Page 60 of Raze
Reid shrugs. “That’s up to you, isn’t it? You tell me what I have to do to gain the Guild’s protection for myself and Tins. I’ll answer any questions about GE or whatever.” He looks over at Dane. “Like how they’ve been sending out multiple units to hunt him down, but they’ve pulled it back in the last week.”
“Why?” Aiden questions.
“Don’t know. They didn’t share that with us. I just noticed not as many of them going out as before. They still want him, without a doubt, but they may be changing tactics.”
I check Dane’s face, and his lips have thinned into a flat line. I’m sure he hates being the target for GE, especially with his sister being one of the ones out there trying to bring him in now.
Aiden nods. “You’ll have to accept being quarantined from the others for a time until we know we can trust you. And we’ll have a lot of questions.”
“As long as we’re not separated. I need to know that no harm will come to Tinsley.”
Tinsley rolls her eyes and squeezes Reid’s arm as she leans into him. “I can handle myself, Reid. I’d run away before they could touch me.” She turns to peg Aiden with an excited stare. “Is it true I can use my gift there whenever I want? I don’t have to hide it?”
“No, you don’t have to hide it,” Aiden answers slowly. “But there are still rules that have to be followed for everyone’s safety.” Her face falls a little at that, but she doesn’t look completely deterred. “We’ll give you the rundown of everything if we’ve decided you can be trusted, and you’d be a good fit for the Guild.”
“A good fit?” Reid asks.
“Yes. If you don’t like the way things are done in the Guild, or don’t mesh with our mindset, then it would be unfair on either side to try to force you to,” Aiden replies coolly.
“And if we aren’t a good fit?” Tinsley inquires next.
“Then we’ll look for other places you can be among others like us where you fit in better. We aren’t the only group of gifted people.”
Reid and Tinsley both nod at the acceptable terms. It’s Reid who speaks up first. “When can we start?”
I step out of my room with a towel and stride toward the girl’s bathroom for my shower after a long training session with Kellan. I’d planned to hunt Aiden down and finish the breakfast conversation about Jackson, but apparently, he’s still at the Guild making sure Reid and Tinsley are all set in theirquarters.
That’s the fancy term Aiden is using for a lockup, but it does supposedly look like a bedroom with an ensuite bathroom rather than a room with bars. It’s just locked from the outside and has security cameras to keep an eye on them.
I just hope he’s not asking them questions about GE without me.
Shit.
What if he’s doing exactly that?
I need to hurry and shower and head down there to make sure he’s not back before I’m out.
I pick up my pace and gasp when I’m yanked into one of the empty dorm rooms. The citrusy scent from the body I’m being held against switches my momentary panic to annoyance. “What the fuck, Dane?” I snark into his hand over my mouth, so it comes out as just a muffled noise.
“Vera’s willing to meet me again. But we have to leavenowbefore we miss her. Are you in or out?” he whispers behind me, sending thestray hairs that came loose after training into a tizzy tickling my ear. I fight against the prickle of goosebumps that carve up my neckline at his breath and push away from him.
“Now?” I ask in a hushed tone. Aiden may be out, but Kellan’s still around and would interfere if he found out. We don’t usually go until after everyone’s asleep, so leaving this early in the night when the others are still awake is suspicious.
“Now. Are you coming?”
I check my person. “I need to grab some weapons. I took them all off.”
“You don’t need them. You swore not to harm her.”
Fuck. He has me there. I feel naked without them, but if I run to my room to grab some, I know he’ll leave without me. “Alright. Fine.”
We sneak out to the truck bay again for his motorcycle, bring it down the road, and then take off to the usual meeting place.
I go up the ladder first to make sure the coast is clear, but freeze when I see Vera already there and waiting. She smirks at me like she’s won something, and my gut clenches. Why does it feel like we’re falling into a trap?
“Dane, I don’t think—”
“Is she there?” His hopeful voice is breathy from the climb. He’s wearing the backpack from the last time.
