She looks freaking exhausted.
Kieran scoffs at me and takes the seat next to me, waiting his turn to be looked over by Felix, and snaps, “You slept most of the time away. Slept like a fucking baby, even strapped to a chair.”
“Are you still complaining about that? At least you could lie down and I got you decent food, you could say thank you, you know.”
He stares at me for a second and then says sullenly, “The chicken was shit.”
I laugh back at him. “The chicken is always shit. The slops are worse though, so, again, you’re welcome.”
Felix finally removes his hand from me and when he shuffles over to Kieran, there’s a wobble in his gift that wasn’t there before, and he’s clearly nearing the end of his power source for the day.
Sage senses it too, of course, they’re Bonded after all. She eyes him, her brows drawn together in a frown, and then I watch as her bond bursts out of her and into him in a wave. He grunts a little and rocks back on his heels, but the lines of tension melt away almost instantly.
“Shit, sorry! I’m still figuring out how to do that!” Sage stutters, and Felix steps back over to reassure her, but my attention is drawn elsewhere.
Mainly over to where Kieran is staring at Sage with something close to… wonder.
What the fuck is that?!
He notices the daggers I’m staring into the side of his head. When his eyes swing in my direction, my own eyes drop down to his leg, where his Tac gear is still cut up. Where the long gash that had only been partially healed in a rush job before they came for me should be, there’s now nothing but freshly healed skin.
My jaw almost hits the goddamn ground, but then Kieran glares at me savagely and my brain kicks back in. Of course it isn’t my place to freak the fuck out about this, in a crowded room full of people we definitely don’t trust, because there are TacTeam people here, waiting on orders from North, and some other men in suits.
North’s assistant, who I hadn’t noticed had arrived and who is hovering in the corner, is watching him obsessively, and nothing about my time away has lessened my urge to gouge her eyeballs out.
I’ve just been pulled off of him while I needed him, to pee and be healed, but having this bitch staring him down is unacceptable to me.
“Pen, you should head home now that we have this all under control,” Gryphon says as he pulls me back out of the seat and plants himself in front of me, his arms crossed over his chest and his tone very firm. He’s a lot less friendly with her, a very welcome change, and my bond settles a little in my chest at his loyalty.
Gabe steps in, flanking me as though he’s prepared for this to all go very badly, but I like having him close to me again.
She makes a disgruntled noise, like she’s pissed at him, but then North cuts her off with a no-bullshit sort of tone, “Go home, and don’t come in tomorrow either. I’ll arrange a time for us to meet at the council offices. The manor is going down to minimal contact, and you’re not on the security list.”
Oh.
Oh, I like that a lot.
I try to keep the smug look off of my face at his words, but Gabe snorts at me and shakes his head, so I’m obviously failing. Well, who cares really, because she was more than okay with walking into his room with me in his bed. With a key. Picking out his clothes.
His underwear.
“Take a deep breath. Another one, Bonded,” Gryphon murmurs, his head turned slightly my way but his body is still between me and the room. I’m now not entirely sure if he’s doing it for my protection or theirs.
I should do the right thing and get the fuck out of here.
I fumble around until I get a hold of Gabe’s hand, sidestepping until I’m tucked into his body. He accepts me without question or hesitation, turning towards me and wrapping his free arm around me protectively.
When I rise up onto my tiptoes, he bends down to meet me halfway, tilting his head so I can whisper into his ear, “Take me somewhere, please. Somewhere on this level where we can be alone but still close. I can’t… I can’t handle—”
He looks at me like he’s expecting me to burst into tears, with a vague sort of panic, and then he murmurs in a placating tone, “Okay, I can do that. C’mon, Bond. I know where to go.”
He leads me down a hallway I’ve never seen before—the place is ridiculous—and then we duck into a small alcove that is carved out of one of the walls. There’s a large potted plant in the entrance that partially covers the loveseat built into the wall, and there’s a small bookcase with old tomes on it.