The Gender Game 2 by Bella Forrest (audio ebook reader .TXT) 📕

the soap dispenser, and scrubbed my skin, determined to remove all of it.

It took washing myself twice to feel clean—I had to wash my hair three times, but finally, when I rinsed off, the water coming off me was clear.

I shut off the water, and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around my waist. The mirror had fogged up, but I used my hands to cut through the water droplets that had collected, wiping it clean.

The face staring back at me was that of a stranger’s, it seemed. The beard that had been growing in the last few days was rough and a little bit wild. The area under my eyes was dark. I looked almost sinister, like an evil villain from a play.

I ran a hand over my face and sighed. I needed to remain awake. The shower had refreshed me slightly, at least.

Toweling off, I shrugged on the black workout pants and white t-shirt I had found. Both were a bit snug, but I wasn’t worried about them tearing, and wandered back to the bedroom where Violet was sleeping.

I leaned against the doorframe, resting my head against it, watching her. She was fast asleep, lying on her side. One hand was curled next to her head, the other wrapped around her waist. The rest of the bed was empty, like an open invitation.

I eyed it, wondering how Violet would feel if she woke up next to me.

I decided to deal with it in the morning, and sat down on the bed next to her. I shoved a pillow behind my lower back, and sat with my upper back against the wall. If I stayed in this position, I would be unlikely to sleep.

Violet made a soft sound, and then turned toward me, placing her face on my thigh, using it as a pillow. I stroked her hair softly while she slept.

I wasn’t sure if it was the sound of Violet’s even breathing or my own state of exhaustion, but I suddenly came awake with a jerk. I wasn’t sure how long I had been asleep, but something had woken me in such a way that my body was on full alert.

I focused on my senses, trying to find what had jolted me from sleep, when I heard something upstairs. There was a banging sound echoing down.

Violet was still asleep, her exhaustion more profound than my own. I was loathe to wake her up, but if I didn’t, she would be mad at me later for excluding her.

I shook her awake gently.

She woke up, her eyes wild and confused. “Viggo?” she said groggily, her voice thick with sleep.

“Listen,” I said, placing a finger on her lips.

She froze for a second, tilting her head. There was a pause, and then the same banging sound, coming from upstairs.

“Ms. Dale?” she asked.

I shrugged. “It might be. Let’s just take our guns to be sure.”

She flashed me a look, one that told me she would never be caught dead without her gun, and stood up.

I did the same, tucking the gun into the band at the small of my back. Violet was staring at me, her eyes scanning me from top to bottom.

“You took a shower,” she said, her tone half-observant, half-accusatory.

“You passed out,” I replied with a smirk, pushing past her.

“Viggo?”

I paused, glancing at her from over my shoulder. She was looking back at the bed. She turned back to me, and gave me a nervous smile. “You… weren’t… sleeping with me, were you?”

I tossed back my head and laughed. She was too naive at times. “Of course I was, Vi. But for safety reasons.” I winked at her, and she gave a deep sigh, then followed behind me.

We headed upstairs quickly. I pushed open the door and heard something clanging from the room where we had left Ms. Dale. I moved up to the door, and glanced into the room quickly. Violet was beside me, her gun out.

“It’s Ms. Dale,” I whispered. “She woke up.”

Violet bit her lip, a thoughtful expression crossing her face. “Wait here,” she said, and stepped around me into the room.

“Ms. Dale?”

The banging stopped. “Violet,” came the older woman’s voice.

“Can you please lie back down? We worked really hard to help you, and I don’t want you undermining that while you’re still healing.”

There was a long pause. “We?”

That was my cue. I stepped into the room, behind Violet.

Ms. Dale’s brown eyes raked me over. “You’re the idiot who shot me,” she said after a moment.

I shrugged. “Guilty as charged.”

Scowling at me, she sat down on the bed. “Did you miss, or were you actually trying to wing me?”

“I don’t really like to kill women, so…” I trailed off, leaving her to her own implications.

She narrowed her eyes at me. “You’re Patrian,” she announced.

Violet cut in. “Ms. Dale, this is Viggo Croft. Viggo Croft, this is Melissa Dale. My former defense teacher.” Violet took a step closer to the older woman. “Except you’re not, are you?”

Ms. Dale stared at Violet, her face unflinching. “You’re wanted for your crimes, Violet,” she stated simply. “You had to know that Matrus would send agents after you.”

“Why you?”

Ms. Dale paused, staring at both of us. “First, answer my question, Violet—why are you with this Patrian?” The way she said Patrian, like a slur rather than a cultural identity, made me feel a flash of rage.

“My name is Viggo, Melissa,” I said.

She did something with her face, a slight tightening in her facial muscles, but I could feel her disdain for me. I almost wanted to laugh in her face.

Violet placed a sharp elbow in my side, not hard enough to hurt, but hard enough to serve as a warning. She wanted to handle this herself.

I sighed, and crossed my arms. Fine, she could handle it herself. I was just going to watch Ms. Dale like a hawk.

“Viggo helped me survive The Green,” Violet replied.

“Surely you are aware that—”

“He was sent from Patrus to arrest me for my crimes?” Violet interjected. “Yeah, who in