The Skin Thief

Chapter 36

"Are you okay?" Connor asks as he sits down on my sofa. I bite at my lips nervously.

"I discovered something," I say lowly.

Connor frowns. "It's scared you," he states. I nod my head and swallow the lump in my throat.

"I can't tell you what it is," I whisper, "But I've reported it to the right people. It will be dealt with."

I hope.

"I guess those listening devices worked then," he says.

"Yeah. It was a little awkward planting them, but I managed it."

He nods his head and lets out a long sigh.

"Come here," he says and holds out his arm. I smile and sit next to him. He pulls me into a tight hug and kisses the top of my head.

"It's going to be okay," he says, "you're going to stop them. You're going to stop the war, then, we'll go home, safe, and alive."

I nod my head and feel my eyes sting. My lips quiver and I let out a shaking breath. Connor holds me tighter, and we go silent.

The path ahead scares me. Putting the mic on Mr Salt in front of his security was just the beginning of all the dangerous things I'll have to do.

Being caught is a very real possibility, and I don't want to even think about what may happen then.

I shudder and pull away from Connor.

"Dinner?" I ask, changing the subject.

"Are you hinting that you want me to cook something?" he asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Nooooo," I reply and grin widely.

Connor huffs and stands. He walks into the kitchen and opens my cupboard, picking out various pots and pans.

"You should start paying me for all this cooking," he jokes.

"Well, Mr Salt did give me a 250 krenda tip."

Connor's eyes widen. "What? That's mad."

"I've got him wrapped around my finger," I say smugly. "And I'm barely even trying."

Connor laughs and grabs some onions from my fridge. "I'm not surprised."

He throws me the knife and I catch the handle easily. "Cut the onions whilst I do the potatoes," he orders. I salute.

"Yes boss," I say.

"We should spar after our dinner's gone down," he tells me.

"We did yesterday," I moan.

"We need to maintain our skills. It's not like we can go down to a local martial arts gym and train there. All we have is each other."

"Fine," I agree and start chopping.

Connor puts on some music, and we spend the next half an hour cooking. We laugh, joke, and drink as we do and for a little while, I forget about all my worries.

We eat the delicious dish whilst watching one of the more stupid comedy TV shows of this realm that neither of us laughs at. Then, once our food has gone down, we move up to Connor's flat, lay out lots of mats across his floor, and train.

He throws me to the ground a few too many times for my liking, but I get a few good hits in. After a couple of hours, I ache and sweat clings to my skin.

We stretch and then say our goodnights. I go back to my room, shower, and get ready for bed. I groan as I set my alarms for only six hours' time ready for work.