Chapter 28 Wren
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
WREN
“Anything new?” Dex asks as he sits down beside me on the couch. I pull off the headphones and pause the recording I was listening to.
“No, nothing yet. But it feels like we’re so close to figuring this out.”
“That’s because we are,” Elias says from my other side. “You already figured out that Black Heat is a weapon, and now we know where he was keeping it.”
I nod, pulling up the footage he and Harry had recorded of the inside of the warehouse. We were lucky, as it appeared to be a single giant space, except for one small room in the corner that we decided had to be a washroom.
It also showed us there were about a dozen guards inside. We didn’t know if that was the case all the time, but it gave us something to work with. Now we know how many to roughly expect to come running out if our ambush doesn’t go unnoticed on the outside as Ivan gets close.
“You’ve been working on that all morning,” Sly says. “You need to take a break. Do you want some lunch?”
My gaze inadvertently flicks to Pete, who looks incredibly guilty. “Wren, I—”
“Peter,” I say with a grin. “Don’t feel bad. I didn’t have to eat them.”
“But you did, though. Because you’re too nice,” he says with a frown.
“New rule,” Sly says, pulling back the conversation to him. “If anyone doesn’t like something, they don’t have to eat it.”
“So I don’t have to eat broccoli?” Dex asks immediately, gaining him Sly’s glare.
“Or cauliflower?” I ask, thinking of my least favorite vegetable. Sly was always telling us to eat our veggies. I didn’t mind when I cooked them, cause I knew how to make them tasty, but sometimes when we got them from takeout, they weren't as enjoyable.
“If Wren cooks the broccoli, you need to eat it,” he tells Dex, who nods.
“Deal.”
“And you,” he says, looking back at me. “You’ll eat your vegetables if I tell you to. Understand?”
Pete snorts in amusement. “Sly, your dom is showing.”
Gripping the sides of the laptop, I rub my thighs together as a sudden pulse of arousal shoots through me. After my history, growing up with a controlling brother, you’d think I’d hate being told what to do. But it’s so different when it’s Sly, or any of these five.
It’s not just about wanting to please him, either.
It’s because I know that Sly is always looking out for me.
If he tells me to do something, it’s not because he wants me to do it; it’s because he’s trying to take care of me.
He wants me to eat vegetables to be healthy, he tells me to go to sleep so I’m not tired the next day, and he won’t let me have sex because I’m injured.
It’s for those reasons that I nod, agreeing to listen to him.
“No cauliflower, though,” Elias says, and when I turn my head to look at him, I see him staring at Sly as if daring him to argue.
My head swivels back to Sly, and he nods. “No cauliflower.”
My hand finds Elias’s, and I squeeze it silently in thanks.
“Sooo…” Dex draws out, breaking the silence. “Are we gonna eat or what?”
“I could make lunch,” I say, setting the laptop on the table.
“Nope,” Elias says, immediately grabbing my hips and dragging me into his lap. He wraps his arms around me like a giant seatbelt as he speaks. “If Dex wants lunch, he can cook.”
“Uh…” my eyes bounce to Pete as I imagine a repeat of breakfast. “Are we sure that’s a good idea?”
“I can make sandwiches?” Dex suggests. “No side order of food poisoning this time,” he says, grinning at Pete.
“Ha ha, very funny. I poisoned Wren, let’s all laugh about it.”
“Would you rather we yelled at you?” Elias asks as he nuzzles my neck, making me relax back against him.
“Come on, farm boy. You can redeem yourself and help cut the tomatoes.” Dex beckons him to follow him to the kitchen.
Pete grumbles but moves to follow him. “That’s Falcon to you.”
“No bird names,” Sly reminds him.
“Well, I still think we need code names for when we’re in the field.”
“Wren should pick them,” Jagger signs from the armchair he’s been sitting in silently up to this point.
Sly looks at me as if trying to gauge if I’ll be good at it. “You can have full veto rights,” I tell him hopefully.
“Fine, as long as Pete’s not picking, I’m good with it.”
“Hey!” Pete yells in outrage from the kitchen,
I grin at him, excited to give everyone code names.
Elias turns me sideways in his lap as he asks. “So, you got any ideas then?”
“Hmm.” I tap my lip as my eyes bounce around at each of them.
I want code names that suit them, but that they’ll like, too.
I look at Jagger sitting in the chair, silently watching me.
He needs a name that reflects his stealth and ability to get in and out without being heard. “Ghost!” I say, pointing at Jagger.
He nods his head, and I smile. “You like it?” He gives me a thumbs up in approval, and I move my gaze to Sly, who’s standing behind him with his arms crossed, looking at me expectantly.
