Page 27 of Ricochet
“Nathan Iverson?”
Please, I never prayed for anything, but now I was praying it wasn’t him. He was an amazing soldier, but he was still a soldier, and that was one thing I never wanted for her. At least Theo didn’t have any involvement in the bloody side of our business.
“Yes,” she squealed. I could almost touch the excitement in the air, and I hated that I couldn’t be as happy for her as I wanted to be. “Do you know him?”
“I’ve heard of him.” Well, I’ve heard of him decapitating people, and leaving their limbs lying all around the place, but you know, I’ve heard of him.
“Oh, Ophelia, he is absolutely amazing. So kind, just perfect for me.”
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Was there another word in the English language to describe my state of mind, because fuck just wasn’t cutting it anymore.
“I’m so happy for you, Aves.” And I was happy for her, I really was, I just wasn’t happy with her choice.
Goddammit, I needed to talk to him, and see what all this was about. If somebody was using her to climb the ranks, the decapitating he was doing to other people would be child’s play for what I would do to him.
“Does he know?” I asked her. “Does he know you might be pregnant?”
“Yes.” She nodded. “And he is so excited. But, Phee, it’s a dangerous game we’re playing here. I don’t know what it is you guys are involved in, but Nathan told me it’s dangerous.”
Son of a bitch!
Was he a fucking idiot, or what? She wasn’t supposed to know. She wasn’t supposed to be involved, for fucks sake.
I lied to her so many times to keep her away from all of this. Kieran, Cillian and Tristan did as well. This wasn’t good, this wasn’t good at all, and I needed to talk to Kieran.
We had to figure out how to solve this whole mess.
“What did he tell you?” Ice dripped from every word I spoke, but fuck it. He jeopardized her safety, and if he told her anything she wasn’t supposed to know, I was going to cut his gut open and let the dogs feed on him.
“Oh.” She was visibly uncomfortable with my mini interrogation, but it was too late to pull back now. “Just that it tends to be dangerous, and that he can’t tell me anything more than that.”
Well, he had at least half a brain.
Was the world intentionally fucking with me these days, or what? I mean, this kind of information was something I didn’t want to have thrown at me right now. My head was a mess without the added worry for her safety, and what her idiot of a boyfriend would tell her.
“Are you mad at me?” she asked timidly, and I could only imagine what I looked like.
“No, of course not.” I squeezed her hand in mine. “I am happy for you, even if it means that I have to find a way for you to get out of here, but I am happy. I am just pissed off at Nathan for telling you anything, and I am sorry even I can’t tell you more than what you already know.”
“That’s okay.” She smiled. “I don’t even want to know. I just want to be happy with him, and if I am pregnant, this baby. That’s all I’m asking for.”
Oh, Ava.
If she was pregnant, we were going to have to fight the forces we probably weren’t strong enough to fight. Our families wanted to be joined by our marriages, and our feelings weren’t the ones they cared much about.
I was lucky enough to be betrothed to Kieran, but Ava hated Theo. It was like watching fire and ice trying to coexist together.
“And you’ll be happy. Everything is going to be just fine.”
I lied to her. I lied because I didn’t want to diminish that gleam in her eyes, but I still lied.
“Are you going to tell my brother?”
“No, not for now, but I do need to go to Ventus City tonight.”
“Oh.” She seemed disappointed.
