I shake my head. “No, still the same.”
“I know this is the worst possible timing, but there’s something you need to know.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. Go on.’’
Cove scans our surroundings, making sure no one’s within earshot. Then again, we are all alone in the massive yard of my home, and there’s no possibility anyone can hear us. He steps forward, and I rise to my feet, brushing the snow off.
“Amy Marshall escaped.”
“I really cannot catch a fucking break, huh?” A groan comes from me, and I lean against the wall of the house, sighing. I’m half-angry, half-tired of all the bullshit that awaits me soon. “Did she set Adams and Hawke free, too?”
Cove shakes his head. “No. I went over the security camera footage with Lucas and Niko, and… well…’’
I start pacing back and forth. “Out with it, Cove.’’
“Someone helped her escape, someone on the inside. I couldn’t identify them because they had a ski mask on, but they were definitely one of our own. Lucas is trying to find them as we speak. We have a mole.’’
I pause pacing, standing right below the edge of the roof of the house. A bitter, choked laugh comes from me, eyes widening in disbelief. This is just fucking perfect. On top of everything I have to deal with right now, I have to focus on finding the traitor, too.
“We have a fucking mole. Could this day get any worse?”
Just as the words leave my lips, a harsh wind blows, and the snow that was previously on the edge of the roof falls right on top of me. The block of snow is big, coating my head, shoulders, and half of my back in snow. Shivers run down my spine at the fucking snow, and I freeze for a moment.
Cove suppresses a laugh, swallowing down and stepping back when he takes in the furious expression on my face. Roughly, I wipe my face clean of the damned snow, hands clenching by my side.
“I will fucking kill you, Cove, if you don’t leave right this instant.”
“What did I do? Blame Mother Nature for this one.’’
“You exist too close in my vicinity right now,’’ I hiss out.
Cove takes the hint, laughing as he walks back to his bike. He’s gone in a blink of an eye, and I’m left to deal with this nonsense. With a deep breath, I try to suppress the rage that’s boiling in my veins and clean myself off the fucking snow.
I walk back into the manor, slamming the door shut behind me. Blair’s still in the kitchen, dealing with the icing for the cake. She’s mixed purple, grey, and black, doing some cute little swirls all over the top of the cake.
Immediately, all the anger from earlier vanishes, and I lean against the doorframe, simply observing her. Her brows are narrowed in concentration, her hands working slowly, diligently on creating the perfect cake for Aria. She switches to writing, and I can’t help but smile. It looks really good, considering it’s her first time doing something like this.
Finally, she spots me and smiles. I push off the doorframe,walking toward her. I wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her into me. Her head rests on my chest, and I kiss the top of it. The warmth of her embrace soothes the aching nerves further, and I find myself relaxing.
“Looks and smells good.”
“Mmm. It will taste good, too.”
“I don’t doubt it.”
She pulls back enough to look at me, pecks my lips, then goes back to finishing the cake. It takes her about ten minutes, and in the meantime, I start washing the dishes. I’m slightly surprised she hasn’t commented on the stench of whiskey that oozes off me, because if I can smell myself, she can smell me too. She either didn’t notice, which would be impossible, or didn’t want to bring it up.
Whichever it is, I’m fine with it.
“So… there’s no good way for me to say this.”
“Don’t scare me like that,” she mutters. “What is it?”
I finish washing the dishes, dry my hands off on a kitchen rag, then turn to look at her. I take a deep breath, then let the words pour out.
“Remember Amy Marshall?”
Her brows crease. “The girl whose identity I used back in Long Grove? I remember. Why?”
