“She... She’s the youngest boss of the Syndicate,” Kara whispered like the name itself was dangerous. “A notorious crime family in America.”
My smile curled wide.Of course,she was.
My wild fae. Gun in hand. Chaos in high-heels.
Now, I wanted her more than ever because it didn’t matter who she was.
She was going to bemine.
8
ANIYAH
Closing the lid to the box after snagging the last eggroll, I rose from my desk. “I’m calling it a night.”
I glanced at Van, all buttoned up, freshly dressed, finishing the last of his food. It was a shame he didn’t have a flair for performance; with a face like that, he would've been a solid addition to the club’s talent roster.
The thought barely took root before I shook it off. Van would hate that, and something deep in the recesses of my mind said I wouldn’t like it either.
He was my BFWB—best friend with benefits. He scratched my back, and I scratched his. Everyone got what they wanted, and the best part? It never interfered with work. Everything stayed clean. Smooth. Easy.
So, why did he kiss me like that?
My eyes drifted to his mouth as he sipped the last of his soda. His naturally sharp, earthy scent of oakmoss, sage, and wild mint made me lean just a little closer.
“You need anything else, Ni?” he asked as he threw his napkin in the empty container.
His voice snapped me out of the trance, and I shook my head with a smile. I laughed, casual as ever. “Naw, you can head home. I just have to send a few things to Ezra, then I’m out of here.”
When he didn’t move, I smirked. “Besides, I’m pretty sure Alic is still waiting for me in the security room. We had a bit of a fight earlier, so he’s probably giving me space.”
Van let out a long, tired sigh and closed his eyes. “You know he’s here for your protection, right? Sent by your siblings because they care and want you to be safe.”
Like I didn’t already know that.
What hedidn’tknow was that I wanted to get in Alic’s pants, and it was the core issue beneath my attitude toward him. That, and I didn’t want to feel like someone had to babysit me. I was a goddamn Syndicate boss!
Ezra had her shadow hands. Calix had his little machine soldiers. Riot was a world-class trained assassin, and Nova? She trained all our muscle. Every one of them had their own methods of self-defense, but they seemed to forget that I was raised by the same parents and had undergone the same training. Just because I was the youngest and worked the skin trade didn't mean I was some helpless flower.
Liking shiny things, heels, and being stunning didn’t make me easy prey, and I was damn sure going to prove that.
“I know, Van. I know.”
His jade eyes held mine, unconvinced but unwilling to argue. He knew it was pointless.
My gaze flicked to his lips again, the ghost of his kiss still lingering. I looked away quickly, opened my drawer, and pretended to search for something, anything, to distract myself. “Look, I took the last eggroll as an olive branch, okay?” Anything to keep from blushing in front of him.
He huffed a soft laugh. “Aw. I’ll remember that next time you need to apologize for something.”
“Hey!” I lifted my head and screeched, instinctively defensive. “I hope you know that to?—”
I cut myself off just in time. I was about to remind him I’d covered for him today, and we both knew that would spiral into a conversation about a certain vampire neither of us was ready for.
His brow arched in curiosity, but I recovered fast. “I hope you know thattwocan play at that game.” I set my hands on my hips, teasing. “I’ll start a tally of everythingyoushould apologize for. Let’s see who ends up with the last eggroll.”
He broke into a wide, brilliant smile and chuckled as he reached for his coat. “All right, all right. You win. You always win, okay?”
I nodded, smug and satisfied. “Damn right, I do.”
