Omen Operation by Taylor Brooke Page B

gentle pull told her to turn, and she did so, allowing him to be sure she was unscathed. He noticed a black stain on the top of her beige hiking boots.
    It was strange how the human mind worked. How something as simple as a black smudge, a tiny splatter, could jostle Dawson into holding his breath. Thick eyebrows were pulled tight, drawn down into a worried expression.
    Brooklyn had never seen him look so fretful. She watched as Gabriel gasped when he nearly crushed her. His arms flew around her body and he nestled his face down against the pale skin exposed on her neck. She could feel him breathing, could feel his chest expand as he inhaled the smell of her hair. His thumb was under the hem of her shirt, rubbing circles on her side.
    “I’m fine…” Gabriel didn’t mind being held, but her hands were unsure as they smoothed over his shoulders. “I’m fine, D…really, there were three of them and…”
    “I told you!” He pulled away and held her at arms distance. “It wasn’t safe, and something worse could have happened. You should have listened to me!”
    “I killed them,” Gabriel spat. “I killed two of them. One was attacking me and Julian, and the other went after Brookie. She killed the one that tried to rip my head off.”
    “You killed them?” Dawson asked. His eyebrows shot up, and his forehead wrinkled.
    Gabriel’s hands were set hard on her hips. She gave a curt nod. “I slaughtered them.”
    Dawson’s gaze darted over to Brooklyn, who was standing awkwardly next to Porter.
    Brooklyn nodded. “We killed them. We need to go.”
    “What happened? How did they find you?” Dawson asked. He waved his hand toward the group huddled by the bus and pointed at the door. They were quick to follow direction and scrambled to gather the bags and supplies so they could repack everything.
    Gabriel’s jaw clenched as she looked at the ground.
    “Gabriel used some kid’s cell phone to call her parents while we were in an old theater off Burnside,” Porter said. He sighed, and when his fingertips brushed against the top of Brooklyn’s hand, she tugged it away and shuffled closer to Amber.
    There was so much Brooklyn wanted to say. So many questions she wanted to shout at Porter. Answers she wanted to beat out of him with her fists, but there was something squirming inside her that kept her quiet. That, along with the rallied confusion and anger, had her mind and heart digging for clues. For anything that would make sense of what went on in the lobby of that dusty movie theater.
    “You used a phone?” Dawson gritted the words out at Gabriel, who turned her head, refusing to look at him. “I told you. I explicitly told you not to make any goddamn phone calls—”
    “I get it!” Gabriel shouted. “What do you want, D? I’m sorry. You’re right—now let’s go. We need to go.”
    Brooklyn wanted to reach for her, but Gabriel was already storming off toward the bus to help the others load up the supplies.
    Gabriel was right; they needed to get on the road.
    Brooklyn looked around until she found Julian. He was leaning against the side of the truck, picking at his nails. She watched and listened as Rayce stepped directly in front of him.
    Rayce tilted his head to the side, “You all right?”
    “Me?” Julian glanced over his shoulder to make sure he was the one being spoken to.
    “You.”
    “Yeah…?” he tested. “I’m fine, I think. I really don’t know due to the three black-spitting flesh suits that just tried to maul us to death.”
    “But you’re all right?” Rayce smiled.
    “Yeah, I’m all right.” Julian’s eyes narrowed. “Have we like…” he gestured with long, spidery fingers between the two of them “—ever spoken before? I’m pretty sure we haven’t.”
    Rayce chuckled. “I’ve seen you, though.”
    “Oh, you’ve seen me?”
    “I’ve seen you.” Rayce grinned and shook his head. He tapped the bottom of Julian’s chin before he turned on his heels, walking