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“They’re idiots,” he said, looking away from me as he opened the metal door into the building. I took a step in before he did and raised my eyebrows, waiting for him to continue. “Not that they want you alive. I don’t know why they would want you alive, but...”
I could see him trying to suppress a shudder and it made my stomach turn. If something scared this man, how bad did it have to be?
“It would be easier to kill you,” he said as we walked into the long hallway, our steps echoing around us. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, it would still be hard. But a rescue op with the Mercy Blades in their way? It’s almost impossible to do that.”
I let myself think about that for a second, my headache growing stronger with each passing second. “That’s why they doubled the bounty.”
“Right,” Grayson said. “Because the job just got considerably harder.”
“Who would want to kill me, Grayson?”
“Aside from every celebrity you’ve ever written about?” Grayson replied, winking at me as he put his hand on the biometric key of the apartment. “I have no idea.”
We didn’t have time to dig into that because the door to the apartment opened and Teo practically rushed out, his arms enveloping me in a huge bear hug that made it hard to breathe. “You okay?” he asked into my ear.
I nodded. “Yes,” I said. “Nothing happened.”
Grayson met his gaze above my head. “Boss, we need to talk,” he said. “But first, we should eat.”
Teo nodded and let Grayson lead me to the kitchen, where I found Victor sitting as Jace puttered around the kitchen.
“Hi. Didn’t expect you back so soon. I’m making Korean breakfast,” Jace said. “Do you want one?”
“If that’s okay,” I said.
“Coming right up,” he replied.
When we all sat down and I opened a notebook on the table, Teo immediately put a hand around mine. I hadn’t even realized that he had walked into the kitchen.
“Talk,” Teo said simply, staring at me. I felt Grayson’s eyes on me as well.
I sighed. “Didn’t Grayson give you a progress report?”
“He did,” Teo said. I watched as Jace dumped a poached egg over a bowl of sticky rice. “But I’m not asking about the facts. I’m asking how you feel.”
I shook my head. “Worried, Teo,” I said. “If someone’s posting my location online...I mean, first of all, I didn’t expect this level of notoriety. Second of all, it puts a bigger target on your backs.”
Teo shook his head, too. “Listen, sunshine,” he said. Jace walked around to serve me a bowl and I flashed him a grateful smile. “We’ll find this person and we’ll stop them before you know. I promise.”
I sighed, the scent of the breakfast filling my nostrils. “I just wish I knew who it was,” I said, picking up my chopsticks and trying to take a bite of rice. I was never any good with chopsticks, so I found it difficult to pick any up. I focused on that as the men around me talked.
“Trust us, Sofia,” Grayson said, his voice low. “We’re doing everything we can to keep you safe.”
“I know,” I said, looking at each of them in turn. “I trust you guys.”
Teo’s grip on my hand tightened. “Good,” he said, his possessiveness evident in every word. “Because we’re not letting anything happen to you.”
As we ate, the conversation turned to more lighthearted topics — Jace’s latest gadgets, Victor’s workouts, and Teo’s plans for expanding the Blades’ territory. Despite the looming threat over us, it felt like a brief moment of respite from the chaos that was our lives.
Once I was finished with breakfast, my notebook still empty of notes, Teo put a crooked finger under my chin to make me look up at him. “Listen, Sof,” he said. “Olivier is a huge liability and from everything you’ve said, she’s the one making this happen. I don’t know what she wants, but I know this isn’t my territory. You and Jace can figure this out. You have the journalistic skills, and Jace can help you with...”
“...the less traditional side of things,” Grayson finished for Teo, leaning back in his chair. “We’ll still do our part, of course. But it might be good for you to take the lead on things. This is driving you crazy, right? Waiting for something to happen? Not being able to go anywhere?”
It really was. “Right.”
“It’ll be easier if we go to my apartment,” Jace said. “I have more equipment there.”
I nodded, grateful for the chance to do something. To take control of my own fate, even if it was just a small step. “Okay,” I said, standing up from the table. Teo followed suit, his eyes never leaving me.
