They look surprised, and I’m not sure why. I need to get out of here before my emotions get the better of me. “Let me know as soon as you hear anything, and we can make plans.”
Cai stops me with a hand on my knee. Surprised, I look at him. He’s the quietest of all the brothers, with heartache in his eyes. “Be careful.”
My heart rate doubles at his warning. Cai never talks, so I wonder why he’s chosen to do so now. He’s not saying anything that others haven’t told us, but those two words seem ominous coming from him.
I nod, clearing my throat. “I will.”
He holds my gaze for a second longer before he removes his hand from my knee.
Copper and I exit the van, and we watch as they pull away.
I turn towards Copper once they’re gone. “I’m afraid.”
His lips tighten as he reaches for me. “Me, too, baby,” he whispers against my temple. “Me, too.”
I squeeze his waist, wanting to hold on tight to him forever. “I had nothing to lose before I met you. Because I’d already lost it. But now I’ve got you. I can’t lose you.”
I tilt my head back, meeting Copper’s eyes. The emotions I can’t put into words are reflected back at me. He lowers his head and takes my mouth in a hard kiss, pouring all those emotions into it. I know what he’s saying without his having to utter a word. Our biggest fear since we started this relationship is that one of us wouldn’t make it home.
“Let’s go home,” he whispers against my lips. “I need to be inside you.”
“Hurry,” I urge huskily.
We barely make it through the door before he’s inside me, making me feel whole.
We don’t sleep that night, believing that as long as we don’t, we can hold back the approaching storm.
CHAPTER 18
COPPER
My gut clenches, and my knee bounces as I watch the screens in the van with Ramzi.
Bee is sandwiched between Cai and Cahir. Realistically, I know she’s safer tonight than she’ll ever be, but I’m still anxious.
I understand why I’m in the van with Ramzi when I observe the way they move. They blend into the shadows so well that if it weren’t for Ramzi pointing them out, I’d be hard-pressed to see them.
While I’m worried about Bee, I’m also proud of how good she is at her job. I’m sure that as a little girl, she never dreamed that she’d be doing covert ops when she grew up.
It doesn’t take them long to enter the building, and they switch to body cams. Nobody speaks unless necessary.
“She’s fucking amazing at this,” I murmur. “I can see why I couldn’t go with. We’re not nearly as stealthy as you lot.”
“You’ll all get better the more you train,” Ramzi assures me, his attention never wavering from the screens. “Bella’s been training since she was young. I don’t even think her family realised how much she retained when she followed her brothers around and copied them when they were home on leave. All we did was take what she already knew and improve on it.”
“Have you always kept an eye on her? Is she from one of your bloodlines?” I’m curious about these all-seeing, all-knowing, centuries-old Viking-like men. Even with all they’ve seen, they’ve retained their humanity, showing care and concern for others.
Ramzi shakes his head. “No, we haven’t always known about her. She came to our attention when we rescued Kaleb. We put her through rigorous training those first few years, and she always passed with flying colours. That’s when she told us about watching her brothers and copying them.”
Ramzi goes silent for a bit, his attention on the screens, where we can see them clearly. We see them on their way out and relax as they exit the building.
Ramzi rearms the alarm and turns back to me with a grin. “None of us are related to Bella. No need to worry about bloodlines mixing.”
I huff out a laugh. “I hadn’t even thought of that.”
The side door of the van opens, and Bella appears. I breathe a sigh of relief, even though I knew she was perfectly safe the entire time. I prefer having her in my vicinity, preferably within reach.
Bella leans against me, threading her fingers through mine and squeezing. It’s not the first time she’s taken comfort from me without realising it, and I hope it won’t be the last.
