Adamant Spirits, page 101
“Of course not,” Royce replied.
Niko threw his head back. “I don’t have time for this. The Magnolia Festival is almost over. I need to chase down real leads.”
“Then you’ll be interested to know that commanders often use the ancillary messaging system to communicate with their staff. I’m sorry to say your friend, Captain Cipriani, has developed quite a disliking for you.”
Niko beamed, but it quickly faded. If Royce had actionable intelligence, he would have led with it, right? “Is there proof he issued the order?”
“Sadly, there’s evidence he knew more than he let on at the hearing, but it wouldn’t be enough to exonerate you.” His gaze snapped to Niko. “Yet.”
“Yet?” He would explain, wouldn’t he?
Royce folded his hands across his stomach. “It’s a common strategy we Seers use. When I can see the details clustering around something specific, but there’s not enough to connect the dots, we set up a trap. I propose that’s what we do for our dear friend to draw him out a bit.”
Niko narrowed his eyes.
“It’s really quite simple,” Royce explained. “I barely had to focus to See the pattern in his behavior. It’s quite consistent. He gets in an altercation with you, then spends hours speaking about it with his subordinate, Gideon Ravella. Much of the time, he gives specific details that could be considered a violation of commander confidentiality standards, which, as I’ve said, could sully his reputation, but it won’t exonerate you.”
Royce flipped a hand out. “That got me thinking. If you could bait him about the investigation—maybe float that you have a new theory but refuse to say what it is—he might discuss the investigation with his assistant, and then you’d have him.”
A new theory. He could do that, and knowing Anton, that would infuriate him. He nodded. “Sure. Why not?”
“Fantastic.” Royce bounced his shoulders. “This will be splendid fun.”
“There he is!” Two guards ran down the hall in their direction, and all the joy fell from Royce’s face.
“It appears my time is up for today,” Royce said, then folded his hands and faced the guards. “Gentlemen! There you are. I do apologize for the miscommunication. I got turned around a bit, but what better place to find guards than the barracks, right?”
Niko’s lips curved upward as he backed away, hoping he’d cause half the trouble Royce did at his age.
If I ever make it to that age…
Royce’s plan could work. It was more than he’d had before he’d come to work out this morning, but the Magnolia Festival would end in three days. If they couldn’t come up with anything by then, Niko could be arrested, maybe even exiled or executed.
All of this would end.
Dark curls pulled back into a loose bun bounced from the teleportation zone toward the gym. He’d know them anywhere. “Sophia!”
He clamped his lips shut. Why couldn’t he just let her go? It wasn’t right for either of them to look at his situation and have hope.
She spun, eyes wide. “Niko. Hi!”
His thoughts screamed at him. What should he say now? That he’d seen her and had to talk to her? That being around her made him feel like everything else could come crashing down, and he’d still be okay?
She pointed over her shoulder. “I was just about to work out.” Her lip slid between her teeth, and she shrugged. “Care to join me? I was supposed to do my leg workout today, but I really just want to spar. I could use a partner.”
“Spar with you?” He beamed. “Any time.”
Fifteen
Sophia sank into her stance on the red mats of the main gym and took a centering breath. She and Niko were just two guards, practicing their technique. It was simple—responsible, even. Launching herself forward, she hit Niko’s pads with a jab, low-kick combination.
He quirked an eyebrow. “Not bad.”
She blinked her gaze away to stop herself from grinning like an idiot and focused on the nearly constant clangs of weights around them.
Just her and another member of the unit. Being familiar with each other’s fighting style could be really helpful on future missions.
Two jabs and a right cross.
“Try to put some more power behind your cross.” He held the pad out.
She nodded, pulling her fists into the guard position, and focused on the black pad. There was nothing between them but mutual respect—
Giggles bubbled from the side of the mat. Her gaze slid to three female guards, standing there without a drop of sweat anywhere. Not on their way to another station, not stretching or cooling down—just standing there, ogling Niko.
Her skin simmered.
The woman in the center tossed a long, silky, dark lock of hair over her shoulder, scarlet highlights shimmering. The identical twin of one of the goddesses painted in the domed ceiling at headquarters, her deep-brown eyes wandered over Niko. Sophia’s shoulders curved inward, and she brushed an unruly curl away from the sweat on her forehead.
“Sophia?” Niko stared at her blankly.
She shook out her arms. “Sorry.”
She focused on the pad, but the goddess sauntered around the mat into Niko’s line of sight and waited.
She launched herself into a hook, roundhouse kick combination.
“Whoa.” Niko dodged the kick. “That was a little wild. Do you need a break?”
Right now? With them hanging around? She glanced at the goddess from the corner of her eye. “No, no. I’m fine.”
His gaze followed hers.
Great…
He lowered the pads and stepped closer. “What’s wrong?”
Her face felt like it was on fire, but there was no point in hiding it now. “It’s them. That’s so rude.”
She could say that, right? She and Niko were trying to work. Those women were being disruptive.
His face twisted. “Who cares about them? They’re just some other guards.”
