And whenthatdoesn’t help, I tug the phone away from my ear and kill our call.
I’m not going back into a fucking uniform just so she can flex her muscles and play big daddy, and I can’t find a single kind thing to say to her. So I lock the screen and slump back against the couch cushions. I tilt my head to the left and stare at my wife. My beautiful, stubborn, too fucking daring for her own good, too fragile for this world, wife. I study her long lashes and her pale cheeks. The dark shadows under her eyes, and her penchant, even when she’s unconscious, to grip my shirt and breathemeinto her lungs.
Did Cordoza set us up? And if he did,why? What does he want, and what does he achieve by keeping me and Minka apart?
My phone beeps with an incoming text. Then a second. A third.
Scowling, I pick up the device and scan Soph’s messages.
You’re so sensitive! I won’t put you back in uniform. Geez!
Not when it would be so much more fun to send your resumé over to the local mall. They’re looking for security officers, just FYI.
I’m striking Salonen, Dirkse, Tsiklauri, Melvin, and Abate off our list. You don’t even have to tell me where you put them. I don’t give a fuck.
I do, however, wanna know who is encrypting the communications between you and them. If it’s Harrison, have him call me. I was led to believe his tech expertise was subpar at best.
He’s no Sophia Solomon, but he did something, and that something was effective enough to shove me five steps to the left and force me to deal with that instead of what was happening right under my nose.
I won’t kill him.
Probably.
But when someone comes along and messes with me, I like to give them the respect they deserve, a seat at my desk, and a chance to show me what else they can do. After that, I decide if I’ll kill them or keep them.
As for Cordoza, I’m not ready to call him on this. He’s playing chess, and for the last week, we’ve been playing checkers. Give me a minute to figure this out, then we’ll discuss it.
In the meantime, stop making Minka cry! It’s weird and emotional, and feelings creep us both out. Upset her again, and I’m gonna go with the surprise death thing. It’s always my preference anyway.
Also, nudge her toward the pills. I’m 99.999% sure they’ll work exactly as designed. Imagine a world where she didn’t have to strap herself up to a needle every second night!?
I glance along her toned body, her long, lean thighs, and her shorts, since she turned, riding a little high and showing off more than I would allow anyone else to see.
I don’t know if Iwantto imagine a life where every second night is just… normal, and not a chance for her to sleep like this. To curl up and ignore the world. To pull my shirt over her mouth and breathe air filtered with the scent of my aftershave.
I don’t want to take this away from her… from me…
Soph:
Don’t worry about the .001%. Statistically, it won’t bother us. Isn’t basic math fun!?
I’m officially done with her. Rolling my eyes, I toss my phone and carefully slide out from beneath Minka’s feet, then coming around to the front of the couch, I scoop her up and breathe her perfect scent all the way to the base of my lungs. Her arms dangle, and her ear rests over my heart, just like it always does. She smacks her lips and curls against me, exactly how I like her.
“Come on, Minnnka.” I press a kiss to her forehead and allow the contact to linger for a long beat. Two. Three. Exhaling and pulling back, I study her peaceful expression and know I have to fix what I broke.
Starting now.
“It’s time for bed, beautiful.”
MINKA
Iwake the next morning with a mild headache pounding in the back of my skull and a sharp, stabbing pain in my chest. Not theI’m having a heart attackkind of pain. Not even theArcher and I are going through somethingkind. But a different type, a familiar type that sends my pulse sprinting and my eyes wide open. I release a gasp of surprise, maybe even a whimper of longing, as I’m met with a pair of icy blue eyes and a wild mane of snow-white fur.
“Chloe?” I swing my head to the left, across the expansive bedroom Archer and I claimed as our own at the house in the hills, then I look right, my heart thundering as I find a body lying out beside mine.
Long, lean, pale legs, a short skirt, and a bright pink top. I spy the glittering anklet wrapped around her ankle, and bringing my eyes up, I stop on Aubree’s sweet smile.
“Good morning.” She sits with her back to the headboard,her feet crossed at the ankles, and a steaming cup of coffee in her lap. “Don’t panic.”
