I had hoped the fresh air he’d gotten earlier in the day would have refreshed his mood. I should have known when he came back— smelling of sweaty man and frozen woods, not all that unattractive— pissed off and tossing the phone at me as he grumbled how I was safe to make “my call”— as he’d put it— his mood had not lifted while he was out there chopping wood.
I’d made “my call” with Austin practically breathing down my neck. He didn’t make me put it on speaker, but his ear was close enough to mine that I was sure he caught every word. If he thought it would irritate me, he didn’t get me at all. I wanted him to trust me. I had nothing to hide. So he could tear apart everything I owned and listen in on every call if he wanted to.
Violet had answered but the call had been brief. He’d called me by his younger brother’s name and told me to “keep my ass at school” before saying he’d call me later.
I took that to mean it wasn’t safe to talk. Which was a good sign, or so I hoped. It could have also meant that he had togo find Lipton or one of his lackeys to inform them that I had reached out to him.
I was trying hard not to think about it.
I trusted Violet.
Then again, I’d trusted Lipton for years, and I’d been proven a fool.
“Knock that shit off,” Austin said.
Taken off guard by his outburst, my head reared back as I blinked at him, my body strung tight and ready for a fight.
He rolled his eyes at me as if getting defensive was the dumbest reaction I could have had.
“I’ve seen you get that look,” he said, brow raised. There was a softness in his eyes that made me exhale and relax. “You’re in your head. Thinkin’ too hard. Probably blaming yourself for what’s happened and wanting to kick yourself in the balls for not seeing it.”
“You’re not wrong,” I said. “It’s hard not to go back and overanalyze every move that’s been made with me as the pawn. Hard not to question all my instincts.”
“I get it,” he said with a nod. His gaze went to the fire, hand knocking off his hat so he could run his fingers through his hair. Then he scrubbed both hands over his face.
I waited, feeling as if there was something bigger on the horizon.
He tilted his head back, hands sliding away from his face. His mouth opened, and I was nearly holding my breath while hanging onto the edge of my seat. I wanted this little piece he was about to share with me. I wanted it more than I’d wanted anything ever before.
Then the phone rang, the shrill sound shattering the moment we were about to have.
It was all I could do to hold back a curse.
“Unknown,” he said, eyes snapping from the phone screen to meet mine.
“Probably Violet using a burner.” I held my hand out, palm up. With hesitation, Austin answered it and put it on speaker before handing it over. I glared at him, but since I didn’t have anything to hide, I didn’t have a reason to hate him for wanting to listen in. “Hello?”
“Sounds weird hearing you answer the phone like a normal person,” Violet joked, but there was a tightness in his voice that reminded us of the gravity of the situation we were in. From his tone, it was clear he didn’t need an explanation. He knew I was innocent.
“If I make it out of this, it might be my life from now on,” I said back.
Austin and Violet snorted at the same time. I was only able to glare at one of them, so I did, hard. Austin’s eyes twinkled with taunting amusement as he flashed me a wide smile.
“Company?” Violet asked, sounding casual enough, but I knew what he was really asking. If I was safe. If it was okay to speak freely.
“Yes. I suppose you can call him my bodyguard.” Austin’s face fell, a hard, unhappy expression instantly taking over. I had a hunch he’d hate being referred to as my bodyguard, and I had been right. Maybe it was a low blow, but it gave me a small bit of satisfaction. If he was going to dish it out, he should be able to take it. I shot him one of his classic quick smirks. Two could play that game. It only made him narrow his eyes in my direction. “One of Reed’s men.”
“Rephrase that, please,” Austin cut in with an almost disturbed glare in my direction.
I blinked at him for a moment, replaying what I’d said. When I got it, I nearly busted out in laughter.
“He’s part of Reed’s team,” I clarified, raising a brow as if to ask if that was better. “I’m keeping them in the loop… though I don’t really know what the fuck is going on.”
I set the phone down on the corner of the coffee table between Austin and myself.
“I’m not sure what’s going on either,” Violet said. “I just know shit isn’t right. They’ve rounded up our team, and have us working in the office. Some agent named Ted Bluff is temporarily in charge of us, so I’ve been told, but I haven’t seen anyone other than that snake Rachel Timber. You know, Lipton’s assistant. She creeps me out. Anyway, they won’t let us do anything, not even touch the computers. It’s mostly a bunch of sitting around like they’re—”
“Keeping you on lockdown and watching you,” I said, knowing exactly what was going on. It sucked my team had been pulled into this.
