I didn’t always know. Not the first time. And the second time, it was her birthmark. But now it would be impossible not to tell them apart. Haven has the posture of a soldier. She is rigid and cautious. Her eyes scan the room, her fingers drumming softly on the table as she silently counts the enforcers passing the rear and front windows.
I don’t even think she knows that she does that. It’s just a habit.
In that way, we’re alike.
But even if her behavior didn’t give her away, the truth is thatIfind her more beautiful. I like how her eyes are hard and her lips teasingly soft.
One might argue that they are identical, but the second my gaze meets Haven’s, I lose all my senses. Her sister grins freely, but when Haven smiles, it’s like the sun peeking behind a gray cloud. It’s why I call her sunshine, half the reason is to poke fun at her salty disposition, but the rest is pure fact.
I move aside, evading the next grape.
“Enough of this nonsense, we have to leave.”
“What’s the rush?” Haven asks.
“We just caught a rebel who is finally ready to squeal,” I say. “I’m going to knowexactlywho the traitor in our ranks is by this afternoon, and I will put a bullet in their head myself.”
My father has been breathing down my neck about the recent failed missions. It’s like the Resistance is always one step ahead. Either that or they have an Untamed whose powers are tied to luck, because they keep getting away.
Haven looks uneasy. Her fork scrapes against the porcelain plate.
“I want you there,” I say. “In the interrogation room.”
Haven is, as Mercy said, softer than she appears. She has made it clear that she sympathizes with the rebels, but that doesn’t exactly confirm that sheisa rebel. I need to weed out the weakness in her and make her a soldier worthy of being inducted into Black Star.
“Come on,” I say, pushing back my chair. “We have a traitor to capture.”
Knox drives while I sit in the passenger seat. Haven is looking out the window. Her mouth is tight with unease.
“What’s wrong, Warrick?” I ask.
“I don’t know, just worried about what my peers will say about you carrying me home last night,” she says. “They are going to call me a husband-stealing whore.”
“If anyone calls you that, I’m putting a bullet between their eyes,” I say.
“I don’t need your protection,” she says.
I glance back to look at her, and she meets my gaze head-on.
She’s been rather distant today. I’m not sure how much she remembers from last night. My words, our kiss, how I held her. She slept curled to my chest, but I snuck away in the morning before she could wake up.
I spent longer than I cared to admit, watching her sleep, studying the shift of her lashes, counting every small freckle on her nose.
I think it would frighten her if she knew how obsessed I’ve gotten. I don’t believe I’ve ever wanted anything in this world half as much as I want Haven Warrick.
We have a stare-off using the rearview mirror as our stage. Her brows furrow as she struggles not to blink, and my mouth twitches. She’ssobad at this.
“Forfeit,” I say.
“Never,” she says.
“Are you making love with your eyes?” Knox interrupts.
I almost forgot he was in the car. I opened the front door for her, but she hopped in the back, against my will.
I let Knox drive so I can focus my full attention on her.
“War,” Haven corrects.
