Chapter 13 – Adrian
ADRIAN
BANG! BANG! BANG!
I was on my feet in an instant. Adrenaline coursed through my body as I shot out of bed, eyes wide as I scanned the room for an attacker. I relaxed my fighting stance when I didn’t see anyone else in the room. I wasn’t overseas. I was back home, in the bedroom of my apartment.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The loud knocking was less jarring now that I knew where I was.
“Adrian! I know you’re in there! Stop hiding my motherfucking coffeemaker!” Evelyn yelled through the door.
We had given her keys to all of our apartments, but she hadn’t used them yet. Instead, apparently, she was choosing violence this morning.
I glanced at my alarm clock. 6:30 a.m. I had slept in. We were all trying to go into the office later, because it was the only way to keep Evelyn home later and not constantly at work. It seemed that my body had finally adjusted to the later wake-up time.
I almost reached for the shirt hanging off the end of my bed but paused. Maybe some of Evelyn’s ire would soften if she caught sight of my bare chest.
Hey, I wasn’t above bribery.
I padded down the hall on silent feet as the banging on my door continued. Luckily, we were the only two apartments on this floor, although she was pounding so loudly, I was surprised she hadn’t woken the guys upstairs.
“Good morning, little warrior,” I said as I opened the door.
Evelyn glared back at me, her hands on her hips.
She was dressed in cream pants and a black blouse.
Her long brown hair was pulled up into a neat bun with a few curls framing her face.
She looked ready for the office. Her eyes widened, and some of the anger on her face faded as she took in my bare chest. I resisted flexing my muscles as she scanned me.
“How are you this morning?”
From the corner of my eye, I caught Alexander exiting her apartment, his hair still rumpled.
He wisely avoided the two of us as he headed towards the elevator.
I knew he had been sleeping over there most nights, and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t jealous.
I wanted my own sleepovers. Instead, I got the wake-up call after hiding her coffee maker again.
I couldn’t be blamed, really. The woman would live on caffeine if we let her.
I had started stocking her cabinets with tea and consistently removed the coffeemakers she kept bringing into her apartment.
“Where is my coffeemaker?” Evelyn demanded again.
Her hazel eyes were still heavy with sleep.
Alexander was practically anal about making sure she slept eight hours.
So either her nightmares were in rare form yesterday, or they’d gotten up to other things.
I hoped it was the latter, not the former.
I knew she was feeling trapped with the FIA being in town.
Trapped and jumpy. The last thing she needed was to be hopped up on caffeine as well.
Which is why I had switched the office’s blend to a half-decaf mix.
I knew I was taking my life into my own hands, but I liked seeing the fire in her eyes.
“Did you drink water yet this morning?” I asked, stepping back and holding the door for her to come inside.
“Do you want to die?” she hissed ominously as she stomped past me. I chuckled and closed the door, following her into the kitchen. She was so cute when she was grumpy.
She went straight for the coffee machine I kept on the counter and started brewing a pot.
It wasn’t as fancy a machine as the one at the office, but it didn’t seem to matter.
As grumpy as she was, she still brewed enough for both of us, and I hid my grin as I brushed past her to go to the fridge.
I started pulling things out to make hashbrowns, eggs, and bacon.
After lasagna, breakfast was one of Evelyn’s favorite meals.
She grumbled but left a mug of coffee for me next to the stove and took a seat on one of the barstools at the kitchen island.
“Did you sleep well?” I asked, peeking over my shoulder.
Her cheeks flushed, and she buried her face in her coffee mug. I grinned and turned back to the stove, adding a little oil to the frying pan before pouring the hashbrowns in it.
“I slept fine,” Evelyn said primly. “How did you sleep?”
“I slept great until someone started banging on my door.” I couldn’t help but tease her.
Her eyes shot daggers at me with her glare. “Maybe if someone didn’t keep hiding my coffeemaker from me, your morning could be quieter.”
“Nah,” I said, pouring her a glass of water and setting it in front of her. “I like my mornings loud.”
She rolled her eyes, but there was a small smile on her face. Maybe it was due to me, but it was more likely due to the coffee she was sipping.
“Have you checked in with Izzy this morning?” The first thing she usually did when she woke up was check in with Izzy as she got ready for the office. I know it killed her to not be present at the Archer’s HQ and on the missions, but with the FIA still sniffing around, we were taking no chances.
“I did.” She chewed her bottom lip.
“How are things over there?” I asked when she didn’t elaborate further.
“They’re fine,” she said with a frown. “Liam says the log is backing up, though, since we’ve gone to ground.
” Her shoulders were tight, every muscle rigid, like she was trying to keep the frustration at bay by sheer force of will.
“I just hate not being able to help. I feel like a princess locked up in an ivory tower ‘for her own good.’” She air-quoted the last part, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“I don’t think there’s any ivory here; although Sebastian would remodel in a heartbeat if you asked for it. But I get it. It’s not forever, though. Just until we figure out what’s happening with the FIA.”
