I smirked at her. "Just one question." I knew I was playing with fire.

  "What?"

  “I know how good you are. You could have put me on my arse anytime while we were in the cupboard. Why didn't you?"

  She pressed her full lips together and turned. "Meet me at the gun range in ten minutes."

  "Now? It's dark."

  “You afraid of the dark, King?"

  And there it was again, the pull on my dick. "No, ma'am."

  "Suit up then. I'll see you there in ten."

  Well, it seemed that Saffron Abott was going to train me after all. The question was, why had she really changed her mind?

  Saffron

  “I have to say, I'm surprised by you. You normally wouldn't let a trainee get the best of you."

  I frowned at Gabe across the dinner table. "What do you mean ‘let him’?"

  "Oh, come on, you really want me to believe that he navigated that last training exercise all on his own?"

  "As a matter of fact, he did. I had nothing to do with it."

  "He found you rather easily. Are you losing your touch?"

  I knew what he was doing. This was his favorite game… to try and see if he could needle me, but I wasn't going to take the bait.

  “You would think at some point you would get tired of this game."

  "Tired? Of what game? Trying to see if I can get a rise out of you? Never."

  I rolled my eyes. "He's very good.” And that was all I could say about that. “You should be very happy. One of your recruits actually surpassed his master for once."

  His brow dropped into a deep furrow. “I know it's weird for you, having me practically running things. But I'll have you know that most of my recruits perform well. I don't pick wrong often."

  "Oh yes, it all comes down to your choice, not the training. If you say so."

  Gabe put down his fork. “Is something wrong? You seem off. A little spicier than usual."

  I shrugged. "Nothing's wrong."

  "What is it? How did I irritate you today?"

  “Did I say you irritated me?"

  “It's usually the reason behind everything. I do something wrong, you don't tell me about it, and you expect me to read your damn mind."

  “I don't expect you to read my mind, Gabe. I expect you to think. Have a little emotional intelligence, you know?"

  He sat back from his plate of pork chops and wiped his mouth. "Saff, I don't want to fight with you. We get one dinner, once a fucking month that you'll allow me, and this is what we're doing?"

  “You started this. I didn't start the fight, Gabe."

  "Oh sure. Your maturity is astounding."

  “You know what, Gabe?" I slapped my napkin down. I really didn't want to have this fight today. Or any day for that matter. But I did need to know why Lachlan King was so good. Too good. How much did Gabe know? Was Lock a plant? That would mean that whole night I hadn't been able to get out of my head for three months wasn't real. And I just needed to know. I deserved to know that much. "Where did you get Lachlan from? Where did you recruit him from, anyway?"

  He frowned then. "Why do you care?"

  "Jesus Christ, Gabe, can we just have one conversation where we don't fight?"

  He sighed. “I'm not trying to fight with you." He watched me warily. “Fine, he’s a classic recruit from a Rogues family. His brother, Charleston, was a Rogue. And their grandfather was a Rogue as well. But Charleston died when he was twenty.”

  “So you replaced one brother with another?” The night we were together, Lock told me all about his brother, how much he loved him, how much he'd idolized him, how much he longed to be like him.

  "Not exactly. The old man has connections in Oversight. He wants one of his grandsons as a Rogue. I agreed to train him. That's it."

  "And what, you discovered him just like that?"

  "No. Not that it matters, but we've had our eye on him for a while. Recently, he got in a spot of trouble. He and his father disagreed about a business partnership. Lachlan refused to do business with someone, a good friend of his father's. He broke the deal. To add insult to injury, he took the man’s daughter naked kite surfing."

  My lips twitched.

  “You seem to like this one. Like you want him to stay. Like you're willing him to be good."

  “I'm not willing anything. He is good."

  Excitedly, my brother leaned forward with his elbows on the table. “You've been training since you were a kid. He's good in hand-to-hand, you have to admit it. He almost got you in the woods."

