37
TIGER
My arm shoots up straight. “I volunteer to ride on the back of your jet!”
Scotty sighs, rubbing gloved palms over his face.
“We’re not going on our jets. We’ve already talked about this.
Even if we wanted to, we couldn’t for a number of reasons, the first being that the hatch up there has been reinforced and we have no idea if Ezla’s fingerprint is on it this time, and the second most obvious being that we don’t have our helmets anymore.
It’s far too dangerous to go up that high without them. ”
“Pretty sure if we fell we’d already be dead with the helmets from that height,” Cooper mutters under his breath, arms folded across his chest as he leans back in his chair at the dining table in our Bonded chambers.
“You are all wasting time. I would like to find your citizen tablets, and I would like to find them now,” Ezla snaps, back in full Bonding-Games-Champion-mode after our heart-melting time together last night.
At the end of the glossy black rectangular table that her hands press down on as if she’s aiming to crack the taalk, she digs her fierce glare into the five of us, roaming it around to allow each of us to feel the full force of it.
I’ll miss my alien head, but I can’t say I want the helmets back too badly when the lack of them allows me to see Ezzy’s insanely divine face every hour of every day.
She continues, “They have already been in Joseph’s possession for far too long. ”
“Agreed. But do you really think he won’t see us coming?”
“Do not be ridiculous, Scotty, of course he will,” she hisses, pinning her infamous glare of death solely on him.
“But I have not yet had the time to learn more about the cameras, and as I have just made clear, this cannot wait any longer. We can only work with what we already have, and that is my access to the Techtis Council building, my name, and the fact my— Joseph is scheduled in for a meeting. He does not waver from his routine, and he will not be able to watch any cameras during this meeting.”
“It’s incredibly fucking risky, Vengeance. I can’t allow anything to happen to you,” Cooper says lowly.
Unimpressed, Ezla emphasises, “This is our only option. This is what we will do, end of story.” Her jaw tenses. “As I have already stressed, I do not want you with me for this, but I have compromised. However, it is now your turn to do so, as I will not change my mind.”
Scrubbing a hand over his stubbled neck, Cooper nods once, stiffly.
I’m surprised by how little of an argument he puts up, really, though I think he probably has more to say but is honouring Scotty’s wishes to hash things out more peacefully within our Bonded group.
“I don’t particularly want to be chemically altered or some shit either, HC.
If this is the only way in, I’ll take your word for it. ”
Humming, I could swear the muscles in Ezla’s face relax a fraction. “Good boy.”
Cooper dips his chin, but I don’t miss that cheeky little flush on his cheeks.
“Alright.” Scotty looks over all of us. “So is that it? Everyone ready?”
“Yes,” Alby says from beside me, and he sounds steadier than usual today despite his naturally softer voice, as if something has solidified in him and made him stronger.
More affirmations sound out around the table, and then Ezla gives a firm dip of her chin. “Very good. Then we leave now.”
***
Eyes doubled in size, I hurry to keep up with my Bonded as she strides down the long hallway that leads us to the Techtis Council building.
Then they triple in size when we pass through the last opaque door before another stretch of hallway and a set of clear double doors is revealed to us along with the far-too-posh space behind them.
They open automatically, and I keep my mouth shut as me and my brothers all agreed to on the way here so as to attract as little attention as possible, but it’s hard when there’s all this new stuff around me.
Speak to me through the bond, my wild one, Deadly Nightshade orders, and my belly flips all over the place—backflips, front flips, cartwheels, you name it—at her consideration.
Ohhh, thank you, Wifey!
Glancing around at everything, I take in the glass, glass, and the glass. Oh, and look, there’s silver too!
Hmmmm . . . Ezzy, I’m not sure if I’m overwhelmed or underwhelmed, I tell her, a frown creasing my face.
There’s another set of double doors in the middle of the expansive wall of glass to our right, which is evidently the main entrance, coming in from the outside, and then there’s also what I’m guessing is the reception area in the middle of the lobby on our left.
