Page 48 of Raze
Right.
I nod, and we fall into silence.
Hours pass without any more words passing between us. I keep changing my position to try to stay comfortable, but without getting so comfortable that I fall asleep again. Vera almost killed me because of that last time.
When I can’t stand the silence any longer, I decide to poke Dane about something Aiden had said to me that affects us both. “You know, Aiden’s pretty pissed off that we’ve been going out without the whole team. Or, without permission, maybe,” I begin. Just throwing that out there at the wall to see if it sticks and a conversation comes from it.
Dane sighs and scratches his head. “Yeah. If this were anything else, I’d listen.”
I shrug and tap my fingers against the cold concrete. I’m lying on my side now, my head being held up by one hand as I look over at him. Dane has barely moved in the hours we’ve been here. He’s switched his legs in and out a couple of times, done a few perimeter walks, and then gone right back to sitting in the same spot.
“Why?” Dane sends me a look, and I hold up my hand for him to let me finish. “He seems too busy with this Guild to be dealing with GE. If we’re going to beat them, it’s not going to be like this. That’s all I’m saying.”
“Well, it’s not going to be won with you running in there alone either,” he argues with another follow-up look, like he thinks I’d do that.
I mean, it’s not entirely out of the question. It’s just not my first or second plan if I can help it.
“There are a lot of people relying on Aiden now. More than just us. Have a little patience, and then we’ll figure this out. Together, this time. No going rogue.”
“They seemed more than fine when we were there. Living in a jungle, but happy enough to pick fights.”
Dane smiles, honest-to-godsmiles, at that. Fucking hell, I forgot how jaw-droppingly hot he looks when he does that. My heart pitter-pattersbefore I squash it down. “Of course, they were,” he says with a hint of amusement in his tone. The fluttering in my chest burns like it catches fire with jealousy at his tone and expression toward the Guild. Gah!
He doesn’t seem to notice my inner battle and keeps going. “I haven’t been there in a while. Did you say it’s a jungle? Like the new Jumanji jungle?”
My eyes narrow. “What do you mean,newJumanji?”
Dane blinks at me. “You know, the new ones they did.”
“They did a Jumanji 2?”
“No…”
I feel a twinge of anger. “A remake?”
“Not…no.”
I stare at him with confusion. “Well, which is it? I’ll be pissed if it was a remake because the original was too good to be redone.”
“It’s not a sequel, really, but they do reference Alan in it, so it doesn’t overwrite the original. How haven’t you seen it?”
My stare hardens, and I can see the moment he remembers my apartment at Hype, and it clicks. So, no, I don’t watch a lot of movies in my spare time or collect them. Not like Dane and I had on the island, where we binged movies like they were chips and thought sleep was for losers.
The conversation ends there, and we settle back in for another long stretch of nothing but waiting.
Eventually, the sun appears above the horizon, and Dane admits defeat. We pack up and leave. I’m glad to live another day and avoid the risk of Dane being captured, but my heart is heavy when we leave.
I wish he could have at least given her the notebook with his letters.
Chapter twelve
Raegan
“Is that you, beautiful?Hold up.” Kellan tosses his video game controller away and jumps up from the couch. Dane glances over at me with a frown and pauses the game. I assume it’s to wait for Kell to return and not that he’s curious about me, since he doesn’t move from his seat.
I tug my hood further down to cover my head and hurry to my room. Kellan runs by me and then slaps his hand against the hallway wall to stop me. I duck under it, ready to bolt, when he grabs my hood and pulls it back to reveal my dark brown hair. He uses the grip on my hood to yank me back and around to face him.
“What’s this?” He lifts a few locks and rubs them between his fingers, then presses them against his lips. “A wig?” His brows raise with surprise, and an amused smirk slides across his face. “What have you been up to?”
