I’ve been through worse than this.Some shitty, low-grade squad isn’t going to make me feel inferior.
After my pep-talk, I met his gaze again.“You need a guide, and I’m here.Is there really anything else to talk about?”
“Sure there is.This, sweetheart, is called leverage.You need us, so don’t pretend like you’re holding all the cards.”
Just like that, all that control I’d told myself to exercise snapped.Maybe it was his smirk, or the disinterest from Ingram, or the way Kenyon still watched us silently, or, fuck, maybe it was the stack of money tucked into my pocket, but I rose and slammed my palms against the desk.“You want to talk about leverage?You might have looked into me, but don’t think you’re the only one who knows things.You’re my last chance—you’re right.But I’m your last chance, too.You’ve been fucking around for years, doing the bare minimum to keep your registration status.You’ve probably run off every guide who steps foot in this place—and who can blame them?Who would want to work with a bunch of fuckups?My bet is that they assigned us together because we’rebothon our last shot here.So don’t you even try to talk about leverage or look down on me.You need me just as much as I need you.”As my tirade wound down, as my words slowed and I realized just what the fuck I was saying, some of that bravado drifted away.
What if I pushed too hard?What if he kicked me out?
Espers were known for being proud—after all, they got their ego stroked from the moment they appeared, always told what good heroes they were, always coddled.
In my experience, they didn’t tolerate it well when people poked that belief.
A rough laugh left Carter, quiet at first, then growing as it went on.He wiped a finger beneath his eye, then leveled an amused smirk at me.“Well, well, well, who knew that the Blizzard had such a temper?”
His use of my not-at-all-fond nickname told me that, despite him acting like he knew nothing, he actually knew a hell of a lot.
“Enough games,” I snapped.“Do we have an understanding?”
He set his elbows on the desk and leaned forward, something in his expression warning me not to trust him.He might smile, he might laugh, he might act like my friend, but he sure as fuck wasn’t.“Sure, Blizzard.Welcome to the Reject Squad.”
Chapter Two
Carter
“When will she get here?”Kenyon popped something into his mouth—no doubt a sugary treat.Despite his age, he still ate like a child.
It was a good thing the Guild paid us well because if they didn’t, Kenyon’s food delivery budget alone would put us under.
“She’s supposed to get here at nine,” I told him for the fifth time in the last hour.I doubted he’d really forgotten, but rather that the ADHD disaster couldn’t wait for more than a few minutes before his patience ran out and he had to check in again.“Why don’t you go check to make sure her room is ready?”
He huffed before trudging away.
Not that I could blame him.
As I worked on a stack of papers on the desk, sorting through the jobs that had come in to decide which we’d take on, my mind kept going back toher.
Yun Moore.Twenty-six years old.Rank-S guide.The few details in her file told me so little it was almost laughable.I didn’t care about what was in the file—that was only the Guild’s opinion of her.
It never told the true story.
That story sat in the shadows of her eyes, in the way she’d held herself back, in the truth that she’d never dare reveal willingly.
I blew out a breath and reminded myself I didn’t care.
Or, it was better to say I only cared as much as I had to in order to keep our squad registered and running.Anything else?
Not my circus.Not my fucking monkeys.
A crash from upstairs followed by a shouted “I’m fine” from Kenyon reminded me that I had my own monkeys and they were a fucking mess already.No reason to go looking for more problems.
Still, the fire in her eyes when she’d lectured me…
I’d gotten myself off twice last night to the memory.What the fuck was wrong with me?Why the hell was I into some little spitfire guide who refused to even hold hands during guiding?That was so not my type, and a mess not even worth getting close to.
Especially considering what she’d done to espers in the past.
That had me sitting back in my chair, letting it lean in a way I would suggest no civilian do.It balanced on two legs, and the slight adjustments that allowed it to remain perched that way eased my mind as I thought.
