That only makes it worse.
“No,” I snap back at him, thankful that it’s only a partial lie. I’m not having them like I was, but every now and then, they’ll sneak their way into my dreams. It’s not enough to force me awake in a panic anymore, but enough to rattle my nerves.
“Then what's wrong?” Carter scoots in closer to snatch the pot off the warmer—but also so I can whisper if needed. How do I explain to my best friend that I'm jealousof a God damn pregnancy pillow?!A literal piece of fluff!
“I said nothing, Carter. Drop it.” I sip my coffee and stomp back to the living area like a child. Zeke’s lounging in one of the armchairs like he owns the place, and for him to be so spritelywithoutcaffeine only pisses me off more. I know Dr. Von cleared him before she left, but I’m starting to think we shouldn’t take her word for shit.
Ashia looks up at me with tired eyes once I round the couch, but the moment she sees my mug, her eyes droop and she frowns.
“That smellssogood…” She fuckingpouts, and it almost does me in when she starts to tear up.
Fuck, I’m an idiot. She’s exhausted, uncomfortable, and she can’t have caffeine to battle it.
“Shit, baby. I’m sorry.” I set the mug down on the far side of the coffee table, just to get it away from her, and Zeke snatches it before I have a moment to register it.
“Thanks, boss.” He fucking winks at me and sips on it, grinning smugly as it runs down this throat.
You’re an asshole,I mouth back to him, and he just wiggles his brows before drinking even more of it.
Dick.
“No, no. I’m sorry. Go get more. It’s fine.” Ashia shakes her head and squeezes my hand. She blinks rapidly, clearly fighting off actual tears, and it pulls at my chest. I take a small breath, using whatever tiny instant I have to get my shit together, and then sit down beside her, pulling her close.
“I don’t need it.” I kiss the top of her head as she curls against me, and I inhale her warmth to settle my nerves. She sinks in, resting her head on my chest and wrapping an arm around mymiddle. This is exactly how I plan to spend my day once Kade leaves—keeping her in my arms and counting our baby’s kicks under my palm.
Carter and Alex finally join us as we all wait for Kade to get out of his damn car. He pulled in about five minutes ago, but he hasn’t walked in yet. Whatever he has to talk to us about must be big. For him to call at four in the morning and practically demand an invitation is bold, and the worry in his tone is what made me agree in the first place. I’ve been at the Attic every day since I went back last week, so this must be something we can’t talk about there.
As if I summon him, he pokes his head in from the garage door before stepping inside fully. Even though his hair is buzzed, it’s still in disarray. Some places are sticking up worse than others, and his tired eyes tell me that he either just woke up or didn’t sleep at all.
“Morning, everyone.” Kade’s tone is nervous, like he’s walking into a lion’s den and trying not to startle a house full of predators.
“Morning,” my wife greets him back. Her sad, tired tone brings my irritation to the surface once again, and I squeeze her a little tighter before addressing my friend.
“What’s this about, Kade? What was so important that I had to drag my wife out of bed?”
He clicks his teeth together as he moves to the center of the room with his laptop is in one hand and his phone is in the other, clearly prepared to show us something.
“We need to talk about Satori,” he reveals. Ashia perks up, lifting her head from my chest like she’s intrigued.
“What about him?” she asks.
“I was looking back at everything that’s happened this past year. Not only to us, but you guys, too. Everything with Dust, the poisoning, our attack, and both of you being taken.” He pointsto Ashia and I. “We’ve all taken serious precautions to keep this stuff from happening, right? Butnothinghas worked. You’ve had to reconfigure the security for this house, what? Three times now?”
“At least,” Carter adds with an eye roll.
“Right,” Kade continues. “And I was curious as to why. You’re just as good of a hacker, if not better than me, D. And so is Carter. So why the hell was itstillgetting hacked? Why has all of this shit happened when we should’ve been able to prevent it?”
“I’m going to assume that you know the answer to that?” I get smart with him, not liking the runaround.
“Right, sorry. So, I dug deeper into the security at our old post, and I didn’t find anything that we didn’t know already, but here at the house?” He pauses, looking like he’ll choke on his own words. “It wasmyfucking code, D…” His hands start to visibly shake. He practically drops his tech onto the table. Alarms go off behind my eyes, and I tighten my grip on my wife instinctively.
“What are you talking about, Kade?”
“The hacking code that broke into your home security system? It was mine… I made it…” he admits, and I think my heart stops beating. Zeke sits forward in the chair, slowly moving his hand down to his side like he’ll pull his knife out in a split second.
“Are you saying that you—”
“No!” He throws his hands out and shakes his head erratically. “I swear! I didn’t do anything!”