Her shoulders dropped. That’s what he’d said about her last night. When she’d been ready to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him, he’d probably been making the same face in his head as he was making right now. Because to him, she was just a guard, too.
She backed away. This had been an awful idea. She was fighting for him to be her boss again. And then what? Even if he did fall for her, black ops weren’t allowed to have serious relationships, and a relationship with her boss would land them both in front of a disciplinary panel.
Maybe if she could get some space between them, her feelings would cool off and she could actually behave like an adult. “I should run.”
“Wait.” He followed her to the edge of the mat. “What’s wrong?”
“Look at that, Kalos. You can actually be helpful!” Anton’s voice grated over her like nails.
Speaking of roundhouse kicks.
The muscles in Niko’s arms bulged as he glared at Anton.
“Sophia, we need to talk about your reassignment,” Anton continued.
“I’m not ready to do that,” she said through clenched teeth.
“Besides.” Niko smirked. “I’m working on a new theory. It’s big, Cipriani. Sophia may not have to go anywhere at all.”
New theory? If her mind hadn’t been such a mess, she might have been excited. But she couldn’t hear about it now, not like this. Niko’s shoulders were tensed and his eyes hard, but he never looked at her.
Slender fingers curved around his bicep from behind—the goddess. “Hi! I don’t think we’ve ever met.”
Her pulse whooshed in her ears. The goddess hadn’t even waited until she’d left the gym to make her move.
“It’s over, Kalos,” Anton snarled.
“We’ll see.” He shrugged and winked. “I’m actually pretty excited about it.”
“Oh, did I interrupt?” the goddess asked.
Yes. Sophia glowered at her.
Anton scoffed and reached out for Sophia. “This is a waste of my time. Sophia—”
She batted his hand away with a lot more force than she’d intended. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“We really need to talk about this.” Anton turned to face her, boxing out Niko, and the goddess pounced on the separation, sliding in front of Niko with a stunning smile.
“I’ve seen you around.”
“Yeah. Nice to meet you,” Niko said, his features still hard. “I’m kind of busy right now, working with one of my guards.”
Guard? She shouted in her head.
She stormed around Anton for the door, ditzy giggles still tittering behind her. If she didn’t get out of there soon, she’d say something she’d regret.
Anton chased after her. “Sophia, I’m trying to help you. I’m not sure what Niko has led you to believe—”
“I don’t need Niko to explain to me what happened, and I don’t want your help,” she called over her shoulder. “I never will.”
“Hey,” he said. “I’m sensing a lot of anger. I know emotions are running high—”
“Sensing?” She stopped. That was it. “I’d thought I’d been clearer than that.”
Somewhere inside, a more logical side was sighing. So much for keeping her feelings unsaid.
“I’m not sure what it is you see or want from me, Anton, but it’s never going to happen.”
Niko strode toward them. “Sophia.”
“No!” she shouted, holding out a hand to stop him. “Not you, too. I have to go.”
She nearly sprinted toward the teleportation zone, welcomed the prickling on her skin, and flashed away. In the safety of her barracks hall, she took a deep breath. What a mess. She’d told off a captain. He’d deserved it, but it wasn’t smart.
And Niko. What had gotten into her?
She opened the door, and Emma smiled, but she walked right past her and fell face down into the cool, violet sheets of her bed. “I’m such an idiot,” she said into her pillow.
“Uh oh,” Emma said. “It sounds like we need chocolate. Hold on.” She fumbled around and then tapped Sophia on the shoulder.
She reached out and grabbed the piece, rolling over to stare at the white ceiling. “I think I just broke about eighteen standards for guard conduct.”
“You?” Emma hopped on the bed next to her, her big, brown eyes dancing. “I need to hear about this!”
Sophia paused for a moment, allowing the velvety milk chocolate with a hint of salted toffee melt in her mouth. “I yelled at Anton.” She grimaced. “I think that was kind of inevitable, though.”
“Girl, I will never understand that situation. He basically handed you a career on a golden platter, and look at him! He’s not hard on the eyes.”
Sophia’s gaze curved with the crimson and violet brush strokes on the magnolia painting next to her bed. “I don’t respect him.”
Emma ran her fingers through her long blond ponytail and shook her head. “The only reason I’d turn down someone like that is if there were someone else—” She gasped.
Sophia covered her face with her elbow.
Emma squirmed next to her. “Is it that sniper you work with? Guthrie, was it?”
She cringed. “I could never go for Guthrie.”
“Your boss?”
“He’s not my boss… right now.”
“You’ve fallen for him!” The beaming smile was evident in her voice.
“Yes! Can you see my problem now?” She waved her arms for emphasis.
Emma frowned. “Not really. I mean, you’re black ops. You can’t have a serious relationship. He can’t have a serious relationship. It’s not like anyone would have to know if something just happened.”
Sophia sprang to sit up, kicking at the sheets. “I don’t really agree with that, but it’s not the point. I see the way other women look at him, and I hate it. I nearly lost it in the gym today all because some pretty girl had the guts to approach him—”
Emma shrugged with a mouthful of chocolate. “You should approach him.”
