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She lifted one of her shoulders as she turned to walk away, her hushed laugh fueling her next words. “So, in case you’re anything like me, I wanted to give you the chance to defy whatever rules Diggs tries setting. Besides,” she added as she turned to walk backward, her eyes dancing with mischief, “if you do go to work, you won’t be alone or in danger.”
Right. Jess hides in the school...weird.
Funny how just that morning, I’d been fighting with Diggs about why I needed to be at the school. But then a house had exploded.
The idea of going to work seemed asinine after today’s devastations, but that would fade. I would crave the distraction of work in the coming days. Soon enough, I would want to be there simply because I loved it. And I had no idea if Jess was right—if Diggs would try keeping me from work for even longer.
Still, I said, “I appreciate it,” as I followed her to the end of the hall where Kieran waited just around the corner, my bag clinging to his fingertips. I awkwardly took it from him, hesitation pulsing from me when I realized they’d gotten exactly what I needed. “Do I want to know how y’all knew I needed this bag?”
“No,” Kieran mumbled, earning a hissed “Stop it,” from Jess as she smacked his stomach.
“You and Diggs were talking about it when you came into the kitchen this morning.” Jess rolled her eyes and gave Kieran a dry look, but he just shrugged unapologetically. “We heard you.”
“I see.” The corners of my lips twitched as I looked between them, a weak tease pushing out my next words. “Much less creepy than any alternative I was coming up with.” Lifting the bag slightly at my side, I started walking away from them. “Thank you.”
“Find me when you wanna get out of here,” Jess called out as she wrapped her arms around Kieran’s neck, smiling widely at me as she did. “I’m happy to be on Willow-duty.”
A laugh tumbled from me at the way she made the words sound like a rebellious girls’ day out and a babysitting job all at once. “I’ll let you know.”
But as I navigated the large house, I wondered if I would. Not that I didn’t intend to go back to work; I did. I just couldn’t imagine using Diggs or anyone in his family for something as ridiculous as watching me so I could.
I’d just decided on hiding the bag and not pressing the issue until they got Lily back when I finally located the room Diggs and I had shared the night before. But the bag slipped from my fingers when I found him already inside.
Furiously packing my suitcase.
DIGGS
I couldn’t concentrate.
Not on the people around me, desperately whispering and strategizing. Not on the conference room I was sitting beside my brother in. Not on the blueprints on the screen in front of me. Because Willow had left hours ago and still hadn’t returned.
My gaze darted to the closed door of the room before snapping to the screen again as I tried focusing, but I was restless with the need to find that girl. To pull her close. To pour all my comfort onto her and let her try to ease some of my pain. To get her far away from me if it meant she was safe.
“Shouldn’t have sent her away,” Maverick mumbled from beside me as he studied the same prints.
“I didn’t,” I snapped.
“Well, she’s still here somewhere; you can fix it later,” he whispered, then lowered his voice in reprimand when he added, “Focus.”
I was trying. I wanted to. I knew I needed to.
Einstein had finally followed all the vans back to a fenced-in lot of more of the same. Minutes after the last arrived, multiple cars had raced out of the lot and driven straight to the warehouse district of Richmond, where KSG’s pride and glory stood like a red-bricked siren song of sin and depravity.
A place Maverick and I didn’t know because we’d never been there.
None of us had ever had reason to because the KSG had always given us a wide berth before now.
And now? We were learning and memorizing every entrance into the building, from the roof to the front door. Every interior door, hidden or otherwise. Every room. Vent. Tunnel.
At least, Maverick was learning it.
I was fucking struggling under the war my mind and heart were waging over the distraction I couldn’t afford and the girl I needed to breathe.
“Twins,” Dare said in question.
Maverick waited a few breaths, giving me the chance to answer, before saying, “Getting there.”
“Should’ve already had it,” Dare countered. “I need you two ready to go.”
