Page 32 of The Gift
“But I have to let you in on the know—generally when Ashton starts with a compliment, it does mean he’s about to lead into something more serious,” Reno says, his finger trailing over my shoulder.
“Why is Henley sitting down there, away from you?”
“We don’t do everything together, plus he’s schmoozing with the big guns. Donnie has a lot of clout and clearly likes to be listened to, but he’s distracting them while we talk with you,” Reno admits.
“I’m being set up?”
“No, but we do want to talk to you. We don’t want you to feel uncomfortable and we want you surrounded by friends.”
“Sounds ominous.” I shrug, reaching for my bag and dragging my little blue bundle of joy onto my lap.
“It’s about your blood. The results we got in,” Ashton says as he keeps staring at me.
I drop my gaze from his and uncap one of my bottles of pills, the dousing agent will kick in quickly, taking the edge off from being surrounded by them. I’d love to say they give me that little bit of space people do when you take medication or do something a little uncomfortable like pick your teeth, but their attention almost intensifies.
Popping one of the suppressants into my mouth, I crunch it between my teeth before taking a gulp of wine to rinse the metallic bitterness away. And since they’re watching, only them of course, everyone else caught up enjoying the night, I dab liquid blocker to my wrist followed by a spritz of my trademark thick, potent perfume. Finishing with some gloss that hopefully sticks my lips together to stop me talking, I sit back, to their flummoxed stares, talking over the edge of my wine glass.
“Ah, I was wondering when you would mention that. How long has it taken you to bring it up?”
Ashton is trying hard to keep his emotions in check. Reno not so much—I feel his brushing against me like a physical touch. I focus completely on the man sitting across from him, waiting for an answer.
“Four days. Five now, we were going to talk with you on the way home from the cottage.”
I hum a response, a flutter of movement over his shoulder distracts me, and I watch as Koda walks out of the bathroom, but he stops in the shadows. His eyes instantly on me, he waits in the dim hallway, watching from a distance. Maybe they know, maybe they don’t, I can’t speak for them, though I’m pretty sure I could remove the maybe from that sentence.
“Then it’s not urgent. One more night isn’t going to change anything, is it?” I lean over and kiss Reno on the edge of his mouth, surprising him, ignoring Ashton’s insinuation. I think Reno thought I’d be defending myself or something else. Instead, I stand and hold my hand out to Ashton. “I really had a good night tonight. Exactly what I needed. But Koda is right, that’s enough.”
I turn quickly, not waiting for their response, and bend down to kiss my goodbye to every one of my colleagues. It takes a few minutes and Donnie and Carmen take the longest. They’re also the loudest in their protest that I’m leaving too early. They’re also the hardest to extract myself from. Henley stares down at his glass, purposely not looking but his presence is hard to ignore.
He tips his head at me when I look at him. And then he stands in a move that is way too smooth for a man his size. His hand over my lower back doesn’t touch, but he leads me away from the noise of the table, giving us privacy. It happens before I realise, but it doesn’t make me freak out at all.
“Bailey, Ashton and I need to speak with you privately, please. Tonight is not the right time, and I assume that’s probably why you’re leaving. I saw him speaking with you. There’s nothing overly wrong, but at the same time it worries us.”
“So he told me. Anyway, it really was time I was going. The team gets messy if the only thing you do is sit around reminiscing and drinking.”
“I’m happy to sit around with them,” he says, and I don’t need to turn around to see the truthfulness in his words. “Can we meet up early tomorrow? You pick where, or we can pick you up and you can come over to our place. We’ve got a great room that gets morning sunshine. Reno will even bake for you.”
I keep my lips zipped, shrugging without committing to anything at this stage. Not because I’m being bitchy. Instead, I’m taking the time to figure out what works best for me.
“Why don’t you call me in the morning and we can figure out something.”
“Sounds good.” I look at him then, and he’s the one giving the side eye now and a quick nod that he heard me before he settles back into his seat and re-joins the conversation around the table.
“Ready?” Koda offers a heartbeat later before I step off. And then he’s guiding me the way he does, without words or a touch.
The door opens before we get there and a group of alpha suits rush in. You know the type, full of ego, little sense and too much expensive alcohol. They wear veils of entitlement on their shoulders and carry this sense with them that the world owes them, first and foremost.
I see it coming a mile off and take a step out of their way and into Koda, unintentionally, but I’m glad I did too, because they barge their way in, nearly shoulder checking me as one of them passes. And clearly they know because the raucous laughter that bursts from the group is not the one indicating good times, it’s mocking and scornful. The cloud they leave behind them is sour and stomach turning.
The hairs on the back of my neck stand up in readiness. Because without a doubt that group of men are fodder for people like the A-team. Their genetics and predisposed needs to jump in to save the day will be blistering through their systems, skewing their reactions.
My feet are literally glued to the floor, my body primed to handle all the aggression. I wait, and wait, but nothing comes. Flicking my head around at Koda, he waits quietly at my back. There is nothing in his posture or his mannerism that indicates he’s fighting his alpha instincts.
“Come on.” He tips his head and the most tentative touch on my back does not match the transformation I was expecting or visualising in my head.
“Sorry?”
“How about you and I do something?” he says, his gaze gone from my face, already out the door where he wants me to go.
