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“Mom!” I protest, picking my head up and aiming a scathing glare her way.
She holds up her hands in surrender. “I’m just saying! The full moon isn’t far off…”
I shake my head, looking to my dad for help. “Will you get her outta here?”
Dad laughs, rising to stand and slipping an arm around my mom’s waist, pulling her into his side. “C’mon, babe. Let’s leave these kids to it,” he says, urging her toward the door. She rolls her eyes like he’s being ridiculous, but complies nonetheless.
“Madd, come by later so we can talk some more,” Dad tosses over his shoulder.
I tip my chin in acknowledgement, watching after them as they leave.
“I’m gonna grab some more coffee,” Avery chirps. “Sloane, you want some?”
“No thanks,” she replies quietly, and I glance down at her, the tension in her tone sending up alarm bells in my head.
She turns to meet my stare, and my chest tightens as I take in the look in her eyes.
“What’s wrong?” I ask hesitantly.
I know I fucked up with Jenkins, but I was defendingher, damnit.
Sloane worries her lower lip between her teeth, eyes flickering away. “I need to talk to you,” she says quietly, and my heart plummets.
Fuck, is this really it? All that progress, all the strides we made last night, wiped out because of one stupid mistake?
She drags in a deep breath, gaze lifting to meet mine again as Avery disappears into the kitchen. “I need to tell you about my vision.”
29
The dull roar of chatter from the other squad leaders echoes down the hall as Sloane, Avery, and I make our way to the conference room at the complex, all three of us a little bit on edge. As soon as Sloane told me about her vision, I asked Avery to call an urgent meeting with squad leadership- because if it’s to be believed, then we’ll need to act fast.
Everyone in the room is still chatting away when we approach the doorway, but as soon as I step into the room, they go silent. The other squad leaders eye me warily like I’m a ticking time bomb, and as soon as I sweep my gaze around the conference table to take stock of who’s here, I discover why.
Tristan Masters is seated between Ares and Lo, staring down at the table and purposefully avoiding my glare.
I narrow my eyes on him, my upper lip curling back from my teeth in a snarl. “Out.”
The others collectively wince as Tristan looks up at me.
“Madd…” Iver sighs in an attempt to stick his neck out for his friend.
I snap my head around to glare at him. “You know what he did, right?” I growl, swinging my glare around to Archer, Ares, and Lo. “All of you know?”
They exchange anxious glances, nobody rushing to be the first to speak up. That is until Archer, ever the voice of reason, takes the lead.
“We know,” he states calmly, leaning forward in his chair and folding his hands on the table. “And I get why you’re pissed about it, trust me, but he was just a kid at the time.”
“That’s no excuse,” I fire back. “He’s not a kid anymore. He could’ve told us weeks ago, fucking owned up to what he did rather than letting it drag on. He didn’t.”
“He made a mistake,” Archer reasons.
“Can you guys stop talking about me like I’m not in the room?” Tristan groans, pushing up to his feet. He plants his palms on the table, leaning forward over it and locking eyes with me as I resist the urge to punch him in the face again. “You know how sorry I am for what I did to you,” he says sincerely. Then he glances at Sloane, cringing as he amends, “to both of you.”
I fold my arms over my chest. “Doesn’t change what happened.”
“I know,” he sighs, shaking his head. “Fuck, Iknow, and I have to live with that. I wish I could go back in time and change it, but Ican’t, man.” He heaves another sigh, his voice rough with regret. “I don’t know how I’ll ever make it up to you guys, but I’m gonna try…”
“Don’t bother,” I grumble, cutting him off. “Just stay out of our business, like you should’ve done from the beginning. What Sloane and I do is between us-”