“You need a name that reflects how you fight. You come in so fast, they don’t see you coming until you’ve already struck.” I think back to how he took down those guards yesterday, and an idea comes to mind. “I know! Viper!”
He looks a little surprised before the corner of his mouth kicks up in approval. “It’s perfect, good job.”
I try to think of one for Elias, but nothing seems right.
After a few minutes, Dex and Pete start passing out plates filled with sandwiches and chips.
I slide off Elias’s lap so he can eat easily as I continue to think of names.
Dex and Pete start offering terrible suggestions, so I eventually tune them out and decide to focus on Dex first.
“You were called The Berserker when you fought for money, right?” I ask him.
“Yep.”
“But you can’t use that,” Elias tells me. “The FBI knows that name and would recognize it.”
“Maybe something similar, then. Oh, how about Crash?”
“Crash?” Dex asks with a frown. “Like crashing a car?”
“No, like crashing into people—Oh, even better, Bash!”
“Or Smash,” Pete offers. “You know, like Hulk Smash!” He bats his chest and says the last two words in a weird voice.
“I don’t know what that means,” I tell him.
“Oh shit, have we not shown you superhero movies yet?”
I shake my head. “Okay, that’s next on the list!” he says before shoving his sandwich in his mouth.
“You want your code name to be Smash?” I ask Dex.
“I like Bash better,” he tells me with a soft smile.
“Only because she picked it,” Pete adds.
“That’s exactly why I prefer it,” Dex fires back, not lifting his gaze from mine.
I finally break the stare off as I take a bite of my own sandwich.
“I can’t wait to see what you come up with for me that’s better than Falcon,” Pete says in amusement.
“Falcon doesn’t describe you,” Elias tells him. “You’re more chaotic than a predatory bird.”
I grin, lifting my eyes to Pete. When he sees the look on my face, his smile drops. “Oh no. You’ve thought of one, haven’t you?” I nod. “Okay,” he says, beckoning with his free hand. “Give it to me.”
“Havoc.”
Dex starts laughing, and Pete freezes for a second, then a huge grin covers his face.
“That’s perfect,” Sly comments.
“I love it,” Pete confirms.
“Okay, good, now it’s just Elias,” I say, turning to him as I consider the options. Whether the others want to admit it or not, he’s basically become our leader. His experience with the FBI is what helps to complete our team. His insider knowledge is like our ace in the hole.
“Ace!” I shout as the idea comes to me, pointing at Elias.
He grins and nods. “I like it. Now what about you?”
“I have to name myself?”
“I have a suggestion,” Sly tells me as I look at him. “Raven.”
“That was one of the names Robert used,” I say with a frown.
He nods. “Yes. So it will throw people off if they hear it. They won’t know you’re a girl, but also, they won’t know if it’s the same Raven muttered on the streets of Arizona.”
“Is it wise to have her name associated with that?” Elias asks.
“I don’t see the harm.” Sly shrugs.
“I do like the idea of using a different bird, since my name is Wren. But that name leaves a bad taste in my mouth.”
“Is there another bird you’d prefer?”
“The Flamingo?” Pete suggests with a grin.
I look at him as I explain, “Well, there is one bird name I really like.”
“What’s that?” he asks, his eyes narrowing slightly.
“The Falcon.”
His mouth drops open. “You’re stealing my name?!”
“No, you’re Havoc,” Dex says with a grin. “Wren is the Falcon. It’s perfect.”
“I like it,” Sly agrees, making Pete sputter at him.
“Traitors!”
I grin, setting my sandwich down as I cross the space between us. He watches me cautiously, as if worried I’m going to attack him. I take his plate and set it behind me on the table before straddling him, placing a knee on either side of his hips as I sit in his lap facing him.
“What are you doing?” he whispers, his worry gone, replaced with heat as his fingers press into my sides.
I lean forward, turning my head to the side so I can whisper in his ear. “You’re not mad, are you?”
“Mad?” he asks.
“That I took your code name?”
He pulls me back so we’re facing each other as he shakes his head. “Of course not. I’m actually flattered that you like it that much.”
“And you like your new name?”
“I love it. It’s perfect, like you.” I lean forward and press my lips to his, my body melting into him as he takes his time with me. Each of them kisses so differently, but also, each time is different. They were all capable of going soft and slow or turning up the heat and desire when needed.
This kiss is the former, slow, languid, and cozy.
It tells me he isn’t looking to push it any further right now and is happy to keep on kissing me for as long as he can.
I love knowing that he seems constantly on edge, ready to have sex with me at any moment of the day.
So when he can slow down like this, and show that our connection isn’t just about sex, that he’s happy to be close to me in any way he can, it makes me love him even more.