Page 29 of Duality

Alexander hummed, and I met his eyes. Of all the people in the room, Alexander probably understood my position the most.

“Let’s get this cleaned up, then,” Alexander said.

I went to help, but Sebastian pushed me back into my seat. “Let me, milady,” he said with a dramatic flourish as he cleaned my empty plate.

The four men worked together to clear the dishes while I sat there awkwardly, like a knot on a log. It was strange having people in my house, and it was even stranger to have someone taking care of me. On the rare occasions my lieutenants visited, they pitched in to help, but they never served me or cleaned up after me. I handled all of it, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about this.

Adrian placed a glass of water in front of me. I arched an eyebrow at him. “You’re really obsessed with my drinking habits,” I snarked at him. I was perfectly capable of getting my own water.

He ignored my snark and pushed it closer to me. “Someone needs to take care of you.”

“I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself,” I shot back. I didn’t need a minder.

“Yes, you are. But that doesn’t mean you have to.” Adrian kept his voice soft, but I knew the other guys were listening. Anger burned my cheeks, but I swallowed it down. Now was not the time to have this debate. Not when I heard the beep from the alarm system that the front door had opened.

“Honey, I’m home!” Danny shouted, his standard greeting every time he entered a space, no matter who was there. It was almost comical, though, the way the four men in my kitchen stiffened.

“In here, sweetie,” I called back, barely holding in my grin when the four men swung their glares to me. They had some weird dislike of Danny, but they could get over it. My cousin had been there for some of my darkest days, long before I had ever met them.

Danny appeared in the entryway to the kitchen, his eyes locking with mine and tracing over me, as if making sure I was in one piece. I nodded at him slightly, and he relaxed.

“You going to let anyone else in or just block the doorway?” Grace said exasperatedly from behind him.

He slid to the side to let her pass, shooting her the middle finger, which she returned. I shook my head but smiled.

“Morning, Boss,” Grace said, jerking her thumb behind her. “Should we set up in the dining room?”

I nodded. “That has the most space.”

The small kitchen table could only accommodate six people, while the dining room table had twelve seats. It had come with the house, and while Danny had suggested getting rid of it for something smaller, I had held on to it. And I was glad I did when we all settled around the table.

Izzy and Maya set up the portable projector screen at the end of the table while Danny wheeled in a large whiteboard I kept stored in one of the spare rooms. Liam passed out tablets to everyone, including the guys.

Marcus’s eyes widened. “You’re giving us access to your system?”

Liam smirked. “You wish. No, these are clean. The only information on there is your case.”

“We have a case?” Alexander asked.

“Of course,” I said smoothly. “We’re not animals over here. We do have some organization abilities.”

“With you at the helm, I don’t doubt it.” Sebastian winked at me. I could feel the eyes of my lieutenants on me, and I ignored the heat rising in my cheeks. The man was too charming for his own good, and I didn’t have the mask up that I usually did at the office.

“Who are you?” Marcus said bluntly, folding his arms and staring at Maya. I had forgotten they weren’t at HQ last night.

“This is Maya,” I introduced them. “They run our communications. Maya, I believe you know everyone here?”

Maya smirked, their lavender hair brushing their shoulders as they nodded.

“Perfect. Do we have any new information?” I asked as I settled into my seat.

Liam shook his head. “Nothing I’ve found so far.”

“Danny?”

My cousin folded his arms against his chest and leaned against the wall. “Nothing. No one is talking.”

“Do we think they don’t know anything or that they aren’t talking?” Izzy questioned.