Evots, Exots, and Neutrals move about, but over the past weeks, the mixing of the social classifications has somewhat lost its touch to see.
In the future, you may have more colour in your home.
My neck whips around so fast I’m surprised I don’t experience motion sickness.
Eager gaze boring into Ez as she strides for the lift, my pace ups so that I’m almost skipping after her, earning me a few side-eyes that I can feel flicking over me from the workers.
Like pink? Blue? Gold? Then I narrow everything down to the most important part, the unmentioned part.
It’s gonna be our home, right? You meant to say ours?
From the corner of my eye, I notice my brothers’ attention drilling into our Bonded, too, all of us waiting to hear her response.
One beat passes . . . two . . . three . . .
Nerves are building up and up until she replies without inflection, Yes.
That took too long to think, Vengeance, Cooper immediately sends back, though I feel his relief and happiness along with the rest of the guys’.
I was simply wondering where we should stay. I do not like to make promises I cannot keep, so I wanted a place in mind. But of course you will not be leaving me. You will stay right by my side. I should think it would be obvious you will be living with me.
Fuck yes, Havoc. Where’ve you got in mind?
Tate’s voice is an excited, deep rumble in her head as we reach the lift and file inside after a scan of Ezla’s thumb.
It’s promising that we’ve made it this far without issue; clearly, Joseph hasn’t removed Ez’s fingerprint from the biometric scanners, so it’s looking like we’ll be able to get into the penthouse easily, too.
Then again, last time it was so easy, it was a trap.
Last time, you did not have me. I will see a trap coming from a mile off, Deadly Nightshade replies to my thoughts rather than Tate, who grumbles both internally and under his breath to emphasise his displeasure to the world.
Unlike the secret ones we’ve learned about, there’s a visible camera in the corner of this plain metal box.
Its lens sears into my skin to scream at me that I’m being watched by The Council, and so we keep our conversation private in our Bonded’s mind, Scotty asking as she scans her thumb for access to the top floor, And what if it is one?
Then you will get yourselves out of there without question.
A mess of protests rise up all at once, and it’s too chaotic to make out.
Shut up, Ezla snaps. I need to think clearly. Do not throw so much noise into my head.
It’s silent in an instant.
After a moment, she says, I have allowed you to come with me, but I will not allow you to be harmed. Despite my father’s recent . . . unsteadiness, he is still clever. He would come for you, and I cannot know exactly what he has planned when I am so far from him these days.
Cooper’s snort echoes through her head. Yeah, fuck that, HC. I’ll do a hell of a lot for you, but leave you in danger, no matter how well you can handle yourself? Absolutely not.
A slow glare is slid his way.
Unflinching, he stares right back at her as we rise higher and higher in the lift. No, Vengeance. I’m not budging on this.
Before DN can decide that maybe she does want him dead after all, I quickly put in, We’ve got better Scores now! Look how much darker Alby’s suit is! I whip a finger in my bestie’s direction, eyes huge.
Pursing her lips, Ez’s mismatched eyes shift over to him.
Alby flushes darkly at the slow roam of her gaze over his Avri suit—his dark-green-embellished Avri suit. He has to be late 70s at least, but I think my bestie might’ve even got into the 80s. His performance in Game 5 was without a doubt the best yet, even if we did have a mad dash at the end.
Hm.
Small sighs puff into the air. That was definitely an acquiescing hum.
Thank you, Love.
Her response comes tonelessly: I will kill you if anything happens to you.
Cooper scoffs. Nice try.
A growl vibrates the bond.
After that, there’s silence until Ezla says, I will leave this world in ruins if anything happens to one of you.
The air seems to still, my lungs breaking down.
I hear Scotty swallow. Now that . . . I can believe.
***
“We must split up.”
“No fucking way—”
“No, my beast. We must. This penthouse is too large, and we have too little time. Joseph will return in forty-five minutes.” Ez’s expression is uncompromising.
