have. His hand closed around my throat, his grip stronger than it ought to be. Instinctively, I reached up to try to break it, but his hand was far stronger than mine. He squeezed like he never would have.

"Julian," I croaked out.

A twisted smile appeared on his face, sadistic and scary, so unlike the smile of the Julian I knew. Startled, my gaze shifted away from his face and caught sight of my bracelet. I could read it so clearly, for it was right in front of me, extended as my arm was to attempt to pry his hand off my neck, my nails digging into his knuckles.

Shifter, my bracelet identified. Class 6 Talbot with the ability to change shape while retaining his super-strength.

In other words, definitely not Julian. Maybe it was my hypoxia from being strangled to death, but I suddenly felt like laughing. I had made such a good friend that I lost my paranoia. I didn't check to make sure he was who he was.

My friend — my best friend, if I was being honest — was truly dead. He was gone and not coming back, and it was so, so horrendous.

Leon must have thrown something at Shifter because he dropped me, but I didn't find myself inclined to care. The full force of Julian's death was hitting me, and I was drowning in the grief.

I knew some people back in Romania who said losing friends didn't actually hurt this much, but I knew they were wrong. Losing a friend hurt more than anything. A bond with a friend was stronger than any bond of romance built on hormones. Friends shared more and had more in common than lovers. The bond of true friendship was more secure than attraction. The two loves were not the same, and especially to me, a bond of friendship far outweighed and was far stronger than any bond of romance. Friends were supposed to always be there, but not always lovers.

So when I lost a friend, it hurt. When I lost the person I suspected to be my truest friend, it was horrendous. I knew. I'd experienced it several times before.

Lying on the ground, curled up into a fetal position, I cried my eyes out. I knew it was a very un-Tass-like thing to do, but it was like the weight of the world had crashed upon me, hit with a gut-punch of my loss of Julian. Leon came over me, placing a hand on my shoulder and speaking in a comforting voice, but I just couldn't stand it. I wanted to be alone, where no one could see my weakness and I could sob all day without interruption over losing a true friend.

So I scrambled to my feet and ran, having no real inclination of where to go beyond away. The boxes and shelves blurred with my tears, but I picked out an open door, bright sunlight piercing into the gloom. I ran through it, wanting to escape the warehouse.

Once outside, I collapsed into the meager grassy area, a slow reclamation of what appeared to once be a dirt parking lot. Sitting in that grass, I cried. I knew I was supposed to be helping my friends, but I couldn't bring myself to do anything. I just wanted to cry, letting me feel all of my loss.

"Sponge!"

It took a couple of repeated yells for me to remember that was my chosen Talbot name. Warily, I looked up to find a young woman pointing a gun at the head of someone who looked like a cuffed Julian with a rag in his mouth.

I put my head back in my hands, not wanting to go through the whole charade again. Shifter should have thought of another disguise.

"Sponge!" the girl yelled again. "Listen to me or I'll kill him."

With a long sigh, I got up and stalked over to the girl. I wasn't in the mood to be bothered, so I was going to go quickly make her stop. As nervousness and fear arose on her face, Shifter-Julian smiled around the gag, letting me know he was in charge.