2. Gwen #2
“Carter’s a steel trap. If I’m not on the op, I don’t get to know anything,” I grumble, miserable about that fact.
“But, um . . . do you think Easton and Zoey will get married married when their mission ends?” I’ve only imagined that scenario happening a hundred times. “He loves brainy, badass beauties.”
“And what are you?” She gives me a dramatic eye roll. Award-worthy, really.
“Well, if something happens with Zoey, I guess it’s meant to be.” I open my rig, no use in hiding the truth from her now. “He did walk away from me and went straight to her.”
“Ouch.”
Exactly.
“He’s just confused and hurting. Blaming himself for the accident.” She wrings her hands together. “I still feel at fault, too. If I hadn’t been taking my meds, maybe I’d have been able to warn you two?”
I rest a hand on top of her clasped ones. “Nope. Don’t you dare go there. You hear me? Not. Your. Fault. We’ve been through this before.”
Like Easton, she just won’t listen to me about this. The two make a pair, trying to shoulder burdens that aren’t theirs to carry.
“Now,” I say while squeezing her top hand, “tell me something that’ll make us both laugh. We need it.”
The hint of a smile is a welcome sight.
“What is it?”
She lifts one shoulder. “Well, I did go on my first real date not too long ago. Dad finally gave in. I earned his trust back after going through that rebellious phase last year.”
“That phase almost got you killed.”
“In all fairness, my sneaking around helped take a bad guy off the streets.”
I’m going to have an ulcer all over again just thinking about what happened to her. Elaina was secretly talking to a guy on Instagram—who was not a teenager like he said he was—and a vision of him dying is why we almost lost her.
That asshole met his fate when he “slipped down the stairs” in prison and broke his neck, though. Well, more like Carter had him handled. Not that he’ll admit it, but we all know what happened.
“Anyway.”
I can’t believe she just anyway’ed me about this. “Why am I just now hearing about this date? Also, how’d it go?”
“I didn’t want to bother you with everything going on, and you were just getting back from your op.”
I pull my hands away, resting them in my lap. “Well, come on. Spit it out. Where’d you meet him? Please tell me it was in person.”
“He goes to my school. His name is Wes, and he’s cute in a nerdy but cool way.” She sighs. “Figures I finally get asked out after being called a freak for so long and now . . .”
“Now what?” I can’t take the slow roll of intel, dang it.
“Your dad and mine is what.”
Oh shit. I can already tell where this is going.
“Can you imagine if Wes knew your dad and mine were up on the rooftop across the street from the movie theater watching us on our date through the scopes of their long guns?”
“I’m not the least bit surprised.” And now I know why Dad rushed home after our quick op in Yemen. Duty called. In this case, overbearing dads unite. “That might be a little overkill, I agree.”
“More like Wes almost did get killed.”
I lean back in my seat and fold my arms, feeling parent-like myself. “Why’d he almost get dropped?”
“Let’s just say he got handsy with me in his Jeep. And that trust I earned back? Poof. Gone.”
“Handsy?” Not a word she’d ever use.
“Dad said that, not me.”
Figures.
“Dad nearly broke the door off its hinges to stop our make-out sesh.”
Now my fingers itch to do a little recon on this kid.
Run a background check on his family, too.
Of course, after what happened to Elaina last year, I’m certain Liam already asked my stepmum to do that since she works for the CIA.
I wouldn’t blame them for being extremely overcautious when it comes to anyone Elaina lets in her life.
“By the way, you’ll always be a child in Liam’s eyes, even when you’re my age.”
She sighs and goes for the last Oreo. “I doubt I’ll be seeing Wes again, or any boy for that matter. Word spread fast that Dad is crazy protective. So, now I’m the freak but with a scary dad on top of it.”
“You are not a freak.”
“Not anymore. But the kids at school don’t know that.” She twists the Oreo and guesses. Wrong again. Her eyes narrow, and, once again, I can see the flicker of regret about the gifts she’s set aside to have a normal life. “Oh well.”
“Well, if a guy can’t stand up to your dad, he’s not worth your time. Just FYI.”
She pushes back in her seat and stands. “Name one guy bold enough to stand up to yours?”
“And you wonder why I’ll forever be single?” I stand as well. “Come on, why don’t we walk around the hotel. See what kind of trouble we can get ourselves into?”
