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I sigh, knowing we need to talk about this but not really wanting to. Damien starts to massage my feet while I relax into Lev’s hold. It feels nice, I feel warm. I feel safe.
“I was thinking that if I could lure him away from you guys, then maybe you all would survive. And I have to point out that my theory was correct.”
Damien looks at me with his serious face and I am not a fan. “We might have survived, but it wasn’t a pretty existence. We can’t do that again. I understand your need to protect us. Hell, we all would do the same for you. But I think, maybe it’s time we learned from our mistakes?”
I nod my head in agreement. As much as I don’t want him to be right, he is. Dammit. Serious Damien makes too much sense.
“An agreement, then?” Alexi asks.
“No more running into fire for each other. We do this as a team or we don’t do it at all,” I say and they all swear to it along with me.
“So,” I throw out after a beat of silence. “Do we think there is any chance that Adrik and Rostya actually died when the building blew up?”
Alexi scoffs as he stands. “Unfortunately, we got word that they were able to make it to the secure tunnels before they could perish. A team got them out before Cil and his other man on the inside could get to them.”
“Where is Cil? And Lizz?”
Alexi walks into the kitchen beside us to start on dinner. “They said they needed to lay low. Cil and his man said something about Adrik having technology to find them, and they didn’t want to put us in danger. Lizz said they were hiding out with their crew in a safe house she set up. Mac said the same.”
“So everyone is just hiding?”
Damien rubs the arch of my foot just right, eliciting a moan from my lips. Every one of them freezes. I bite my lip, knowingwhat they’re thinking but also not knowing if I’m ready for that yet. I don’t want to push anything too far, and Dr. K said that heightened emotions can swing easily.
Damien clears his throat as he adjusts himself nonchalantly before continuing to massage my feet as he responds.
“What do you expect them to do? Lizz is an eight-woman team. Cil and his guy…”
“Juvie,” I interrupt. “Cil’s partner in the mountains was Juvie. I really liked him. He was young. We got along well when I lived at the compound.”
Damien nods while Alexi pulls ingredients from the fridge and cabinets. I’m tempted to go help him, but Lev is so warm and Damien is doing things with his fingers that I never want to stop.
“Alright then, Cil and Juvie are a four-man team. The other two guys weren’t able to get inside to help, but they did what they could to communicate with us. Mac has a five-man team, but that’s it. Everyone is spread out and none of them have back-up.”
“What about us?”
Lev pulls me in close to him, and the guys must agree with what he’s trying to say because they both give me ‘that’ look.
“What?” I ask, playing dumb.
It’s Alexi who answers, a knife in hand.
“We just got you back. How about we not talk about plans to take down an empire right now and just figure out how to get by for the next few days.”
He has a point. His skin starts to redden though, and I don’t like how he keeps itching his arms.
Reluctantly, I pull myself off of Lev’s lap and go to him, wrapping my arms around his waist while he tries to ignore me as he chops carrots.
“What’s going on, big guy?” I whisper.
He lets out a long breath, bracing his hands on the island.
“Nothing.” He continues to stare at the counter in front of him.
“Don’t fucking lie to her, bro!” Damien yells from the couch.
I see Alexi clench his fists over and over. Ducking my head under his arm, I separate him from the island and force him to look at me. He tries to avoid my gaze, but I take his hand and make him sit on one of the stools at the end of the counter.
Cupping his face in both of my hands, I peer into his sea-kissed blue eyes.
