“Make sure one of them drives us home because I will be torturing you with my thoughts on the trip.” I almost laugh, but then my gaze passes over my sister’s glare. “Jessica really hates you.”
“I’m an asshole, she has plenty of reasons to.”
Having spent the last week with my cold boys and my two trips to town… I’m still a little unprepared when the others filter in.
There are ten of them total when Shock leans close to tell me that everyone is here. He runs through their names and I forget most of them immediately.
The ones I haven’t met cast me a quick and curious glance. When those glances move on to the three of them, I can see the question. They’re curious who I belong to. I glance at Arc and he just nods to confirm my suspicion.
The last one in has to be Hazard. Something about his grin—the textbook definition of shit-eating—makes it impossible for him to be anyone else.
“Oh good,” he says as he stops at the top of the small stairs leading down to the sofa. “I don’t have to keep the secret anymore.”
“He knew?” Jessica asks, staring at me wide-eyed.
“I can’t help what Hannah told him.”
“Hannahknew before us?”
Laurel covers her mouth, but it doesn’t hide the fact that she’s laughing.
“If you’d like to calm down…” Kimba says, sitting next to her mate. “Thank you all for coming in for this irregular meeting. You’ve noticed that we have one more than usual. This is Chrys.”
I wave a little, and when they all look at me I force myself to stay still instead of shrinking back into Arc and letting him hide me.
RISK
Curiosity, irritation, amusement… the expressions around the room are as varied as the men and women wearing them.
“Chrys is the sole survivor of that,” Kimba points toward the still smoking wreckage.
“Finally, some answers,” Strike comments. I wince.
Kimba does too. She glances at us so I say what she’s not particularly happy to divulge. “Actually, Chrys’ presence on the ship only gives us more questions.”
“I was abducted from Earth,” she chirps from beside us with a little flourish of a hand movement. “Drugged, stuffed in an escape pod, and thankfully ejected before the ship actually hit the ground.”
Trench’s hand grips Jess shoulder tight as he whispers something to her. It is, I assume, the only reason she isn’t already half way across the room. She would like to strangle us.
“No memory of anything?” Hazard asks.
She shakes her head, earrings clattering against the side of her face. “Nope. One minute I was leaving the dance studio, then there were a bunch of whacko dreams, and I woke up here. If I didn’t know better, it would be just as easy to think they kidnapped me over anyone else.” She points at the three of us with a casual wave of her thumb.
“Okay then,whywould they kidnapyou?” Drift taps at his leg. “There’s the family connection, but that doesn’t seem like enough to go to the trouble. Could it be something with your work, or?—”
“She doesn’t have a real job.” Jess’s comment pulls everyone’s attention to her.
“Yes she does.” Arc’s retort brings everyone right back, but Chrys stares at her oldest sister.
“I’ve worked for the Agency for years… how did you think I was paying you rent? How did you think I was going to be able to take over your mortgage when you decided to stay here?”
“I—” Jess stares at her blankly. “How many years?”
“We’ve talked about it a dozen times. Do you really not remember?”
“I must have forgotten.” Jess’ brows furrow and she looks up. “Doyou think your job might have had something to do with it?”
“No, I’m just incredibly offended.”
