Page 82 of The Spy
Well, if she was going to fucking hit me, I was determined to take it on the chin. There was no point in fighting Saff anyway. Out of all of us, Gabe was the only one who could consistently beat her, and even then, it was a coin toss. She'd been training since she was a kid. She was fast on her feet, and fucking hell, she fought dirty. Once, she'd elbowed me in the boob, which was just a fucking low blow. I was still mad about that.
But instead of hitting me, she threw her arms wide and then encapsulated me in a tight hug, nearly squeezing the life out of me. I was so surprised I did nothing for a moment. Just stood there penguining.
And then I wrapped my arms around her back, letting the comfort of her embrace fill me up.
For the first time in over a week, I let the tension roll off my shoulders. I let my brain relax. I wasn't alone. I had never been alone.
The lie that I told myself all the time was that I was the only one who could fix anything. I was the only one who could make things right. And I could see in Saff's eyes disappointment that I hadn't trusted her enough to come to her. And I could feel her love and her rapid heartbeat. She shoved me back. And then she flipped me off. "That's for not coming to me first. I could have helped you. I could have gone out to South Africa. Jesus, I could be your eyes and ears, but you didn't do any of that. I'm still mad at you."
"Can we go back to the hugging?"
She shook her head. "No. I'm mad."
"Okay, fair enough."
But she hugged me again anyway.
"Damn it, Saff, I don't know what to do." I wrapped my arms tightly around my friend and nodded. "I know, I fucked up. I should have come to you."
"Yes, and we could have fixed this. But we're mid-mission, and now we're on our backs."
"I know. I just don't know how to fix it."
"Well, first we're going to go upstairs and eat some fucking ice cream. We're going to get someone down to South Africa to keep an eye on Riley, okay?"
I nodded rapidly, blinking the tears away. Thank you.”
“You only think you’re all alone. But your family is right here.”
Gabe
I had invited a monster into our house, and now we needed to exterminate that bitch.
That monster had put every single one of my people in danger. My retribution and punishment would not be swift. I wanted to make it hurt. Worse she had made me doubt them. Made me doubt Tabatha.
Saff paced back and forth. "So what is the play here?"
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Don't give me that. I don't have to explain my actions to you."
Saint laughed. "Why the fuck didn’t you just shag her, mate? If you’d given her the dick, she wouldn’t be so hell-bent on destroying Rogues."
"I’m not mad that’s why," I muttered.
Lachlan whistled low. "Jesus Christ. There's no way your dick is that good. So much that the idea of having you has made her into a nutter."
They were taking the piss? Now of all times? "Bloody focus. Yes, she’s made it clear she wants me. But I’m not fool enough to go there. And she’s a pro. She has another angle here. One that maybe has to do with me, but not directly. Ever since she took over for a predecessor on the Oversight Board, she's been making power plays and moves. I think I was convenient."
Rook stepped forward then. "Gabe asked me to narrow down the signal on a phone. It's a familiar one. One we noted when Oversight told us about Tate. The same one, subtle, but there. And when Tate met with Gennifer again, same signature. Not to mention I had a brief looky-loo at her financials."
My sister did not like that. "Are you insane? She's coming for us, and you had Birkoff here fiddle around in her accounts? You're trying to get her to blow us all up, aren't you?"
Rook grinned at her. “Solid La Femme Nikita reference.”
Saff winked at him. “Thanks for catching it."
"Are you two done?” I asked, scowling. “Saff, Gennifer has full-on plans on blowing this whole group apart. There's nothing I can say or do to exacerbate that. And she's playing a different game. She's playing for keeps."
Rook stepped forward again. "She had a series of accounts, businesses she's on the board of, only to find out they are essentially shell corporations. Companies on trusts, companies with a sole board member, her. Funds that have been tunneled in and out of those accounts for years."
