Page 91 of Abundance of Obsession

Calm. Too calm.

His gaze drifts to me.

“And then…” A slight smile. “We’ll see who’s really pulling the strings.”

Chapter 23

Eli

“Don’t go there, Eli. I’m scared .” Zoe’s words ring in my head.

Those words didn’t sound like something I could ignore—and yet I did.

I was just putting on my Kevlar vest. A glance at my reflection in the mirror showed her sitting on the edge of the bed. She was watching my every move, like she could memorize it in case it was my last.

A moment earlier, she’d been curling her fingers while I checked my weapon.

I wasn’t blind. Zoe hadn’t been able to settle down since morning, obsessively cleaning the apartment again. Though she tried to hide her anxiety behind a mask, I saw her true self.

The silence she maintained was louder than she intended.

As I got ready for the operation, she spoke her first words of the day.

I’m a confident son of a bitch, but not so much that I would overestimate my mortality.

And her words hit home. She was afraid… for me.

My memories go back to that moment when I knelt before her, promising I would return. And I’ll keep that promise.

Her eyes darted around, searching my face for confirmation. She couldn’t find it then, but she nodded anyway. My Raven knew I wouldn’t leave my brothers alone in the middle of a war. They’re my family.

“Come back to me.” With those words and a kiss, we parted.

She was afraid.

Just like I was worried about her when she told us she’d met up with Damien that evening without telling us beforehand. For the next two days, her butt was really sore, and I hope that taught her a lesson.

“Eli.” Ryker shakes my shoulder. My head spins back to reality. “I’ve called you three times.”

“Sorry.”

“Focus. This isn’t the time to zone out,” Theo adds.

I’m sitting behind the wheel, the engine off. My fingers tighten around the steering wheel until my knuckles turn white.

The night at the port is never quiet. Nor peaceful. But tonight is especially heavy.

The air is thick with the smell of grease, metal, and something else. It’s hard to breathe.

Perhaps it’s the weight crushing my chest from the inside.

The halogen lights reflect off the wet concrete, spilling into the puddles like smeared gold. Cranes tower over the containers, resembling steel skeletons. Rows of metal crates form a labyrinth where it’s all too easy to disappear.

Terminal Four.

The perfect place for things Veirix doesn’t want revealed.

Especially since this is our turf.