Fists balling, Tate’s jaw grinds.
“I do not like it either. I would rather you all stay with me. But this is how it has to be. You will all tell me if you sense anything off. Anything at all,” DN instructs firmly, her full attention cutting into us one by one.
Scotty’s brow furrows. “But how can we split up if we need your fingerprint to get into every room?”
Ezla waves a lazy hand. “There is a main control point I will be able to use to unlock all the doors for you that is used to keep certain rooms open for guests without needing to alter each door panel separately.”
“You’re telling me we could’ve used that when we came to look for you?”
She looks Cooper’s way as a deep frown mars his face. “No. This biometric scanner is not built like the others; breaking it would have simply locked you all in. Besides, it is built deeply into the wall and hardly visible to the eye—you would not have found it so easily.”
It’s silent for a beat after that.
Upon a single glance when we first entered the penthouse, it was clear that the inside had been fixed up just like the hatch on the roof, as expected—the scanners Tate bashed in the last time we were here are now in perfect condition.
And it’s unsettling in here, but I feel a lot calmer despite the situation with Ezzy right here. But separating . . .
Panic begins to rise within me, focus narrowing back down to the fact that we’ll be apart. “But what if he’s left something in here? Like—like . . . I don’t know—”
Reaching up, Ezla grabs my hair harshly. “I will be alright, my wild one, and so will you.” She tells me this in a way that says “believe me, or else”, and every cell inside me sparks to life.
I nod quickly, uncaring about the way it has my hair tugging painfully against her grip. “Yes, Ezzy.”
But my nervousness hasn’t died down enough for me to settle completely, and I shift anxiously on my feet. Knees bobbing, I keep my mouth firmly shut, not wanting to annoy her—
DN’s mouth is on mine.
Oh.
Ohhhh.
Neck dipping to immediately deepen it, I make an eager sound in the back of my throat. Also, I’m such a pro now as I lick up her delicious taste, my tongue—
Wifey is now pulling me away.
“Wait, Ezzy!” I cry in anguish. “I wasn’t done—”
Her simple raised brow has my mouth snapping shut.
“I would not send you off if I truly thought that it is unsafe. But Joseph does not let others in here, and I am fully confident in the fact that he is not here,” Ez tells me.
Pouting, my brain lags for a moment as I struggle to remember where we are and what we’re doing.
“Hey! You seduced my memory away!” I accuse a moment later. Or cheer, I can’t tell. It’s exciting times.
Her eyes roll, but her lips twitch, and I know she’s hiding one of her gorgeous smiles. “We are looking for your citizen tablet as well as your brothers’.”
“Oh, right. Uh-huh.” My eyes narrow on those lips as I internally will them to curl further upwards.
“Tiger,” Ez says more firmly, and I snap to attention, spine straightening.
“We must move now. We must be fast.” A seriousness takes over me in a flash as I remember how pressing this situation is.
Looking over her shoulder at my brothers, she orders, “Go in different directions. Any will do—there are rooms all over the place. Send updates along the way, and I will do the same. Leave no space untouched.” She doesn’t give anyone time for more hesitation as she pulls away from me, spins on her heel, and marches off down the hall.
Heart jumping, I share an anxious glance with Alby beside me.
“Right,” Scotty starts, infusing confidence into his tone, but he can’t hide the pinch of his own cautiousness in there.
He turns his attention to me. “Do you remember the cinema room?” After I nod, he says, “You head in that direction and check all the surrounding rooms.” To Alby, “The pool.” And finally, to Tate and Cooper, “The training rooms and the library.”
“And you?” Cooper asks with a nudge of his chin, arms crossing over his chest.
“The spa room,” he replies. “We’ll make our way around all the ones left over afterwards.” Then he looks around at all of us. “Okay, as Ezla said, we need to get moving. Everyone ready?”
A chorus of low yeses ring out.
“Alright. Then let’s split up.”