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Chapter One: Sofia
Iawokeintheearly hours of the morning, my skin slick with sweat. I lay there, heart pounding in my chest, a feeling of unease hovering over me. The day before I had been served with a notice of copyright infringement from the Sentinel and the thought of it weighed heavily on me.
But that was just what I could bear thinking about.
I rolled over and looked out the window, eyes drawn to the lights of the city below. Even from here, I could feel the energy and chaos of Orlando and the thought filled me with dread.
I was alone in the room, in the Mercy Drive Blades’ HQ apartment. It still took me a few minutes to wake up and realize where I was, even though I had been here for weeks.
Ever since a serial killer had broken into my house and tried to kill me.
Everything had changed then.
I used to be a simple pop culture reporter. Now I missed the days of celebrity gossip and social media deep dives. Everything felt a lot more real when I had to be the one holding a gun.
My bed was empty, and my ass hurt as I rolled on my back, memories of the night before suddenly flooding my brain.
The man that had been used as a decoy.
The person serving me papers from the Sentinel.
The woman livestreaming my demise before she got tackled by Victor.
The fuckingspanking.
And then sleeping with Grayson, after Teo made it very clear he wouldn’t fuck me himself.
I sat up in bed and rubbed my temples, trying to shake off the memories of the previous night. I looked around the room, but it was empty except for me. Grayson was nowhere to be seen, his scent lingering on my sheets. I wondered what time it was, but I didn’t have any way to check. My phone was somewhere in the living room and after Teo had spanked and practically fingered me in front of all three of his men, I didn’t know if I wanted to go out there and face them. It didn’t matter how much my stomach grumbled.
I walked into the bathroom and splashed my face with cold water, my mouth dry, when I heard a knock on the door.
“Go away,” I said through gritted teeth.
“I brought you coffee.”
It took me a second to place the voice. It wasn’t Grayson and it wasn’t Teo, both of whom I was expecting. I wondered if Grayson wasn’t here because Teo didn’t want him to be here. When it came to Teo, I had no idea how the events of the night might’ve changed our relationship.
I did know that, at that moment, he was simply too much of a coward to face me.
I splashed my face again and opened the door. Jace was standing there with a steaming cup of coffee in his hand, a smile on his face. His sandy blond hair was mussed up, giving him a carefree air that was at odds with the rest of the Blades’ hardened demeanor.
“Thanks,” I muttered, taking the cup and taking a sip. The hot liquid burned my tongue, but it felt good as it slid down my parched throat.
“How are you feeling?” Jace asked me softly, stepping into the bathroom and closing the door behind him.
I raised an eyebrow, feeling a little uncomfortable with Jace’s sudden appearance. “What are you doing here?” I asked him pointedly.
Jace shrugged. “Just making sure you’re okay,” he said. “Teo sent me to check on you.”
I snorted. “He can’t come check on me himself?” I asked. “Fucking coward.”
Jace looked amused for a second, then immediately caught himself. “Yeah, well, last night was intense,” he said. “Look, I don’t want to get involved in your sex games, but clearly something needed to be sorted out between the three of you. Is it?”
“Is it what?”
“Sorted. Did you guys figure it out?”
I laughed that time, then took a sip of my coffee and stared at Jace for just enough time to make it awkward. “I don’t know, Jace. Is it? Did we sort things out?”
