My voice is barely more than a rasp as I reply, “I’m sorry. I’m not thinking straight. I just—I think North would kick the door in and murder you anyway.”
He nods and steps back again, his movements jerkier, like he’s really struggling to let this heated moment pass. I am too, no matter where we are or how many people are waiting on us to get ready.
I scramble around in the locker that was put aside for me, swiping my card to get through the security to open the damn thing. I grab my Tac gear and start pulling it on. The pants hang a little looser on me now that I’m back at training and spending less time eating creamy seafood sauces on my ass in North’s bed.
Once I’m dressed and ready, I move to the door, only to have Atlas stop me, gently grabbing my upper arm to tug me back into his body. I go to him easily, lifting up onto my toes to kiss him back when he ducks down to meet my lips.
He kisses me like a vow of what’s to come for us, a branding promise that I can’t wait to fulfill.
When we walk back out of the changing rooms together, I meet North’s eye across the room and he gives me a nod before he speaks to all of the team leaders there, briefing them on what we’re doing today.
“We’re after water, mostly, and there have been some other requests that we said we’d look into. Mostly comfort items, but there’s also some ‘scripts we need to fill. Felix has been busy doing diagnostics and basic healing that a simple ‘script could take off of his plate.”
He continues through the protocol and I nod along, all of it the same stock-standard stuff we followed last time. I’m not surprised that we’re going after things to help Felix out. Every time I’ve seen the Healer, other than this morning’s early wake up, he’s been run off of his feet and haggard looking. Sage has also been super worried about how much he’s working, but the other Healers have refused to work without pay, even though they’re being housed and fed for free, so everything is currently landing on his shoulders.
North is going to end up killing someone and making an example of them for sure. Well, actually, he wouldn’t, but I for sure will because there’s nothing quite like rich men being on their high horses about unimportant things while there’s an actual crisis going on.
Typical Top Tier bullshit.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Oli
We’re transported into a pickup area full of Tactical vehicles. I’m wedged between Atlas and North, with Gryphon, Kieran, and Rockelle closing the tight circle we make together. Gryphon’s eyes flash as he checks out the area and, just to be extra sure, I cast out my own gift. North’s eyebrows draw down a little as he watches me, not in a bad way though, just like I’ve taken him by surprise.
Gryphon mutters, “I’m not picking up on anyone. Oli?”
I shake my head. “Closest is half a mile away, in a car driving in the opposite direction, so I think we’re good. I didn’t sense anything ‘wrong’ either. Like shit that shouldn’t be here.”
Kieran gives me a look. “How does that work? You can just tell if something is… what, bad?”
I wriggle out from between my Bonds, stepping around until I’m taking in the surroundings with my eyes and not my gift. I roll my shoulders back, poking around at the warehouse a little as the other teams start filtering in. “I don’t know how it works, really, just that my bond can tell if things are there to hurt me.”
Atlas stretches out his arms, like being transported has run through his muscles and left an ache behind. “That’s how it knows who to take out when it’s Rending. It just takes the souls of people there to harm you.”
Rockelle nods along and then grins. “So we’re safe so long as we wish you no harm? Noted. Shore better grovel before anything goes down.”
I roll my eyes at him and then follow Atlas over to the vehicles. We’re all going to be traveling together and we’re going to be the third car in the convoy. I feel bad for whoever is lead car, the most dangerous spot, because if someone is contaminating our water supply, then there’s every chance that this entire trip is happening on the Resistance’s whim. They could be anywhere, at any time, and I need to stay sharp.
Gryphon has clearly learned that the best way to approach me is the one where no one will ever know it’s happening and just talk to me through our mind connection. I’m not groveling. Black was being a dick, but I’m not ashamed of my Bonded or what we do together, and you shouldn’t be either.