Chapter 14
Raiden
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“Maybe Kodi’s right.” Stone takes a sip of his coffee, staring off ahead where the path disappears around a grassy hill.
“If that statement isn’t proof enough that you need to get some sleep, I don’t know what is.”
Glancing down at my phone while we casually circle the park for the third time, I fire off yet another email, but I’ve barely made a dent in my inbox. At this rate, I’m going to have to bribe Carina to step in and handle things until we get this situation with Amara’s stalker squared away. The only thing making me hesitate is not knowing what fresh hell would be waiting for me when I returned.
My baby sister is the lifeblood Khalida was built upon, but she’s also a massive pain in the ass that would extort the hell out of me for calling in the favor because of how much she despises the administrative side of running things. I wouldn’t put it past her to change all of my passwords, stream enough porn to crash my computer, and spend half of the city’s annual budget on that torture chamber she’s been after for the last decade.
Like anyone really needs two.
Stone scoffs, downing his third cup of the morning. “Like you’re one to talk, you didn’t even come back to the room until four this morning.”
With a non-committal hum, I quickly add a few expenses to my spreadsheet before doing another visual sweep of the area. It wouldn’t have mattered if I was in bed, I wouldn’t have been able to shut my mind off long enough to fall asleep, tossing and turning all night. If I was going to be awake regardless, better off utilizing my time sitting in the hotel lobby and keeping an eye out while knocking a few things off of my endless to-do list.
“What do you think Kodi’s right about?”
A jogger runs past, and Stone waits to respond until he’s out of hearing range. “That I’m looking for excuses to justify keeping my distance. I was relieved when she agreed to allow Kodiak to escort her around today, and if this coward would show his face, then everything could return to normal, and Amara would be free.”
Tucking my phone away, I keep my expression carefully neutral. “But...?”
Crushing his empty cup in a tight fist, he tosses it into the trash can as we pass by. “All I can think about is her leaving once she doesn’t need us anymore, and I... don’t want her to go. She’s legion, my mate -” hastily, he corrects, “ourmate, and I barely know anything about her beyond the fact that she went through hell and still hasn’t managed to fully escape it.”
He exhales heavily. “I was angry at the Fates for trapping her; still am if I’m being honest. It’s yet another choice that’s been taken away from her, the universe forcing Amara to be with us whether she likes it or not. But mostly?” He rakes a hand through his snowy hair and groans. “I’m afraid of letting her down, that everytime she looks at me, I’ll see a flash of disappointment in her eyes. Actually leaning into themateaspect hadn’t even crossed my mind until this morning, but now I can’t get the idea out of my head and it’s already driving me mad.”
I hide my smile behind a sip of coffee. “I messed up, too. I’m used to taking the lead on everything, and did so from a tactical perspective with Amara out of habit. She may be my responsibility in terms of legion, but as our mate, my decisions don’t supersede yours or Kodiak’s. In light of current events, maybe we should consider restructuring; rotate days as legionhead. You can take tomorrow.”
In my peripherals, I watch his eyes flare wide in panic. “Gods, no.” My silent laughter has him shoving my shoulder with a low growl. “Not funny. I forgot how much of a pain in the ass you can be.”
“The feeling is mutual.” The parking lot comes into view, and I scan Amara’s current car for any signs of another note, both pleased and disappointed to find nothing. “It’s been a while since Kodi’s last message. We should check on them. If all is well and you happen to spark a conversation with Amara, we could see if she’d like to take a break from job hunting to get lunch. If she doesn’t bite, we’ll pull back to give her space; no pressure.”
“I see what you’re doing, you know.”
I veer off our path into the grass, casually strolling in the general direction of Main Street. “Offering helpful suggestions like a benevolent leader with no ulterior motive?”
He snorts, falling into step beside me with a small smile softening the stress lines that have taken root on his face recently. “Steering me into doing what you want by exploiting my fears. It’s why I’d neverdreamof taking that joy away from you by usurping your role. We’ve only made it as far as we have recently because of your penchant for diplomacy and ability to keep up with the bullshit political games so many people like to play. I have neither the talent, nor the desire, to be involved in either. Why else would I have been so adamant that you took the position as legion-head when we decided to make it official?”
