Page 38 of Resolve
Portia wraps her arm around mine and tugs me inside. “Come on! I’mstarving,and I’m sure she will be too when she smells it.”
We stride down the hallway until it opens to a kitchen and living area. It’s a carbon copy of Harvey’s and Reid’s except with fewer doors. There are two on the left wall and one on the right corner of the living space. There are no doors or windows that open outside like Harvey’s old apartment, but the windows on either side of the entertainment unit are floor to ceiling. Even with a thin shade covering them, the light from the setting sun filters through as a soft, orange glow over the beige carpet and furniture.
“Who the heck are you?”
Alice is standing at the counter with a glass of water. She’s eyeing Portia up and down with her brows pinched as if she can’t figure out what to make of her, which is fair. I’d done my own double-take of glitter girl when I’d first met her. She’s not wearing her usual getup for the nightclub, but she’s still in a thigh-length skirt with tulle that swishes around her legs as she walks. It’s black velvet and covered in glitter and sequins, so even the apartment lighting catches and reflects the sparkles every time she moves. A fitted sleeveless turtleneck at least contains her chest. Her hair is half up in two space buns and laced with glittering ribbons, while her face is bejeweled and shimmering to highlight her cheekbones and make her vibrant green eyes pop.
I’m convinced Elias made her wear something with more coverage before allowing her to join us. He isn’t far; he’d stayed behind with Aiden to work through some details of the Tower and costs. I’m a bit worried how they’ll do together, but at least Cibrina was walkinginto the office as I left. Hopefully, she was there to stay and could act as a peaceful mediator when needed.
Portia isn’t the least bit deterred by Alice’s demand. She bounces forward and grabs her hand. “Alice! It’s nice to meet you! I’m Portia: Raegan’s bestie, partner-in-crime, and now a badass too. Maybe not as end-of-the-world badass as Rae is, but definitely close.”
Dane moves next to me and sets the bags of food on the counter. He leans and whispers in my ear, “I thought Kell was your partner-in-crime.”
I cringe. Maybe he’ll welcome another partner instead of taking it as her trying to replace him. Right. Because Kellan would definitely not see it as a challenge and try to duke it out with Portia. My cheek grazes his when I whisper back, “Not a word to Kellan.”
He smirks and straightens, silently retrieving the containers of food to stack on the counter.
Alice pulls her hand back, still staring at Portia like she’s struggling to figure out how to respond. I’ll bet she wants to be mean to push us away, but Portia completely derailed her anger with her excitement and smile.
Jackson strolls past us and disappears into the nearest attached room. He reappears a few seconds later and heads to the next one. Alice stiffens when she notices him exiting the first room. “Making yourselves at home already,” she comments, sarcasm dripping from her tone. She sets her glass down hard on the counter.
Dane’s arm tenses where it’s pressed against me. He’s eyeing the glass like a possible weapon. When he drags his stare to Alice, she’s glaring back, no sign of the humbled girl who thanked him at the funeral.
“What? You think I’m stupid enough to try breaking a piece toattack her? I know I’d be dead the second the glass breaks.”
“Sounds like you've thought about it,” he accuses.
I nudge his arm with mine. “Dane.”
This is why I didn’t want them coming. Between the two of them, her guard is up. She couldn’t keep her anger on Portia, so she redirected it to the guys.
“Are you hungry?” I ask her, trying to restart the conversation.
Alice looks at me but doesn’t answer.
Portia starts pulling the containers of food in front of her. “What’s your favorite? I got a little of everything... well, maybe noteverything,but close enough since we weren't sure what you liked. Do you want some soup? Pork fried rice? Or lo mein? Maybe beef and broccoli or orange chicken? Oh! And egg rolls! Lots and lots of egg rolls!”
Damn. No wonder there were so many bags.
“Did you buy all their food for the night?” Dane questions in disbelief.
Portia shrugs. “Just a bit of everything.”
“I’m not hungry.” Alice avoids looking at the food and Portia. “So you can take it and leave.”
“Don’t be silly. Here.” Portia snaps a pair of chopsticks apart and stabs them into an open container of lo mein noodles. She takes Alice’s hand and shoves it around the food. “Start with this, and you can decide later what else you want. Rae, let’s dig in and then eat in the bedroom. The boys can stay out here.”
Jackson is suddenly behind me, his cool fingertips sliding beneath my shirt to find my hips as if he needs the skin-on-skin contact. “The apartment’s safe,” he breathes quietly into my nape. “I’ve confiscated anything that might be dangerous and checked the rooms. Callout if you need me.”
Everyone’s eyes are on us. Only Dane was close enough to hear, and the tension in his body eases with Jackson’s words. I give Jack a short nod. He presses his lips to my hair, holding himself there longer than normal. Alice’s eyes widen a fraction with fear, and I realize he must be looking at her over my head in warning. I lean forward to break his contact, then glance at him over my shoulder. There’s just enough lighting in the kitchen to see the quirk of his lips and the dangerous depths of his blue eyes within his hood.
He reaches toward me. I hold my ground, waiting to see what he’s going to do, but his hand continues past me. Jack withdraws with a skewer of meat in his hand. He bites the first piece off, still smirking, then stalks to a chair in the corner of the living room. An array of kitchen knives and anything else with a point hover behind him. He jumps, effortlessly reaching the height needed to squat on the back of the chair so he can see the whole apartment from his perch. The floating objects spread throughout the room like metal sentries as he bites off another piece of meat.
Portia sidles up to me, wrapping her arms around one of mine. “Sooooo... what do I need to do to stay on his good side? I know what you told me before, and I believe you, it’s just... he looks stab-happy.”
I pat and squeeze her hand. “I promise, you’re safe.”
Alice huffs irritably and pokes her chopsticks into the noodles. “Not me, though, right? He’s here because of me.”
