Page 29 of Born for Starlight

"There's my girl. Were you good? Did you pull all the books off the shelf again?"

Josie babbled a full confession.

"That's what I thought." He kissed her cheek and looked around the room. "What did I walk into? Everybody's got a face."

"Zoe just solved Angelica's Brazil problem," Bonnie said. "She thinks Matthew Grainger should go with her as protection."

Code's expression shifted. It was small and fast, and if I hadn't spent my whole life around Drakos men trying to hide things, I would have missed it. But I didn't miss it. His eyes flicked to me, then to Kit, then back again.

"Matthew would be perfect," he said.

Just like that. No hesitation. No questions about qualifications.

"Perfect how?" I kept my voice light. "Do you know something about him the rest of us don't?"

"I know enough."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only one you're getting."

Oh, for the love of… They were even quoting each other now.

Josie chose this moment to grab Code's nose, and he let her. The conversation should have ended there in a pile of baby giggles. But I'd been reading rooms my entire life. It was half my job. Code knew exactly what Matthew Grainger's background was. Knew it well enough to sign off on trusting my life to the man without blinking.

Which meant there was a file somewhere. A history. A whole story underneath that quiet, watchful, infuriating calm, and everybody seemed to know a piece of it except me.

I stood and crossed to my cousin, and I let him see that I wasn't playing anymore.

"I have a few questions for you, Code."

My cousin shifted his daughter to his other arm and gave me a smile that was pure Drakos, warm and immovable at the same time.

"You'll have to ask Matthew."

Dammit!

Chapter Ten

The last mile of my run was the one that told the truth.

Anybody could do the first six. The legs were fresh, the lungs were happy, the body still believed it was getting something for free. Mile seven was the real bitch. That was the mile I trained for. That was the mile that told me who I still was, it was the mile I loved and hated.

My phone buzzed against my arm.

I slowed to a jog, tapped the earpiece without breaking stride. "Grainger."

"It's Code. You got a minute?"

"I've got most of one." My breath came hard. I let him hear it. "I'm on a run."

"Think of this as your reward. You're going to Brazil."

I kept my feet moving. A hawk turned, then swept over the ridge. My pulse thudded in my ears, slow and heavy.

"Am I?"

"Angelica needs protection down there. Zoe floated your name at some wedding-dress thing yesterday. The whole room agreed. I agreed." A pause. "I’d ask you, but what would be the point? I know your answer.” I heard the grin in his voice.