Page 11 of One Winter Knight
“That’s Hale. He’s coming with us tomorrow. You should race him down one of the black-diamond ski trails, and wear those head cameras.” I’d race him, because that sounded fun, but I wasn’t as good at skiing as Saoirse.
She thought for a moment. “That’s a possibility. I’m excited. I’ve always wanted to ski that mountain.”
Saoirse was a delta. Deltas had a lot of alpha traits, but they didn’t have barks–which was the alpha compulsion that madepeople do things. They didn’t have knots or locks. Deltas made great soldiers and security. In addition to being a triggerwoman, she worked as personal security for a fancy private company, because it was a good cover.
“Carlos wants me to meet his friends. Finally.” I told her about his plans as we rode the subway, backtracking to get to our hotel.
“I told you that he’s not hiding you,” she assured. Of course, she’d thoroughly background-checked him.
“True.” I texted him my thanks for picking me up. “It’s just…”
“No.” She leaned in and kissed me. “If I had any indication that he was using you, he wouldn’t be walking. If I find out at any point he is, his hockey career is over.”
“Thank you.” I leaned my head on her shoulder. “Have you researched his friends we’re traveling with? Hale smells good and is really cute. He’s a chemist.”
Her dark, manicured eyebrows arched. “You told me not to.”
“Wow, really? Good for you. You deserve a treat.” I caught her mouth with mine.
We got off the subway, entered the hotel, and went upstairs. The suitcases for the trip were on the bed, our skiing gear against the wall.
“The job did go well, didn’t it?” I asked as I sat on the couch. Taking out my rifle, I cleaned it.
“The police got there sooner than expected, but yes, it went well and we were already paid. I’ll transfer you your share.” Saoirse carefully did the same, though she sat at the desk. “Did you call him for a ride?”
Carlos knowing what we did made her a little uncomfortable. But he’d known from the start. He’d been in Quebec for his teammate’s wedding. I’d been at the same venue for my friend’s mating party.
Somehow their group was aware that the other party was mafia-affiliated, and the omega was an assassin. He’d asked mestraight-away if I was one. Eventually, I saidyes,not thinking he’d believe me.
After all, I was a five-foot-one redheaded omega and on the thick and curvy side. Not the stereotypical idea of an assassin.
He also didn’t care–and more importantly, unlike a lot of alphas, he wasn’t threatened by my skillset. Nor did he want to exploit it. Carlos actually thought it was interesting.
“No. He asked where I was, I told him, and he had me meet him in the garage. The route for the race went through it. Carlos is just lucky like that.” I checked my rifle carefully.
Frowning, Saoirse thought for a moment. “Perhaps he saw me running across the street? They had the crossings disabled. I hopped the barriers, not wanting to waste time going around. I didn’t anticipate how fast the cars were going.”
“You ran across a street in the middle of a high-speed street race?” I gave her a hard look. “You’re not invincible, Love.”
A grin played across her kissable lips. “Oh, I am.”
I threw a pillow at her. “What would I do without you? No, really?”
Her grin widened. “You’d be in your jammies ordering takeout, surrounded by dirty clothes and plushies?”
I rolled my eyes.
“I… I really like Carlos. He makes me feel special and fizzy in a way all those alphas my fathers introduce me to never do. Carlos likes me back, right? It’s so hard to tell.” I put my rifle away in the backpack.
Saoirse’s cousins would bring them back to our place in Boston. Her twin cousins made us gadgets and did a lot of intelligence gathering and recon for us. She didn’t talk to anyone else in her family besides them, her brother, and her grandfathers.
“Like you? I think he loves you.” Her voice went soft. “He’s a nice guy who supports your career, puts you first, and is absolutely not what your dads want for you.”
Oh no, I’d lost my little pink bunny charm on my backpack someplace. Oh well. I could get a new one.
Saoirse kissed me. “We should probably shower and finish packing.”
I yawned. “Why is the flight in the middle of the night and not at midnight, or at the ass-crack of dawn like normal?”
