stretched her legs back out and leaned against the headboard, needing something solid to lean on.
Her brained spun too many thoughts at once. Amongst a host of other reasons, like his child-like wonder, his infectious amusement, the quirky way only one side of his cheeks dimpled when he smiled, Amara adored the fact he didn’t get irritated at her erratic behavior. He sat quietly next to her and waited for her to get herself together.
Then he said, “What was that about?” and gave her a chance to explain rather than make assumptions.
Amara’s stomach dropped and a rolling hill full of nerves somersaulted down. As she drew in a deep breath, Oliver slid his hand on top of hers and then turned them so their fingers laced together. A warm, floating sensation danced down her spine and a calmness settled between shoulder blades. She exhaled.
“Luther…he’s made some questionable decisions.”
“I admire your loyalty, Amara. I really do. But if he’s doing something that we should know about, you need to tell us.”
Trust wasn’t something she easily gave. As she stared into Oliver’s serious face, feeling the soft flesh of his skin against hers, her heart whispered that he was the one.
“I will, Oliver. Just not right now, okay?”
He balked and opened his mouth to speak, but a loud banging on the door interrupted whatever diatribe coated his tongue.
“What!” he said instead.
A leashed violence carried on Hammer’s words. “Now that you’ve both gotten that out of your systems, we have news. Put on some clothes and get your asses out here.”
12 Chapter Twelve
Clothes on, hot beverages in hand, Amara and Oliver sat across from Maura and Hammer on a small loveseat with hard cushions. Amara crossed her legs and sipped tea. Oliver leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees and glared at the alpha pair.
“What’s the good word?”
Hammer didn’t usually mince words and his golden stare bore into him. A whoosh of air left Oliver’s lungs. “Brick contacted one of his old service men who still has ties to classified information.” Hammer skimmed his gaze over Amara and then fixed on a spot over their heads on the wall behind them. “LexCorp has a,” he paused for a moment, seeming to search for the right word. “…facility, in upstate New York. The crew is on their way here to meet us, then we’ll head up there.”
Inside his chest, his heart beat in a haywire pattern, and when he turned to take in Amara’s reaction to the news, he understood the wildness came from her.
“They should be here any minute,” Maura said, more to Amara than him. Despite their bickering like an old couple, he liked seeing how the sisters interacted. There was tremendous love and respect between them, and just by looking into their eyes he could see some of the shit they’d gone through, both together and separate, had bound them tighter than the very blood that ran through their veins. Some shifters who mated with another species left their old life behind in favor of their new one. It was nice to see Amara’s family maintained a close relationship and had blended.
The president of Inked Menace stared at Amara without blinking. “Before the club gets here, is there anything else we should know?” The question was asked without malice, but there was an unspoken ‘don’t lie to me’ tone.
Oliver reached over and squeezed her thigh then nodded once when she lifted her face. She blew out a breath and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Luther wants information on Cecelia. He sent me here to spy on her and report back.”
“Do you know what he’s looking for?”
Amara shook her head and turned her face to stare out the window into the lightening skyline. “He said something about magic. How she was dangerous to shifters. That’s all I know.” She arched a brow and righted her face. “Is that true?”
Maura opened her mouth to speak and twirled a lock of hair between her fingers. “Sort of.
Her brained spun too many thoughts at once. Amongst a host of other reasons, like his child-like wonder, his infectious amusement, the quirky way only one side of his cheeks dimpled when he smiled, Amara adored the fact he didn’t get irritated at her erratic behavior. He sat quietly next to her and waited for her to get herself together.
Then he said, “What was that about?” and gave her a chance to explain rather than make assumptions.
Amara’s stomach dropped and a rolling hill full of nerves somersaulted down. As she drew in a deep breath, Oliver slid his hand on top of hers and then turned them so their fingers laced together. A warm, floating sensation danced down her spine and a calmness settled between shoulder blades. She exhaled.
“Luther…he’s made some questionable decisions.”
“I admire your loyalty, Amara. I really do. But if he’s doing something that we should know about, you need to tell us.”
Trust wasn’t something she easily gave. As she stared into Oliver’s serious face, feeling the soft flesh of his skin against hers, her heart whispered that he was the one.
“I will, Oliver. Just not right now, okay?”
He balked and opened his mouth to speak, but a loud banging on the door interrupted whatever diatribe coated his tongue.
“What!” he said instead.
A leashed violence carried on Hammer’s words. “Now that you’ve both gotten that out of your systems, we have news. Put on some clothes and get your asses out here.”
12 Chapter Twelve
Clothes on, hot beverages in hand, Amara and Oliver sat across from Maura and Hammer on a small loveseat with hard cushions. Amara crossed her legs and sipped tea. Oliver leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees and glared at the alpha pair.
“What’s the good word?”
Hammer didn’t usually mince words and his golden stare bore into him. A whoosh of air left Oliver’s lungs. “Brick contacted one of his old service men who still has ties to classified information.” Hammer skimmed his gaze over Amara and then fixed on a spot over their heads on the wall behind them. “LexCorp has a,” he paused for a moment, seeming to search for the right word. “…facility, in upstate New York. The crew is on their way here to meet us, then we’ll head up there.”
Inside his chest, his heart beat in a haywire pattern, and when he turned to take in Amara’s reaction to the news, he understood the wildness came from her.
“They should be here any minute,” Maura said, more to Amara than him. Despite their bickering like an old couple, he liked seeing how the sisters interacted. There was tremendous love and respect between them, and just by looking into their eyes he could see some of the shit they’d gone through, both together and separate, had bound them tighter than the very blood that ran through their veins. Some shifters who mated with another species left their old life behind in favor of their new one. It was nice to see Amara’s family maintained a close relationship and had blended.
The president of Inked Menace stared at Amara without blinking. “Before the club gets here, is there anything else we should know?” The question was asked without malice, but there was an unspoken ‘don’t lie to me’ tone.
Oliver reached over and squeezed her thigh then nodded once when she lifted her face. She blew out a breath and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Luther wants information on Cecelia. He sent me here to spy on her and report back.”
“Do you know what he’s looking for?”
Amara shook her head and turned her face to stare out the window into the lightening skyline. “He said something about magic. How she was dangerous to shifters. That’s all I know.” She arched a brow and righted her face. “Is that true?”
Maura opened her mouth to speak and twirled a lock of hair between her fingers. “Sort of.
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