The meeting wrapped up with Drew reviewing emergency signals and extraction procedures. The meeting would take place outside a cemetery halfway between Montechiaro and the city center. One narrow road led in and out from the small parking lot, but there were footpaths, train tracks, and it was near the water.
I still didn’t like any of it.
But I trusted Scarlett. I had to.
I headed to the terrace to relieve Zac and Emmett. And to try to convince myself not to worry about an all-out assault.
That wasn’t Fenix’s style. It wasn’t even Enzo’s style.
Enzo was Fenix’s violent arm, but his violence was personal. Rash.
Noah, on the other hand, was calculating. If the two of them found a way to get along, the world would be in trouble.
Once I was alone, I paced from the eastern edge of the terrace to the western edge, scanning the surrounding landscape. From this vantage point, I could monitor the approach road and assess potential threats.
The sound of a deep exhale below me caught my attention. I glanced over the railing to the balcony one floor below me.
Brooke.
I froze. Any noise, and she’d either hurry back inside or we’d end up in another awkward moment. Instead, I just watched her. The way the hair around her face danced in the light breeze. The way she leaned forward, taking in the view.
My heart squeezed in my chest.
Her face had played on a loop when I was in the hospital bed in Germany. I’d dreamed of her sitting at my bedside. Of healing enough to go back to Afghanistan and resume my bodyguard duties for her.
But it was her screams that filled my nightmares. I’d wake from those terrors and remember I wouldn’t be able to go back. And even if I could, she wouldn’t be there.
I forced myself to look away. I had a circuit to make on the roof. I had to watch the roads. Had to ensure she was safe.
When I was halfway across the rooftop terrace, Malcolm crested the top of the old metal stairs that rose from the second-floor terrace.
He nodded and walked toward the southern railing with me. “Do you honestly think we need to keep watch through the night?”
“I’m no more paranoid than you are.”
“But itisparanoia, isn’t it?” He stared out at the lights of the peninsula with me. “This whole situation is fucked up.”
I couldn’t argue with his assessment. “I’ll make sure she’s safe.”
“And that’s the problem, isn’t it?”
“Problem?”
“I know you’d die for her.” His fists clenched like they had at the table earlier, but this time, it was around the railing. “But I need you to understand something: She’s not just your responsibility anymore.”
“We all protect each other,” I said automatically, as though I didn’t understand what he was really saying. “That’s how teams work.”
“She’s my fiancée, Rav.” He turned, a determined set to his jaw. “Soon to be my wife. But she doesn’t trust me enough to go with her tomorrow. No, for that, she still picks you.”
“We’ve been working together for?—”
He raised a hand to cut me off. “I’m sure this is coming off as a jealousy thing, but that’s not what it is. I respect you, and I trust there’s nothing else going on between you two, but for fuck’s sake, there are days I feel like there’s a third person in our relationship.”
“You know she’s right about tomorrow morning?”
He raised his fist again, letting it hang in the air between us. “This isn’t about tomorrow morning.”
“No?” What was I doing? Why was I arguing instead of defusing? “So why bring it up now?”
