AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My jaw clenches at the line drawn before me. The only real problem I have is with the way he looked at Laney,mygirl, and that he’s been training her the past few weeks while she was away from me.
“I trust him too,” Laney adds. What was intended to reassure me only has my blood heating more.
“Just because he helped teach you to fight doesn’t make him one of the good guys here,” I tell Laney.
My anger feels out of control now, like a raging wildfire, but I don’t know what else to do. It’s like the flames are only being fanned, taking over my normally collected thoughts.
Evie matches my energy, shooting to her feet and everyone watches her in awe as she prepares for a fight.
“None of us are good guys, Arrow.”
The way she spits my name at me feels worse than her words.
“But if you’re not man enough to accept help because of your ego then tell me now.” Her voice lowers to a threatening sort of calm, reassuring the room just how much control she possesses and just how little I have.
I shake my head and stay in my seat, not wanting this to turn into an all out brawl. I know if I go up against Evie, all the Kings will jump to her defense, even though she clearly doesn’t need it.
“Keep us away from each other and there won’t be an issue,” I say dismissively. I could swear hurt flashes across Laney’s face, but she turns her head back to Nessa as she finishes the plan.
“If we push them to the north end of the building,” Nessa says, “you can split them into two groups, giving our rooftop eyes an easy target as well as leaving the center vulnerable. Evie and Damien could hide in the bunker towards the runway, then head out when ready to extract the target. If Alexi can teach Evie to ride tactically over the next few months, we can have Laney hit him with a sleep dart so Evie can pick him up. She could even throw him over the bike while she’s moving.”
“Easy?” Evie questions like Nessa has lost her mind, and I have to agree with Evie.
I try to help her out though, knowing we will all need as many skills to accomplish this as possible. “If he can teach you to ride,” I say, “I can teach Laney how to shoot sleep darts. If you prefer a car, I’m sure Damien can teach you that way. Although, with that, you’ll have to stop and get him into the car.”
“I can teach you all sorts of things,” Damien says to Evie with a wink, and she rolls her eyes.
I’ve known for a while now that she’s with all of them, but I’m only just starting to see how that works. Instead of it being weird, it actually makes a lot of sense. They all seem to add to her strengths in a different way. Alexi has her back, Damien brings comedy and lightheartedness, and Lev is clearly her comfort. It’s like they are all in sync, seeing what one another needs before any of them realize it.
I don’t understand how they formed that bond, but I am glad to see it works for them. I don’t think I could ever be part of a situation where I was forced to share what’s mine, but I’m glad they’re happy.
“We have a few months, maybe I can learn both. We can see what the mission calls for when it’s time. It’s best to be versatile, right?”
“Right,” Nessa agrees.
“So?” Evie asks me.
I meet each of their gazes before I lock onto Evie’s. Taking a deep breath, I stand and hold out my hand to Evie. She takes it and with a firm tug on both ends, I put my life in her hands. “Let’s go take down some Shades.”
Chapter 36
We all had to sleep in Evie’s room for the night while they finished construction on our new suite. Since we had to trade off always having Evie’s tracker, it was easier to stay here than figure out other living arrangements. It wouldn't look suspicious if she was in her old suite, and it honestly kept her safer to have everyone around until I had our suite upgraded.
But it’s ready now, and it’s the size of a house. The main difference is having our primary bedroom on the third floor. We all have our original individual rooms on the second floor if we need them, but I don’t think they will be used for much. Nessa and Laney’s rooms are on the first floor along with the main kitchen area and a large coffee bar. I say ‘main’ kitchen because I did have a small kitchen fitted into the primary.
I lead Evie into our new home. Everything feels right as she takes it all in. I was anxious to show her everything I had chosen for her, maybe more than when she arrived in Russia.
When I went to the library to fetch her, I had to hide my shaking hands behind my back.
When I lead her up to the suites with one hand on her back, I hold my breath in anticipation of her thoughts on the place.
“This is ours?” she asks in awe.
“It is.” I take her hand, leading her inside to show her the main areas first. I had the living area set up with large lounging couches and a screen the size of the wall so we could all have movie nights here instead of having to go to the library. I show her the rooms on the second floor, and she seems puzzled by them since it’s basically the same thing as our old suite.
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh nothing, I was just…” she pauses.
