He chuckled. “Good for you.”
“I’m sorry she’s not seeing the brilliance that is you.”
“It’s all good,” he said. “Plenty of fish.”
Rabbit guided the truck through the giant gates at the entrance to the compound and my heart started to race, the excitement at being home palpable.
The Dogs’ main meeting house was a huge antebellum tobacco barn they’d converted into private bedrooms, offices, and a meeting hall. It sat in the middle of a fenced compound on thirty acres, along with outbuildings that housed workshops and a couple of old slave quarters. The workshops were used for everything from car repair to iron works and Olivia kept threatening to renovate the slave quarters and make them actual homes. The original house had burned down in the early nineteen-hundreds and had sadly never been rebuilt.
I jumped out of the truck and rushed inside, finding Olivia and Jasmine in the great room, laughing about something. God it was good to be home.
“Room for one more?” I asked, hugging Olivia, then, Jasmine.
“Always,” Olivia said.
“Where’s Tristan?” I asked.
“He’s making food,” she said just as my brother walked out with a plate, handing it to Olivia before hugging me.
“How was your flight?” he asked.
“It was fine,” I said. “But I’m kind of tired. Do you care if I turn in?”
“Not at all,” he said. “You know where you’re going?”
I grinned. “Unless I can sleep in the bunny hutch, then yes.”
“Jesus Christ,” Doc hissed. “Go to bed. Your shit’s already been taken up to your room.”
“Thanks, Tris.” I kissed his cheek, then hugged Olivia. “Night.”
I hightailed it upstairs, hoping my brother didn’t guess I was sad, and saw Rabbit leaving my room. “Your bags are inside.”
“Thanks.” I hugged him, holding on a little longer than usual.
“Hey, you okay?” he asked, stroking my back.
“Yes. I just missed you.”
He kissed the top of my head. “Missed you too, sweetheart.”
I pulled away with a smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“’Night.”
I closed myself into my room and tried not to cry myself to sleep.
Orion
AGAINST MY BETTER judgement, I rode over to Raquel’s place before my run, chastising myself for doing it, but unable to turn around.
I pulled up just as Sierra was unlocking the door. She turned and faced me, glaring daggers at me. “What do you want?”
“I want to see Raquel.”
“Well, she’s not here.”
“When will she be back?” I asked, trying to ignore her hostile attitude.
