At the thought of doing anything that might restart her brain, Karma grinned. She used the bathroom, showered, and combed out her hair. As soon as her teeth were brushed, she located the pile of clothes Gears had given her before. She found a pair of pants that were again too short for her, but she found a T-shirt that sort of fit. She stuffed her breasts into the fabric holster before glancing at the mirror. After hunting for her boots, she put those on as well. She felt more like herself. She was more settled about how she and Rea were getting along. She was sure it would be even better once all her memories came back.
"Your luck's running high, Karma." She glanced at the tattoos on her arms and ran her hand over them. She would ask Rea about the tattoos today and some other specifics once she got him in the mood to talk.
Karma turned to the door. She planned to return to Rea, but as soon as the door opened slightly, she heard Gears' voice.
"I was staying up to make a bird's nest out of twigs and human hair."
Gears' sentence caught her attention. She stopped, not wanting to interrupt. His words struck her. He was up in the middle of the night due to a bird's nest?
She waited, and Gears' voice turned grave.
"This picture appeared on the phone a little after 1 a.m. Around 1:05, to be specific. I came over as soon as I saw it. I don't know what it means. It's revolting, but we have to show it to her."
"I'm not showing it to her." Rea's voice was as unbending as iron.
"This man could be someone important. Maybe it's who she was supposed to kill. What if this is all a mistake? Did you think of that? We have to show the picture to her because it might get all her memories back. What if this is someone she killed? What about that?"
"No." Rea sounded even fiercer this time. A trickle of fear twisted down her spine.
"I know you're in charge here, Mac, but I can smell the sex in the air. I don't think you're making healthy choices for the water bases. You've men who depend on you, and here you are, thinking with your downstairs parts."
"Back off." Rea's voice was like steel. His tone didn't invite argument, but Karma didn't think Gears would give up. Whatever the picture was, Gears believed she should see it, and Rea was trying to protect her from the ugliness of life. This was more of him treating her like a glass doll.
She wasn't fragile. She would prove that to him.
Karma heard a sharp clap when Gears turned and violently slapped an item down on the kitchen table. It looked like a small black cell phone. He turned on his heel and cast a look of disgust at Rea. That look spoke volumes. It was clear he wasn't accepting Rea's decree.
She stepped out of the bathroom. Gears' eyes blasted into hers. The scowl on his face made him look sinister. Karma felt like she had stepped into a book where she was the villain.
As she advanced on Rea, she came to stand next to the table. Rea reached out his hand to her. She slipped her right hand into his, marveling at how problems disappeared as soon as she touched him.
"What's wrong?" Her words were barely audible, but Rea heard her.
When no one spoke, she let go of Rea's hand and snatched up the phone before either one of them could stop her.
Karma only had a second to glance down at the man in the photo before Rea plucked the cell out of her hand. He whipped it at the wall behind him. The phone shattered into pieces, with plastic and metal littering the floor. He glared at Gears as if daring him to speak.
Again, Rea put out his hand for her.
"The cell is nothing, Kitten."
Karma stepped back. The image of the dead man in the photo wouldn't budge. How did she know that man? What did Gears say again? She was supposed to kill him?
"Gears, get out." Rea heatedly threw the words at his friend.
The doctor's eyes widened and flipped from her to Rea. Shock washed over Gears' face. Maybe Rea had never spoken to his friend like that before. The tense feeling circling the room made her decide not to ask.
Karma took another hesitant step back from Rea. She replayed the image over and over in her head. She wrinkled her brow in concentration. The man was young with a bullet hole in his forehead. His face was so swollen and bruised she could hardly make out what it was at first glance.
She closed her eyes. Every thought she had except for the photo dropped away. The picture was stuck in her brain on repeat. Who would kill someone like that? Her mind swirled as images of dead men popped up to make her sick. Her stomach rolled. She opened her eyes slowly.
"Kitten?" Rea looked at her like she was an untamed horse about to bolt.
She glanced at Gears to make sense of it all, but he was no help. Gears stood as if frozen in place. Something was wrong. All her happiness and well-being vanished. The picture stayed firmly planted in her head no matter how hard she tried to banish the image.
Her eyes closed again. Tad's smile appeared in her mind's eye. Tad had begged her to help him. Her loser stepbrother had brought his problems to her doorstep. It was like a floodgate opened. So many memories filled her head all at once. Karma staggered. She could barely take them all in.
For the briefest moment, she was happy her past came back to her. She stood in the silence of the room and let her thoughts flow. When she opened her eyes again, she looked down the barrel of Rea's Colt .45. She blinked only twice before she reached for the .357 Magnum Rea had mounted under his kitchen table.
The silence of the room was deafening.
She could hear Gears' sharp intake of breath when she lifted her gun and aimed the weapon steadily at Rea's head.
They stood there for what seemed like years, but it was probably only a minute.
"Put it down, Karma," Rea said evenly.
Gone was the man she'd slept with. In his place was a stranger. Just like in the training ring, not one single emotion showed on his face.
"Please, Karma, you can't kill us. I healed you. We cared for you." Gears sounded distraught, but Karma didn't spare him a look. She kept her eyes on Rea. At a rapid speed, she put together a plan.
If her father were here, he would have been proud of her. Right now, her world was shaky, and she would admit her heart was breaking just like it did all those years ago, but she kept her head together. She wasn't falling apart. That was the only thing that mattered.
Karma didn't say a word but shrugged her shoulders as if what happened next wasn't important. She plastered an expression on her face that conveyed they could be standing here enjoying a mild conversation.
She lifted her gun slowly so as to not cause Rea any alarm. She pointed her weapon at the ceiling and put her other hand up in a peace gesture. Both hands were raised as if she would go quietly without a fight. Her breathing became neutral and her expression bland.
She heard Rea exhale as his shoulders slacked. From that one movement, he believed she was no longer a threat.
As soon as she saw his shoulders relax, she squeezed her trigger. The bullet struck the lamp above them. Glass rained down on her shoulders.
Karma dived out of the way as Rea fired in her direction. She climbed onto the bed as soon as the bullets stopped. Rea was serious this time. If she didn't leave now, she wasn't sure she would have a second chance.
In the dark, she could see perfectly. She reached up and stopped the ceiling fan. She hoisted herself up into the ventilation shaft with a sharp kick of her legs. For a second, she paused. Rea rushed to the bathroom. Gears cowered under the kitchen table.
She pushed the grate back over the ventilation tunnel and put on some speed. She didn't have time right now to nurse a broken heart or revisit the past. She didn't have the time to be interrogated by her ex-lover or to be held prisoner. Even if she could convince Rea she loved him and meant him no harm, she didn't have the luxury of that kind of time. It would take her forever to convince Rea she cared for him.
Ignoring her frustration, she shimmied through the ventilation tunnel as fast as she could move. She was going to find Fletcher and kill him. She might've not had a good relationship with her stepbrother, but he was family. Fletcher would pay.
Right now, all she needed was luck, and with luck, maybe she could get out of the water base alive.