Once we’re in the lift, heading upstairs, she catches my eyes in the mirrored doors. “It’s still hard for me to believe Carter and Sebastian run this place so well together.”
“Because they’re two bossy alphas, and Sebastian’s basically the Irish version of Carter?” I guess.
She beams from ear to ear. “Mm-hmm.”
Sebastian runs a group known as The League.
Rich do-gooders righting wrongs and helping people, mostly in Europe.
Two years ago, Falcon and The League worked together to bring down The Collective—a group of wealthy families who once controlled the world, making decisions about other people’s lives to line their already-deep pockets.
Working that op was a crazy time in all of our lives.
Ultimately, good triumphed, and we survived.
After the fallout, well, that’s when Dad asked Easton to look out for me on a permanent basis.
Around then, I also started chatting online regularly with Julian.
At the time, I only knew him as my mystery hacker.
He had a hand in saving our team multiple times while fighting The Collective.
But I only just met him in person and learned who he really is on an op this fall—the same mission that resulted in the crash that wound up stealing Easton from me.
“One day, I’ll move here. Join you all.” Elaina’s words startle me back to the present. “I can wean off my medication and use my visions to help out the team.”
“Or you could do something a little safer? Teacher. Vet. Humanitarian. Something that doesn’t involve bullets ever—”
“You really are becoming your dad.” She holds her hand up above her head. “Tree.” Then she makes a hand gesture like something is falling between us. “Leaf.”
“You mean apple?” I smile, and as if on cue, the lift doors part, and there’s that “tree” now.
Dad is standing next to my stepmum, my squirmy little sister in his arms.
An op involving a cybercriminal brought Dad and Natasha together. That was also when he discovered I was his daughter, and I found out the man who raised me wasn’t my biological father. Talk about yet another crazy time in my life.
“Liam’s looking for ya, sweetie,” Dad says to Elaina as he sets down Emory. The tiny ball of energy runs over to me, and I hoist her up and around to my side. “He just went into the rooftop restaurant to see whether you’re there.”
“Okay,” she chirps. “Be right back.”
Dad waits for her to leave before closing in on me as if he’s about to fifty-question me for the millionth time since he’s arrived. “How are you?”
I shrug. “I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not.” Natasha’s the one to call me out on my BS before he can.
“Listen,” Dad begins, and I know where this is going, but I let him continue anyway, “I may have been harsh on Easton after the, uh, accident, but I apologized. You don’t blame me for him leaving, do you?”
“You were scared and upset. And I know you said sorry.” Well, I know because I eavesdropped by spying on them over surveillance footage. “I appreciate you doing that.”
Emory starts to slide down my side, and I hike her back up on my hip. She settles in and hums while playing with my hair.
Dad swaps an uneasy look with Natasha, probably unsure what to say next.
“Easton will come home.” Natasha steps forward, taking the lead to try and console me. “He’s your friend. Real friends don’t disappear forever, they just take time to think.”
“Friend,” Dad mumbles under his breath, as if he’s unsure that’s all Easton is to me.
“I know exactly what you need to get your mind off everything.” A devious smile crosses Natasha’s lips.
“And that is?” Dad beats me to the question.
“You’re going to hate it, which is why I haven’t mentioned it sooner.” Not the best thing to say to Dad, and she knows it.
He hooks his arm around her waist and hauls her in front of him. “Why will I hate it?”
“A girls’ trip.” She rests her hands on his chest. “Next month. New year. Fresh start. Five or six of us. Palm trees and sunshine. Cocktails.”
“No,” both Dad and I snap out in unison as Emory begins swinging her legs, anxious for me to start walking.
“Now that your father is running for president, it makes it even more dangerous for you to be—”
“That’s why you’ll be on dad duty nearby, and we’ll stay in a safe city,” she cuts him off, looping her arms over his shoulders so he’ll become putty in her hands.
He peeks around her to look at me, eyes narrowing in worry before facing her again. “Fine,” he grunts. “But I make the rules.”
I still haven’t said yes, which neither of them seems to acknowledge, but I guess I’m going to be forced to take a holiday regardless.
Forced to try and get out of my head.
Out of this hotel.
And out of my sad-girl mood as I miss a guy who is off living my one-bedroom fantasy but with another girl.