91
SEVEN
My ribs ached from the sudden movement, but I decided it was worth it the minute I had her wrapped around me, all limbs and warm skin.
Her kiss swept me away and for the first time in a long time, everything felt right.
Our kiss was vast and viscerally intimate, but still playful on the edges.
Our tongues danced until we were breathless once more.
I rested my forehead against hers, and realized this is what I’d wanted all along.
Not the kiss—although that was awesome.
I wanted her to be happy, and I wanted her to have a choice.
As much as I had to battle the urge to demand, and take, and force, what was definitely there between us, she deserved something different.
Something that was hers. When the world did nothing but make decisions for her, I wanted there to be something she knew, without a doubt, had been hers to decide, hers to control.
I saw the goosebumps on her skin and walked up the steps out of the pool with her still wrapped around me.
She reluctantly lowered her legs when we got to the doors that led into the house.
“Go upstairs and get in a hot shower,” I said.
“Are you coming?” She asked.
“Yeah, I have to let the torturer see me first,” I said in annoyance. “I was on my way to him when I saw you out here, actually.”
“I’m sure he’s not going to be happy you jumped in the pool,” Emersyn smirked.
I yanked her close for one more kiss. “Totally worth it.”
We parted ways in the hallway. It was awful to watch her go up to a warm shower without me, but I knew from experience Doc would find me if I didn’t go to him.
It had been almost two weeks and I was on the mend.
Not as fast as I wanted though. Things that shouldn’t have ached, still ached, and my ribs were a constant harassment to my breathing.
The most important thing though was I did not want Doc to bench me from going to Mahoney’s island.
To be honest, I’d probably sneak out after them if that happened.
“Ah, there’s the man I was coming to see,” I said as I ran into Doc, as he headed to the infirmary wing.
Doc took one look at me soaking wet and dripping all over the floor and shook his head.
“I don’t know why I bother.”
I chuckled and extended my arms to encompass the house. “Comes with the territory doesn’t it?”
“True.”
We moved into the room. I hopped up on the exam table and pulled my sopping wet shirt off so Doc could get to the stitches.
“How’d you end up working for North?”
“How does anyone?” Doc retorted dryly. “He acquired me on a job, and I never looked back.”
“Don’t you wish for a quiet office somewhere?” At his look I chuckled. “Or retirement maybe?”
He flashed me a rare smile as he pulled on his gloves. “Are you insinuating I’m old?”
“Never—” I bit back a hiss as he poked around the still sore area and okay, maybe I deserved that.
“North isn’t someone you meet and then forget,” Doc said.
“That’s true.”
After getting a clear bill of health and being told my stitches were dissolving nicely, I left the infirmary and headed back upstairs. Unfortunately, I knew I was going to be too late to catch Emersyn in the shower. Bummer. I reached the second floor landing and saw Kyllion about to enter his room.
“Hey, Kyl, hold up,” I said.
I knew he and G were at odds, and I didn’t blame him one bit. If it had been me, I would have felt a similar betrayal. Kyllion’s eyebrows raised when he saw my soaking wet shirt in one hand that I hadn’t bothered to put back on after Doc’s assessment.
“Little cold to go swimming,” he mused.
“Worth it,” I winked. “How are you holding up?”
His face clouded over and he crossed his arms. “I try to get over it and then I see him, and I get pissed all over again.”
“I’m sorry—”
“It’s not your fault. It wasn’t your call.”
I nodded and a silence fell between us—rough and awkward.
“What do you think you’re going to do?” I asked.
Kyllion stared until he sighed and pushed the door open. I peered around him to see his bags packed.
“Ah, I see,” I said. “You weren’t going to say goodbye?”
He shook his head and pulled out a note from his pocket. He turned it over in his hands.
“I think I just need some time to get over this.” Kyllion handed over the letter. “This is for you and G. I already spoke to Rune.”
I frowned. “Are you sure? I could really use you out there, man.”
“I’m sure.”
I held out my hand and when he took it, I pulled him in for a hug. When we parted, I stepped back and gave him a nod.
“Take care of yourself, Kyl.”
“You too. Give ‘em hell.”
I’d miss Kyllion, but I knew it was probably for the best to give him and G some space. I didn’t blame G for the decision he made, but it didn’t make it any less shitty. I walked back to the bedroom where I knew Emersyn and G would be, but I paused at the door and pulled open the letter.
I’m taking a step back for a while. I don’t know when, or if, I’ll be back.
I feel like the odd man out. And that’s dangerous in the field.
Griffin, you trusted Seven and Rune, but not your second-in-command?
Through all the shit with your sister…I was there.
Even when shit got crazy, I never left your side or ever gave you reason not to trust me.
But, apparently, all of that doesn’t mean shit in the face of this new crew you’re running with.
Maybe one day I’ll forgive you, but right now I’m fucking pissed, and I can’t even look at you without wanting to beat the shit out of you.
I’m just being honest. Maybe it’ll fade and in time I’ll come find you.
Seven, I don’t blame you for any of it. It wasn’t your decision to make. I’m sorry I’m leaving you and Rune behind. I feel shitty for it, but I can’t operate on a team with this much resentment. It will kill me. It might even kill you—and I couldn’t bear to have that happen.
Be safe, brother.
K
I folded the letter and put it back in the envelope.
It felt like the end of an era. Our team had fractured, and I wasn’t sure what the future held.
It was certainly the end of our hunts together.
Betrayal could take many forms and what we’d just experienced wasn’t something that healed overnight. I should have expected this—
I pushed open the door to the bedroom, intent on having G read the note, but every single thing left my brain as I took in the scene in front of me that was happening on the bed. Our issues could definitely wait. I crept over to the chair and settled in to enjoy the show.