What She Thought She Knew (Rachel Moore Mystery Book 1), стр. 39

Curiously, John looked at my hands. "What's that?" He asked.

"It's a ring I found during my last mission. Not sure who it belongs to, but there's some Latin inscriptions on it. I can't read it though." I replied.

"May I see it?"

Seeing no harm in doing that, I placed the ring in his open palm, and watched him study it under the light.

His eyes narrowed as he focused on the tiny writing.

"Can you read it?" I asked.

"I believe I can." He replied. "If I'm reading this properly, it says: 'The day personal identity is lost is the day when man no longer lives.'"

Oddly enough, I felt a déjà-vu coming about. "That's a weird saying." I commented.

John nodded, and continued to twirl the ring in his gloved hand.

Apparently satisfied, he gave it back to me.

I slid the ring back into the black hole that was my pocket.

"Things are going to get tougher." John finally said. "After our latest mission, it just makes me sick as I think about what other experiments the Phantoms must have done. I just want this war to be over."

I glanced at him. "I do too." I agreed. "After spending six years hunting down possible leads that might have brought us one step closer to stopping the Phantoms, I've had just about enough." I sighed dramatically. "This isn't how I pictured spending my young, single years."

At that, John chuckled. "Single years huh? Haven't you ever gone out or something?"

I pouted my lips at him playfully. "I've had one boyfriend in high school, but that was too immature to be considered something real. Flings don't count either. I want to be in a committed relationship with the right guy, not be forced to do whatever he wants."

John raised a delicate eyebrow. "Is that so? Maybe the right guy has been with you all along."

His statement made me stare at him intently as I looked for any signs of what were his thoughts.

Slowly, John lowered his face to my level, and steadily brought his face closer to mine.

My mouth parted slightly, as my eyes began to droop lower.

Giddiness gripped my insides as butterflies flew in my stomach.

Our noses were barely touching when the sound of my phone going off ruined the moment.

I jumped as a result, and swiftly took it out. "I should probably go; I've got some things to check on."

John's eyes widened slightly, and he leaned back. "Yes, of course." He replied, and sounded a bit abashed.

"I'll see you later." I said as I lightly brushed my hand against his.

The Guardian finally turned around to look at our touching hands before he focused his gaze on me, a strange, yet welcoming look in his eyes.

After a moment of inner debate, I leaned my face toward him, and lightly kissed his cheek.

His breath halted abruptly.

I felt my heart speed up from the simple gesture.

I quickly leaned back and gave John a small smile, before I sped walked out of the room.

When I walked out, an unfamiliar, yet strong emotion took place within me.

As I turned around to look back at a still dazed John, reality slapped me across the face as I realized that I was in love with him.

Chapter 21: A Solemn Goodbye

I checked the pager, and was all too aware of my rapidly beating heart.

I was in love with my Guardian, and I didn't know how it happened.

I willed myself to push the thought aside, and instead focused on the text message.

It was sent by Gizmo who asked me to meet up with him about something.

Curious as to what he wanted to discuss, I placed the phone in my pocket, and walked down the hall.

A million thoughts sped through my mind like cars driving down a highway.

With all of the difficulties from the present mission and my inner turmoil that pressed down on me, I was surprised that I was still able to hold my shit together.

I stepped inside what was the make-shift medical bay. Gizmo was lying on a bed, and busily typed away on his laptop.

I couldn't help but chuckle at his frantic movement.

As I paid close attention to his movement, I noticed that his right arm was bandaged up in thick white cloths.

A slight ping in my chest reminded me of our close encounter with the Phantoms. "Hey." I said in greeting. "How are you feeling?"

The Tech Expert didn't even look up when he replied. "The wound is just superficial. Bloody Phantoms shot me as I drove away."

I winced a bit, but otherwise didn't react. "Well, what have you got for me, Gizmo?" I asked, wanting to change the subject.

It snapped him out of his frantic haze for he looked up at me solemnly. "I was just checking out our camera feeds, and something interesting came up. Look." He turned his laptop screen to face me.

As I knelt down, Gizmo pressed play, and various camera footages played simultaneously.

One particular video caught my attention, just like what Gizmo said would happen.

I leaned forward to get a better view.

The footage showed a cloaked figure just outside the van.

A loud bang went off, which must have been when Gizmo was shot. The figure then got smaller as the van drove off.

"That's the bugger who shot me." Gizmo commented bitterly. "Pay attention though; you'll notice it soon enough."

I nodded, and glanced through each footage that was shown.

As Gizmo replayed the video, I noticed that the figure opened the van's back door just before Gizmo drove off. The Phantom seemed to have been looking for something.

"Look!" I exclaimed. "What was he doing?"

Gizmo re-winded the clip. "I don't know," he replied. "Maybe he wanted to see if he could steal from us."

"I