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So I cleared my thoughts, focusing on taking in everything around me and keeping my body still.
“They’re going to be fine,” Nadia assured me in a gentler tone.
I wished I felt as confident. I knew the girls could do their job, but these Beast Boys had proved to be wily, doing the last thing we ever expected.
I didn’t like not knowing what to expect.
That thought pulled my brain to the date I’d somehow managed to avoid thinking about for a couple of hours now. But it came back again, unbidden. October 30th. I had no idea what the date would bring and I hated it.
I gripped my leg, digging my fingernails into my thigh to focus on the pain instead of what that date represented.
Barely over two weeks, and he would be out.
A cold shudder ran through my body.
I was stronger now. Better. Able to care for myself.
But I had to wonder if any of that mattered. If he came back and I faced him, would I come out the victor?
I felt myself lying prone on the ground of my old apartment’s tile floor.
Nope. I was on a job. Thoughts of October 30thcould plague me another time.
My eyes refocused on the girls walking toward the store.
They both wore nondescript clothing, carefully chosen to make them fade into the background. But if one really looked at them, none of that helped. Every Aurora’s girl exuded a light that drew people in. It had nothing to do with outer beauty, although both Ella and Aria possessed that in spades—it was more than that. It wasn’t attractive; it attracted. Or repelled, depending on what kind of person you were. Those who hid in the shadows knew better than to get close to our brand of light.
My teammates entered the store, moving out of my line of sight. I didn’t like it one bit.
“If you bite down any harder I’ll have to take you to get stitches for your lip,” Nadia said as she leaned forward from the back seat. “I didn’t take you for a mother hen type,” she teased.
I released my throbbing lip and shot Nadia a glare, causing her to laugh. I really needed to work on rebuilding my reputation if my glare caused laughter.
“I’m not being a mother hen. I’m simply looking out for my team,” I protested. I slouched in my seat, trying to look the picture of calm even as I didn’t move my eyes from the front door of the store.
“You’re trying to make up for past mistakes and it’s making you overbearing. No one could have foreseen what was going to happen to Aria. But she got out,” Nadia reassured, all hints of laughter gone.
“Because she was lucky,” I muttered, frustrated that we hadn’t found her. I should have been there when she needed me, and I hadn’t been.
“Because she was trained well,” Nadia corrected. “None of that was luck, Shai. You aren’t the only one who can watch her own back.” She sat back in her seat, knowing she’d pushed me right to my limit.
But she was right. Aria had saved herself without any help from me. She was more than capable of our job. I just hated that she’d had to.
“Car pulling into the alleyway,” Nadia said, her voice no longer as calm as it had once been.
My eyes shot toward the car in question and took in the occupant. Thankfully there was just one, a guy in a blue three-piece suit. His hair was graying, but he still looked the picture of health. He could almost be considered attractive, but something was off-putting about him. Probably the fact that only pure evil could buy and sell people.
I flipped on my com to speak to Ella and Aria. “Get out of there. We think Detraux just showed up.”
“So shouldn’t we stay?” Aria asked the question I hoped she wouldn’t.
I opened my mouth to speak, but Nadia put a hand on my arm. She must have turned on her com as well because she seemed to know what Aria had said.
“Yup,” Nadia answered for me. “Stay. Blend in. Use your eyes and ears. Keep us updated as you can and you know the code word if you need backup.”
I sighed, knowing my team was taking the right route but dying because I wanted to be inside as well, even though I knew Ella and Aria were more than capable of taking on this guy.
Nadia had her phone in her hand, ready to call Susie if the need arose. We all had our parts to play—I was supposed to be ready to jump into action, whether as backup in the store or as our driver. And I should have been at ease with that. But I wasn’t.
