Unremarkable (Anything But) by Lindy Zart Read Free Book Online

What did they do to me?”
    He said in a low voice, “I don’t know. But we have to get that out, and now . Understand?”
    Eyes troubled, she swallowed, nodding.
    “Sit on the bed. Please. With your left side facing me.”
    Honor wordlessly sat on the edge of the bed, her hands clasped together in her lap, that blue-silver gaze never leaving his. She trusted him. His footsteps faltered, a twinge forming in his chest. What if he let her down? Again. Demi had trusted him. Isaac shoved the thought away and knelt next to her.
    “I’ll be quick, but it will hurt. You have to hold still.”
    She nodded again. “Have you done this before?”
    He hesitated, and then answered honestly. “No.”
    “ Great. I feel so much better now.”
    “ Honor—”
    “ Just do it already.”
    Isaac sterilized the blade with alcohol, then the tender skin of her neck, the scent of it stinging, astringent. He took a deep breath, her profile to him as she waited, and reopened the freshly healed wound. A sliver of blood appeared; the line of red strangely perfect in form.
    He swallowed, looking at her tense features. She didn’t move, she didn’t appear to breathe, resigned and accepting of what had to be done. There was a slight tremble to his fingers as he gripped the tweezers and Isaac clenched his jaw and focused on the marred skin, his other hand lightly holding her chin steady. The tweezers immediately found the circular chip the size of a pencil head. Honor flinched, closing her eyes, when he tugged at it. It didn’t budge.
    Of course it won’t be easy , he thought, switching the bloodied tweezers to his left hand and picking up the knife with his right. Isaac paused, glancing at her pale face. “How are you doing?”
    “ Never better,” she rasped. “Are you done yet?”
    “ No.”
    “ Then stop talking and get done.”
    Fighting a smile, Isaac held the chip with the tweezers and sliced through tissue and muscle to dislodge it from her. She didn’t make a sound, her eyelids sliding shut as he pulled it out. The scent of rust hit Isaac as blood began to flow more freely from the wound. Even as he watched, the skin slowly sealed itself back up, the blood drying, turning black. He looked at the red-tinged device, setting it down on the gauze to later concentrate on.
    “Done?”
    He quickly wiped the pink line with gauze wet with alcohol, nodding. “Done.”
    When Honor turned to look at him, the gray around her blue irises was gone. Isaac frowned, gently tipping her head back and from side to side. She watched him, her face drawn. “What is it now?”
    “ Your eyes are blue again.”
    “ What does that mean?”
    He sighed and stood. “I wish I knew.”
    Isaac grabbed the tools and went to clean them, throwing the bloodied gauze away. He put the GPS chip in a baggie and shoved it into his back pocket. The kitchen was pale blue with white appliances and a wooden table with two chairs, the room small and spotless.
    Hot water filling up the sink, he squirted dish soap in it and watched it foam up, the scent of apples replacing the lingering metallic scent of Honor’s blood. The GPS chip needed to be opened up and studied, but he didn’t have the intellect, means, or accessories to do so. He knew someone that did though.
    He felt her behind him without looking, which was strange as there was no heat to her, but an air of coolness. “Get showered and dressed. I have to run an errand.”
    “ You’re not leaving me here alone,” she said in disbelief.
    He washed the blade and tweezers in the kitchen sink, striving for a detachment he couldn’t quite grasp. Her blood was on his hands, literally. Not the first time either. He hoped it was the last.
    “Talley will be here soon. I won’t leave until he gets back.”   
    “ Nealon—”
    Spinning around, his fierce expression halted her words. “For once, would you just do what I tell you to without arguing with me?” Tired in every way and unable to continue to keep it