“And the Kingfisher organization,” she reminded me. “And we have no leads.”
“No, but you have us,” I said. “You have SDS resources now.”
She chewed her lip again, and I fought back the urge to pull it away from her teeth and kiss her until she forgot her worries. Instead, I got the bacon started. Bacon was about the equivalent of kisses, right?
“I guess you’re right,” she said slowly.
“You don’t have to sound so surprised when you say it,” I teased. I was rewarded with the rich sound of her laughter.
“Speaking of SDS resources…” she said. “How are the background checks going on the new hires from Citadel?”
I snorted. “About as you expected. We had some really obvious plants who asked way too many questions about our operations and the Archers and knew absolutely nothing about the jobs they were applying for. And we got a handful of people who could be good. There’s the risk that they are also plants, just better at it than the others, but it may be a risk we have to take with how much business we picked up since the gala. ”
Evelyn tilted her head as she listened. “You can always assign them to lower-level things. There are several of our people who are due for promotions anyway.”
I nodded. “That’s Alexander’s plan. We’ll hire them, but we’ll restrict their access for a while. They can have all the surveillance jobs.”
Evelyn winced. “I hate surveillance. It’s so boring.”
“It does require a lot of patience.” I smiled. “Speaking of, I guess Alexander filled you in on my conversation with Dominic?”
Evelyn nodded. “He did. After he finished yelling at you about it, from what I hear.”
I laughed. Yeah, Alexander had been mad when I first told him. He thought it would bring unnecessary attention to us, especially Evelyn. But I just had a feeling that Dominic would land on the right side of this. He just needed a push. Like Marcus had.
“What do you think of him? Agent Hayes?”
Her cheeks flushed, and I kept my face neutral.
Did our little warrior have a crush? The man was objectively handsome; I would give him that.
I thought I would feel jealous, but I didn’t, and that was odd.
I didn’t know this man, but something in my gut said we could trust him.
If only he weren’t trying to arrest her.
“I think he’s an interesting one,” she said slowly. She sipped her coffee, and I gave her time to collect her thoughts as I cracked the eggs into the pan.
“I think he’s smart,” she continued. “I mean, he obviously is, from what Liam’s found on him so far, but he also doesn’t seem like he misses anything. He seems like a do-gooder for sure. Which could be problematic if he’s a black-and-white thinker.”
“I don’t think that’s problematic,” I countered. “I mean, you already won over the most black-and-white thinker I know.”
She smiled, but her eyes seemed far away.
She and Marcus had been circling each other for the last few weeks.
It was plain to see that they liked each other, but neither of them seemed to know what to do next.
I loved Marcus, but it was going to be up to him to make the first move.
He had hurt her with his actions, even if she said she understood them.
He had to take the initiative, but maybe I could meddle a bit.
“I guess we’ll see what he does next,” she finished simply.
I nodded, plating up the breakfast and loading her plate with extra bacon.
I walked around the island, slid a plate in front of her, then took the next seat.
She shuffled closer after I got settled, her hand warm on my shoulder as she leaned in.
Her lips were warm and soft when they met mine.
She tasted like coffee and spice. She pulled away too quickly.
“Thanks for breakfast,” she whispered, a blush high on her cheeks.
“Does that mean you forgive me for the coffeemaker?” I whispered back when she didn’t settle back in her chair right away.
“What do you think?”
“I think I just want to spend time with my girlfriend in the morning.”
Her eyes softened, glistening softly in the daylight that filtered into the kitchen.
“I think something like that can be arranged. In exchange for caffeine, of course.”
“Of course,” I agreed. “Speaking of arrangements… My mom was asking if we could come over for dinner tomorrow night.”
Evelyn’s eyes widened. “Melissa? Really?”
“Yes, really,” I said. “She says she hasn’t seen you since you rescued her. She wants to thank you in person.”
Evelyn ducked her head. “Izzy checks in on her.”
I smiled. I had a feeling Evelyn didn’t do well with gratitude.
“She mentioned that. But she wants to see you. If that’s okay?”
I wouldn’t push, but Evelyn needed some good mothering, and Mom was the perfect person for that.
“That might be nice. If you think it’s safe for her with the FIA.”
“I’m offended that you think I can’t lose a tail.”
She giggled, and I treasured the sound. She managed a few bites of her breakfast before her phone rang. She dug it out of her pocket, frowning at the screen before answering it.
“Hello?” Her eyes flew to me. “Yes, Agent Hayes. What can I do for you?”
Agent Hayes? What did he want? I frowned as her face tightened.
“Yes, I can come in this morning. Does forty-five minutes work? Oh, an hour? Of course. See you then.”
She hung up the phone, mouth in a tight line. “He wants me to come down to the station and talk to them.” She shoved her plate away. “I’ll call Alexander.”
“I’ll drive you.” I stood up and grabbed both of our plates.
Like hell was she going down there without me. Agent Hayes may be one of the good ones, but he hadn’t proven himself yet. I hoped my estimation of him wasn’t wrong, though. I guess we were about to see.