“I don’t want to just approach him!” she shouted. “I don’t want to be just another one in the long line of women throwing themselves at him. I don’t want to be just another one of his guards. I want…”
She couldn’t say it. How could she even think about it? She wanted to be his only one. She wanted to drive him crazy, she didn’t want to hide being with him, and when women ogled, she wanted to kiss him so they knew not to try.
She fell back onto her pillow and covered her eyes. “I’ve lost my mind. Tell me what I should do?”
Emma chuckled before popping another chocolate in her mouth. “You’re normally the one to give me advice like this. What would you tell me?”
“That you’re crazy. That there are plenty of other guys, so you should avoid becoming a pathetic cliché.”
“Hey!” Emma said with feigned offense.
“I’m fighting for him to be my boss again, Emma. My boss! I need to get it together. With Layla still captive. Horacio in the hospital, and the disciplinary panel, he needs me right now. I can’t fall apart over a stupid crush.”
Emma pursed her lips and stared distantly at her shelf of books. “That’s decent advice, I guess. I’d only add one more thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Don’t be an idiot.”
Sophia nodded. “Right. I just need to compose myself, go down there, and apologize—”
“No. Sophia, I’ve known you a long time. This feeling you’re feeling? It’s jealousy, and you’re not a jealous person. You’ve never been this crazy about anyone. Don’t let it pass you by unless you’re sure you’d be able to find something like it again.”
“This isn’t just complicated. It can’t happen.”
“For now.” Emma winked. “I gotta run. But I know you’ll do the right thing.”
Sophia rolled her eyes as the door shut.
For now…
The only way it wouldn’t be against the rules is if they both got out of black ops and he wasn’t her boss anymore. They’d both have to choose it—choose each other. Impossible.
But she still wanted it.
Sixteen
Something thudded in the dark, and Niko jolted upright in his bed. He squinted around the familiar shadows of the contemporary, blackwood furniture in his bedroom, listening. Outside the window, everything was quiet. The moon cast a blue light over the white marble parkway below, and even at night, he could see the new dark splotches of blooming red magnolias along the vines.
He checked the clock on his implant: 2:02 AM. It was possible the noise had come from the hallway outside his apartment, but it sounded closer.
A faint sound, almost like shuffling, came from outside his closed bedroom door. He slipped from the bed and moved stealthily to the wall. The shuffling could have come from anything. It could have been from multiple intruders, but it seemed to be coming from his kitchen.
The second he opened the bedroom door, whoever was here would know he was awake. A swift, strong response was probably best. He rubbed his bare arms and neck to fully wake up.
Three, two, one.
He exploded into his living area, gaze set in the direction of the kitchen.
A short and slight silhouette, bald head, robes—he didn’t even startle.
“Royce,” he growled, bending over and putting his hands on his knees. “That’s a really good way to get yourself killed.”
“I’m sorry, but what I have couldn’t wait,” Royce said, sinking into one of Niko’s two chairs at the breakfast table.
No eccentric greeting, no sense that he found humor in everything. He wanted to ask how Royce had gotten into his apartment in the first place, but it seemed like he wanted to get right to the point.
Niko took the chair next to him.
“How’s your injured guard?” Royce folded his hands on the table.
Niko shrugged. “He’s got a long road ahead of him, but he’s healing well.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” Royce’s gaze slid to the corner, distant.
He raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t come here at 2:00 a.m. to ask me about Horacio. What’s going on?”
Royce sighed. “It seems your bait worked with Captain Cipriani. You certainly got under his skin. He’s been talking about you and another guard all night.”
Sophia.
What had happened with her today? One minute, it had just been them—happy. And the next, she’d stormed away. He knew jealousy, and as much as he’d wanted to believe it had been that, he’d never been able to read her well.
Whatever it was, it had completely ruined any enjoyment he could have gleaned from the devastated rejection on Anton’s face when she shot him down.
“What did you find?” he asked.
“Well, our friend loves to talk. I’ll give him that.” Royce adjusted his robes. “I had a glimpse from something he’d said about one of his previous missions. They’d consulted me about it years ago, but I remembered that it had been called off for high Tavian activity in the area. It didn’t make sense. They were set up in a way that suggested they knew exactly how the unit would be entering the operation.”
He leaned back in his chair. That sounded a lot like his own mission. The Tavians had to have been expecting them.
Royce trailed his finger along the grain of the wood table. “I believe the Tavians have access to Captain Cipriani’s messages. There’s been a number of instances that have suggested a pattern.”
Niko had to snap his jaw shut.
“I’m not sure how they’ve gotten them—they could have found a way to hack his implant, I suppose. He could be passing information to them. Either way… this is catastrophic.”
Catastrophic was right. He didn’t think much of Anton, but this? Horacio, Layla, even McCade’s injuries might have been preventable. This whole thing could have been avoided if Anton hadn’t run his mouth.
He forced a rumbling breath from his chest. “Promise me I get to kill him after this.”
Royce winced. “That’s the other part of this.”
“He pays for this, Royce,” Niko said, his strained words low and raspy. “Any plan we have ends with that, understand?”