  "He did. I'm not saying he didn't."

  "And he saw through your disguise in the last exercise. He has a sixth sense.”

  “You and I both know that's not how it works."

  "Right. Well, I'm just saying he's a natural. He's only been training three months, and he's already that good."

  My stomach turned because I could hear Gabe's glee at another billionaire Rogue. "Let me guess, he's been cut off and given a certain amount of time to get his act together, right? And what makes you think he's going to want to stay a Rogue?"

  “I can see it in him. His focus.”

  “Did you lead his acquisition team?”

  He shook his head. "No. The old man had a crew from Oversight do it. He wanted to make sure his grandson was unharmed, of course. Not that he doesn't trust us, but you know… He doesn't trust us."

  I coughed. If Oversight's team had gotten him, it wasn't me they were watching. Fucking hell. So that meant Gabe didn't know. Which meant I should not be the one to tell him. "Well, he's not bad."

  "Not bad? He's almost as good as you are. Which is high praise, right, sis?"

  “If you say so."

  “I say so. Why don't you like him?"

  “It's not that I don't like him. It's just the way he does things, I guess."

  "Oh, come on, I can tell you don't like him. You're tense and you're stiff. This isn't you."

  “I'm being me." I lied.

  “I'm not saying you're not being you. I'm just saying something's off. What's wrong? Are you still mad because I tied you to him? Look, I know you want to be in the field, but I just don't think you're ready."

  I choked out a laugh. "According to you, I will never be ready. Which is neither here nor there. In some of these cases, I understand you keep me out of the field because I still have those nightmares. Other times, I'm just fed up, Gabe."

  He pressed his lips firmly together. "Look, we just need to start small, okay? It's only been two years. I can't lose you too."

  His voice was so soft I'd almost not heard him.

  "What?"

  “You heard me. I couldn't take it if I lost you, okay?"

  “Gabe, don't give me that.”

  “You're my kid sister. I love you, and I just want to keep you safe for a little bit longer. And maybe I am holding on too tight. I could loosen the reins a little. If you want, maybe you can live off site. I just— I like seeing you every day."

  “Give me something meaningful to do, Gabe. I graduated from uni a year early. I didn't come back just to sit here."

  He nodded. “I hear you. And I think—" His phone buzzed on the table. I frowned at it because we had a rule of no phones during family dinner. But since Gabe was division lead at Rogues, the phone couldn't completely be off. “I'm sorry, let me get this." He answered, "Webb."

  Everything about him changed then. From the way he stiffened to the cold tone of his voice. "When? Where? I'll get the team." And then he hung up.

  "What's wrong?"

  He shook his head. "We've got a sighting on Massimo Igno. He and his girlfriend are going on a little vacation. Oversight wants them watched."

  I sat up straighter. "That's good news, right?"

  Massimo, as far as we could tell, was not involved with his father’s business, but he was also hard to get a bead on. He kept a low profile. Rich lifestyle, but not too flashy. But now, he was dating a Spanish actress, Graciella Natanya, which meant more opportunities to get close to him.

  Gabe pinched the bridge of his nose. “I have to go."

  "You can't just go."

  “It's important."

  “If it's about Igno, I should be there too."

  His gaze to me was direct. "No. You're staying out of this."

  “I can help, Gabe."

  “Forget it."

  And then I watched my brother stride out of the room. Once again, I was left alone. Just like always. One of these days, Gabe was going to have to realize that I didn't need his protection. And every time he walked away from me and kept me out, he made me feel just as alone as I had in the days after my parents died.

  9

  Saffron

  What the hell was I doing?

  You know what you're doing. He asked for a beer for a job well done. And now you're taking him a beer.

  This was a stupid idea. We were not friends. I was his training officer, and this was dangerous.

  Or, you're living a little. Trying to make a friend other than Tabs.

  Speaking of Tabs, I hadn't filled her in on this little excursion because I'd known what she would say. She would've said, 'oh boy.' And then she would've made kissing faces, knowing full well I couldn't kiss him.

