I perked up. "Oh, it's not faith.” When Dino mentioned her assassin name, I did some research. Looked at some of the recorded files of her assassinations. All the scenes were brutal and, yet, still clean. Sharp precision and deep, calculated cuts were a testament to her strength and skill. An S lightly carved in the back of their necks, her calling card. “I have seen her work, and someone like that will have some backup if things get dicey. I'm sure of it.”
He nodded, but I could tell that he still wasn't sure. Our leader had a tendency to be overprotective of all of us. We are, after all, his band of misfits. Rabid was a collector of broken and discarded beings, always wanting to show us that it didn't matter that we didn't fit the mold. He was a big brother to all of us, always looking to protect and help us, yet he never turned any of that effort around into himself.
I turned around and faced him fully. “So, what are you really trying to get at here?” I picked up a rag and started to rub off the grease with it.
Rabid turned his head away from me, pursing his hips as he collected his thoughts. He finally whispered, “Can she be trusted?”
I threw the towel towards the hamper in the corner, about to finish the conversation, when I saw it missed the basket and was lying on the floor. My chest seized up as I immediately got up and scurried towards the towel. I picked it up and dropped it in the basket, letting out a small sign of relief. As I turned around, Rabid was looking at me, a small smile on his face and a twinkle of laughter in his eye.
I knew he was laughing at me and my neurotic tendencies, so I crossed my arms and let a smile grace my face before I taunted him, “What does your wolf say?”
His whole face shut down, growing deeper than ever before, but I could see the ripple against his skin, indicating his wolf wanted to come out. Awoken by even the thought of her. The fact that it was just a body reaction and not a fierce growl also was an indicator of how his wolf felt towards her.
So, it looks like it's Bricks, Duce, Rabid, and me that all feel the same, and that made me wonder… was all of Dino’s anger just misplaced for something else…? I will need to keep an eye on those two on this trip. See if what I had been thinking since she first busted into our conference room was true.
“Don't work yourself up about it. I will handle it, whatever comes our way. I have already thought of six different contingency plans.” I saw his chest rise and fall with a big sigh as he took my words to heart.
“Fine. I trust you, and I know that you think things through,” He raised his eyebrow at me, “Maybe a little too much, but it makes you who you are, and I'm glad for it. The plan is that while you three are gone, I will talk to the rest of the club about what we are doing, who Celine is, and her part in all this.” He kicked off the dresser, and I winced as I noticed it moved a centimeter to the right. I’ll need to fix that.
His hand landed on my shoulder and squeezed, “You get what we need and then come back, all of you, you hear me?”
I nodded. “You got it, Prez.”
I will make sure our mate makes it back safe and sound, even if you don't want to admit it.
It was Rabid's turn to make breakfast while the rest of us talked around the table. Celine seemed to be in a chipper mood when she and Duce came in laughing as she said morning to the room. I switched my gaze to the guys and saw Dino turn away from her obviously but then tried to sneak glances before his fist tightened, and he turned away again.
I almost wanted to smirk at him, but Bricks just looked so pitiful that it took all the fun out of it. He looked at her with this plea full of longing. I almost tried to get his attention to tell him to quit it, but Celine did a superb job ignoring both of them. I knew what happened to Bricks, but what was wrong with Dino? It was like he constantly had a war inside his own head.
She let go of Duce's arm and approached the seat next to me. I stiffened, not knowing why she was coming over to me. I looked up at Duce, wondering if he would help a brother out and call her back to him, but he looked at my face, grinned, and sat down next to Bricks. I don't know what he was thinking. I did much better at a distance with women. That first night was a fluke, and, if I was really honest, it was more me reacting to her.
"Morning, Gears. Are you ready to delve into my lair?" She put her hands together and wiggled the fingers like she was some creepy witch. The curve of my lips was not because it was funny, more so because I thought she was incredibly cute. I saw her files and knew how dangerous she was, and, yet… she never gave off that I'm-dead-inside-because-I-kill-people vibe.
The only time she was on the scary side was when Rabid and Duce didn't get the name of the backer like they agreed to. I wonder if that's something she was particular about.
"Yes. Speaking of which, where is this ‘lair’?"
She immediately stiffened as she put her hands in her lap, her voice the opposite of her body language, light and carefree. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll drive you guys there.”
All of us stopped what we were doing and turned towards her as Duce asked, “Cupcake, you don’t want us to think that you don’t trust us, do you?”
At that moment, the door to the kitchen swung open, and Rabid came out, both hands holding a glass pan. He huffs out as he makes his way over to the table. “If you are the type that wants hot sauce with your egg casserole, you're going to need to get it yourself.”
He set the pan down, and Celine immediately got up, pointing around the table at the rest of us that were still watching her. “Anyone want hot sauce? I got it-”
Duce spoke up, tone serious, “Celine.” She stopped in her tracks and whipped around.
“Fine. Fine. Fine.” She threw up her arms before crossing them. I would be lying if I said I didn’t see the swell of her breasts over her arms, and I definitely thought back to when my hands were all over her body, looking up at them. She looked around and found a pen on the side table next to the couch. She stomped over to Dino and grabbed his arm. “Here is the address.” He hesitated, looking up at her in shock, as she wrote with wicked speed, four numbers and a street name.
When he finally realized what she was doing, he yanked his arm away as she finished the last letter. “Hey!” It was too late as a line ran down his arm at the last letter. “Why did you write this on me?!”
She shrugged as she threw the pen onto the table. “I didn't see any paper, and I assumed that I would be riding with Gears. You're the odd man out, so you need the address in case we get split up.” She winked at me, and I felt the side of my mouth lift. “Now, I was serious about liking hot sauce, sooo, I will be back.” She pointed at Dino, “You can share with the group,” then turned around and disappeared through the swinging doors.
I felt worried eyes on me, and I looked up to see Rabid’s gaze drilling into mine. I shrugged it off as I leaned into the table to look at the address on Dino’s arm. Dino was grumbling, pointing at the address on his arm, pissed that she thought his body was like paper, yet he didn't wipe it off. Bricks pulled out his phone instantly and googled the address, turning to me, and signed that it was a townhouse in the city. Duce was laughing at Dino, saying he was jealous of him because he got a one-of-a-kind tattoo from his Cupcake.
Everyone looked more alive at that moment than they had for the past few years, and I couldn't help but think that, even with all of the worry and trouble she brought, she also made us all come alive again, and I was having a hard time seeing that as a bad thing.
It was a different feeling having Celine’s slender arms wrapped around me, fingers digging into me as she held onto my torso while we were sailing down the freeway. I could feel my wolf stirring inside, excited and soothed that she was near us. I could feel him sending heat towards my back to make sure she didn't get cold.
