I nod, tears stinging my eyes. "Yeah, scared."
Damon stands up and walks over to me. He doesn't touch me, just stands close enough that I can feel his heat.
"You were scared because we make you feel things you don’t want to feel," he whispers as he finally touches me. His large hand cups my face, his gaze soft and filled with understanding. "We aren't mad, baby. It’s ok to be scared. You’ve been in this fight all alone for so long. You’ve been in control of it all and throwing us into the mix is a big adjustment.” His hand falls away as he shrugs one shoulder with a small smile. “We figured you might try something. We were monitoring the police scanner just in case."
"We had a bail bondsman on speed dial," Marcus adds with a small smile.
I let out a wet laugh, wiping my eyes. "You guys are assholes."
"We’re your assholes," Damon corrects.
Skipper wiggles in my arms, demanding to be let down. I set her on the floor, and she immediately trots over to Marcus, yipping to be picked up. He scoops her up, scratching her ears.
Andre’s face is hard as walks over, his presence encompassing me.
"Are you done running?" he asks gruffly.
I look up at him and then at the others, my team and breathe out the last of my doubts and fears.
"Yeah, I’m done running."
"Good," Andre whispers and leans down to place a soft kiss on my forehead. "Because we have work to do. And tomorrow... we go to war."
Chapter 10 – Andre (February 12)
She says she’s done running, and for the first time I think I believe her. But believing isn't the same as trusting, and right now, I worry that Demi still trusts her own fear more than she trusts us.
I watch her on the floor with the dog, her shoulders still tight, her breathing a little too shallow. She’s a live wire, vibrating with residual adrenaline and the crash of a panic attack. She needs to be grounded. She needs to be reminded that surrendering control doesn't mean losing it.
"Marcus, grab the schematics and the comms units. Damon, clear the table," I order hitting them with a silent look that they pick up on right away.
Demi’s head snaps up, her eyes narrowing. "I thought we were done with the briefing."
"We’re done talking," I tell her, walking over to her. I reach down, offering her a hand. She hesitates, just a fraction of a second before placing her small, cold hand in mine. I pull her up, not letting go once she’s on her feet. "Now we train."
"Train?" She scoffs, trying to pull her hand back, but I hold firm. "I know the plan inside out. I don't need practice drills."
"You know the tech," I agree, stepping into her space until she has to tilt her head back to look at me. "But you don't know how to work blind. You don't know how to listen to a voice in your ear when your eyes are telling you to run. Today proved that."
She flinches, the memory of what happened with the two security guys still fresh. "I told you, I messed up."
"You panicked," I correct. "And when you panic, you shut down. You isolate yourself. In that room, you won't have eyes on the door. You won't see the guards coming. You have to rely entirely on our voices to keep you safe. You have to trust us to be your eyes."
I see the conflict in her gaze, the defiance warring with the exhaustion. She wants to fight me, but she’s too tired to keep the walls up.
"So what’s the plan?" she asks, crossing her arms over her chest. "Trust falls?"
"Something like that."
I look at my brothers. Damon nods, understanding the play immediately. He picks up Skipper, who is happily chewing on a shoelace and moves her over to her fancy dog bed.
Marcus smirks, a wicked glint in his eye. "Don't break the furniture, Andre. We need that security deposit back."
Demi’s face flushes a pretty shade of pink. "Wait, what? Why would we break the furniture?"
I don't explain. I just turn her to face the now cleared table.
"Strip."