  The problem was, now that I knew he didn't remember, it was harder to keep him at a distance because I did remember that I liked him.

  He was still the same person. Brash but witty. He was also curious and eager to learn. He wanted to do things with integrity, but his impulsive nature got in his way. He was also a fast learner and didn't make the same mistake twice. He was shrewd and made good ops decisions. It was hard not to respect that.

  I knew after today's mission, he was likely to go grab food and head back for his bungalow.

  Tell the truth.

  Fine, maybe I had watched for him. Which was ridiculous. Because I didn't care.

  Sure you don't.

  Liking him wouldn't get me far.

  But, I knocked on his door, nonetheless. When he dragged it open with a rush, his eyes widened in surprise. “Fuck. Did I forget something?"

  I shrugged sheepishly. "No. I, uh, brought these." I held up the beers and he grinned at me.

  "Well, well. I knew I was wearing you down. I knew you would like me eventually."

  "Let's not get carried away, okay?" It was impossible to suppress my smile.

  He chuckled. "Oh, come on. You know you like me."

  “You know what? I'm taking my beers and going," I said, turning back.

  He stopped me with a hand on my shoulder. "Oh, come on, join me in the garden. You came all this way."

  He walked me through the cottage, and I took note that the furnishings had been updated and refurbished. They looked modern and fresh to match the interior of the manor house. We reached the garden, and my breath caught. "Wow. I didn't realize the gardens were so well tended." There was honeysuckle and morning glories. Some roses too.

  "Uh, that's not me. Surprisingly, that's Saint."

  I wrinkled my nose. "What?"

  "He's a regular green thumb."

  "Well, will wonders never cease."

  “I know, right? Sometimes I catch him out here talking to them. It's bizarre."

  I chuckled at that. He motioned me to take a seat on one of the two loungers, so I did and handed him his beer.

  "So, what made you decide to come have a beer with me?"

  "Well, I realized it took me a moment to start training you, but you've progressed well regardless of that. And you did a good job today."

  "Even though I missed the bombing target?"

  I opted to let him in on the secret. "No one gets the bombing target. You're not supposed to. It's meant to be a lesson in keeping your guard up, I guess."

  “You'd probably pass with flying colors."

  “I don't count. I've essentially been training for this since I could walk."

  His brow furrowed. "Explain that to me. You've just lived here your whole life?"

  I rolled my shoulders back, thinking about how much to tell him. “Yeah. My great-grandfather helped found the Rogues. He had a whole thing about legacy I guess. He made the Abott manor our headquarters. He didn't have any siblings, and then he got married and had my grandfather who didn't have any siblings either. Grandpa had dad. You get the idea. And I was an only child until my parents adopted Gabe."

  He frowned. “Gabe? He's your brother?"

  I nodded. I had wondered if he would figure it out on his own or not. “Yes, he's my brother. Did no one tell you?"

  His jaw went slack as he shook his head. "This whole time he's been your brother."

  I laughed. “Yes, hence the overprotectiveness, the butting into my life, trying to control me, that whole thing."

  “Fucking hell."

  I leaned forward and took a sip of my beer. I didn't particularly enjoy beer, but it was something to do socially. "Why? What did you think?"

  "Honestly? I thought you two were shagging."

  I choked on the beer, sputtering and wheezing.

  Lock leaned over and patted me on the back gently. "Let it out. Try and pull air through your nose. It will help."

  I shook my head. "No. Too fizzy."

  I coughed some more before the pain eased, and he didn't move from right next to me. “You thought I was shagging Gabe? Gross."

  "What the fuck was I supposed to think? He essentially warned me off you. And he's very intense about you specifically. Doesn't want you hurt."

  “Yes. Because he's my brother."

  “Fucking hell. Why didn't anyone tell me?"

  “It's not a secret."

