“Always.”
“Always,” I confirm. I have already been doing it for years, and I will be doing it for all the rest.
Chapter Twenty-Six
NAOMI
Mac gives me a few glances, making a quizzical expression. “What?” I know she’s getting at something.
“You’re giddy.”
“Giddy?” I glance down at myself.
“You’re not showing it, but you’re into him getting a front-row seat to this.”
“I enjoy when he watches me.” I have no qualms in admitting that. The feel of his eyes on me has a way of not only relaxing me but also giving me strength. I didn’t know it could be this way, but I should have. I have seen other couples in my family. Having a partner never hinders them; if anything, it makes them more bloodthirsty. There is more on the line when you have a person you’re not sure you can live without.
What’s been bigger for me is how I check with him about most things. I want his opinion. I could convince myself that my reliance on him is due to his ability to analyze situations quickly in his head, but the truth is that it’s more than that.
“I think you enjoy a lot of things about him.” She wiggles her brows at me. Mac is returning to her old self. It still doesn’t stop my want of hunting down Luigi. I will make an example out ofhim. Let him know what happens when he hunts down not only a Marino but a female as well. I know his type.
“How do you want to play this, or are we splitting?”
“Let’s split this time. I more want to see if I can stay hidden from them.”
“All right,” I agree when we make it to the tree line. Mac opens her hand, letting the drones fly up over us, and then pulls out a pair of glasses that I’m sure are tech-related. “They don’t come in contact form?” A real spy movie out here.
“Hey, I’m getting there. I want to perfect them first,” Mac says defensively. “Oh, you were fucking with me.” She smacks my arm. “Forgot you got laid, and now you got jokes.”
“I will not talk about my sex life.”
“Oh, honey…” Seduction drips from the word. “Jealousy looks good on you.”
“Well.” I shrug. “Pax thinks everything looks good on me,” I tell her before bolting into the woods.
“Ahh!” She laughs at me before taking off in the other direction, and I circle back to try and cover her tracks before taking off again and making mine more noticeable so they follow me and not her.
I stop and quickly make a trip line, knowing they’ll see it but make another close after it. Then I settle up against one of the trees and wait a few minutes, giving my brothers time to enter the woods.
I listen to everything quietly. I peek around the tree, not seeing anything, but to be safe, I drop down to my haunches as I backtrack. When I hear the snap of a branch, I drop flat to my stomach and see Romeo creeping by forty yards out from where I am.
I patiently wait, not caring how long it takes. You don’t ever let yourself get antsy. When he disappears from my sight, I spring to my feet and take off, watching each of my steps as I go.I don’t want to land on anything but pure ground, allowing my knees to have more bend to them, my steps landing mid-foot, making them as quiet as possible.
The one plus to being small is being quick; your weight allows you to do things others can’t. I spot Marcus still waiting on the edge of the tree line. I’m guessing they told him to wait and then follow. It’s a sign, however, that Cooper is tracking Mac.
I quickly climb one of the trees; the thick branches tangling together allow me to hop over a few right as Marcus checks his watch and heads into the brush. They think they’re hunting me, but not today. They’re my prey.
I watch, barely breathing, as he passes under me. I grab the branch above me to hang from momentarily to brace myself before I let go, landing right behind Marcus, but stay down as he swings around at the sound. I swipe his legs out from under him, sending him tumbling to the ground. I pounce on top of him.
“You’re out.” I boop his nose before taking off again. One down, two to go.
I know I need to be quick because word will spread fast about my coordinates. I sprint toward the direction Mac went. I freeze when I see a tiny-ass drone coming at me head-on. It stops a couple feet out from me.
Lead the way,I mouth.
The freaking thing isn’t easy to keep sight of, and I worry paying attention to it will distract me from watching myself, but I trust Mac wouldn’t lead me right into one of them. It stops and shoots up, and I take that as a sign and move to cover. I press my back into a tree and slide down to my haunches, putting one hand on the ground, and listen, hearing a sound coming from my east.
“Naomi!” Cooper comes charging toward me, yelling loud enough to alert Romeo. I bolt to my feet and move through a fewtrees, my eyes taking each of them in until I spot one that will work, but I need more momentum.
