Page 79 of Resolve
Dane glares at him. “Get it yourself.”
“I’ll get it,” I offer, moving to stand. Dane puts his hand on my shoulder to keep me in my seat.
“No. I’ll do it.” He shoots a look over at Kell. “But I’m getting hers first.”
Kellan grins, and Dane rolls his eyes and stalks off to the tables.
“Well played, beautiful,” Kell drawls, leaning an elbow on the table to shift closer to me.
I shrug, scanning the room and finding Aiden speaking to Elias bythe bar. No sign of Jackson yet. “You’re just starting to feel better. I would’ve gotten the food for you whether Dane did or not.”
He growls, grabbing my face and forcing my full attention to him. “I don’t think it’s possible for me to love you more than I do. It makes me feral. Makes me want to rut you into the table while everyone watches so they know you’re mine.”
Wings flutter in my abdomen. As hot as that sounds, I know the others might gouge some eyes out if that were to happen. And I like all the people here. Instead of leaning into that train of conversation, I tease him instead. “Like how you asked me to pet your rooster?”
His eyebrows lift. “My rooster?”
“I'm assuming you meant your cock. You asked me several times if I was there to pet your rooster while you were still out of it.”
“What else did I say?”
“Something about a wet whistle and another comment involving sloths,” I recount with a smile.
Dane sets a plate in front of me with a scoff. “I’m not repeating the shit you told me when I helped you to the bathroom. I was traumatized enough the first time.” He returns to the buffet tables with a fresh plate before we can question him further.
I jab my fork into scrambled eggs. “Geez, Kell. What did you say to him?”
Kellan snorts. “Hell if I know.”
The chair on my other side slides back. Aiden sits with a mug of coffee.
“There’s been no word from Charles and no sign of GE activity. I’d expected something to happen at the Tower, but security footage hasn’t shown anything.”
“Elias told me we destroyed one of his headquarters. Maybe he’stoo busy cleaning that up?” I guess between bites.
“Or he’s waiting for one of us to show before he attacks it,” Kellan adds. “Either way, I’m not complaining it’s been left alone.”
Aiden rubs the rim of the mug in an almost self-soothing motion as he becomes lost in internal debate.
Dane returns with a plate for Kellan and himself. He frowns at Aiden in the seat next to me as if he’d been planning to sit there. He takes the chair on Aiden’s other side with a grunt, then digs into his food.
Aiden finishes whatever line of thought in his head and continues, “I spoke to Elias. We’re going to regroup in his apartment after breakfast—”
“Lunch,” Kellan interrupts, but Aiden presses on as if he hadn’t said anything.
“—to discuss the plan moving forward. I’ve gotten the reports from the other strike team leads to see who was able to eliminate their board member and who was not. We were able to take out three of the ten.”
“That’s not even half,” Dane grumps.
Gasps and whispers erupt around us, and I realize how full the room is now with Guild members, Pits fighters, and Hype staff combined. The crowd standing around or waiting for the line to move parts, and Jackson strolls through the center.
With fresh blood speckling his face.
Chapter twenty-seven
Raegan
AidenandIstandat once, our metal chairs scraping the floor and cutting through the hushed voices. It’s then that I notice Reid following behind him, expressionless as usual. There are a few flecks of red on his jaw and cheek as if he’d been close enough to receive some of the spray. But the one who dealt whatever damage was definitely Jack.