  "Wait. You're telling me Saint knew?"

  I laughed. “Yeah, probably."

  “I'm going to fucking kill him."

  "Why were you and Saint discussing whether or not Gabe was my brother?"

  His gaze met mine and then dipped to my lips. "No reason."

  My whole body flushed under the close contact. His eyes stayed trained on me. This was the danger zone.

  You can't have him. And he doesn't remember you, so watch yourself.

  Right. I purposefully squared my shoulders and created a little bit more space between us as I inched backward.

  “Your fucking brother?"

  “Yep. My fucking brother."

  “Goddamn it. How did I not see that?"

  “I mean, he's white and I'm beautifully melanated, so I can see how our closeness was misinterpreted. Why would you assume I was shagging him though?"

  “Do you have any idea that your brother is very intense about you and your safety?"

  I shrugged. “Yeah. It's annoying."

  "Why is that?"

  "After our mum and dad died, he took it on to be my protector. He's essentially all I have left. And he takes it very seriously. Too seriously. I know he's looking out for me, but sometimes it feels like he's smothering me."

  His voice went quiet. "How did your parents die?"

  As usual, the pain wrapped around my heart and squeezed. But maybe, just maybe this time it didn't squeeze so hard that I couldn't even breathe. "Bomb."

  "What?" His brows furrowed as if there was no way he'd heard correctly.

  "They were killed by a bomb."

  “I was expecting you to say something like an accident, or one from cancer and the other one from something else. Bomb was the last thing I expected you to say."

  “Yeah. It's shocking for sure."

  "What happened?"

  I'd already told him this whole story. I'd already shared all of these details with him the night we met. And maybe that's what made it easier to talk about the second time around. Knowing that he'd already heard it. He just didn't know he'd heard it.

  "They were visiting me at school. I had wanted one normal experience at uni, the whole bit. My parents at graduation." I shook my head. “If I hadn't insisted that they come, they wouldn't have exposed themselves."

  “I know I wasn't there, but I really doubt that it was your fault."

  “I know. You sound like all the shrinks that Gabe hired. Hell, you sound like Gabe. But I can't help but think if I hadn't insisted, would they still be here?"

  "Speaking as someone who does this shit to themselves all the time, I'm going to tell you what everyone tells me. Well everyone but my parents. This isn't your fault. Things happen, but no one deserves bad things happening to them."

  And I knew he would say that. It's what he’d said the last time.

  “Yeah, I know. It's hard to shake though."

  He ran his hands through his hair. "Up until two weeks ago, I thought I was responsible for my brother's death."

  I furrowed my brow. "What?" That was one of the things we bonded over, both feeling responsible for the deaths of people we loved. "What happened two weeks ago?"

  “Your brother dropped a bomb on me the day after you and I met."

  "He did?"

  “Yeah. He told me that Charlie had been a Rogues agent."

  "Jesus."

  “Yeah. And the night he died in a car crash wasn’t an accident. It was deliberate."

  My heart sank. My stomach cramped. "Oh, for fuck’s sake. Lock, I'm so sorry."

  All he did was nod and keep his eyes on his beer bottle as he shredded the paper label. “I guess I was meant to be collateral damage, but I survived with barely a scar."

  I knew exactly where those tiny scars were. Along his back and his shoulders. I knew he'd covered them up with tattoos. But I couldn't tell him that I knew that.

  Because this Lachlan King hadn't been naked with me.

  I felt like a voyeur. I felt like I was lying.

  I hated the feeling.

  He continued. "The thing is you believe this one thing your whole life. And there's always a part of you that wants it to not be true. But still you believe that it is. Then you get information that it's in fact not true, and it spins your whole goddamn world. Because what does that mean for who I am? What does that mean for what I'm about? For the last five years, I've thought I was to blame. That I was the reason Charlie was gone. Now to find out that's not true, that part of my identity doesn't exist anymore."

  “I'm so sorry."

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34