Page 48 of Reluctant Rebel

There’s a story there, Jinx thought. One he hadn’t felt the need to share in all the time they had known each other. Ifthat day ever came, she’d be there for him. But until then, Gage was entitled to his privacy, so she didn’t question him further. Instead, she watched as Mr Broken Nose defeated Mr Snake Tattoo with a solid uppercut.

“That was fast,” Eric said happily as he made his way over. “Hey,” he greeted Jinx, bending down for a hug.

Jinx leaned into Eric for a moment, feeling the love. Her smile was genuine when she pulled back. “Hi. I guess I’m up.”

Eric’s brows rose and his gaze moved back and forth between Gage and Jinx. “You’re fighting tonight?”

Jinx waved her weaponised knuckles in his face. “Yep.”

“Sexual frustration?” Eric guessed.

“Partly,” Jinx confessed. She could admit as much to him. “I just have all this pent-up energy and nowhere to expel it.”

Eric regarded her for a moment longer before moving his arm in a sweeping gesture. “Well, have at it. Stinger awaits.”

Jinx included both men in her grin. “You guys really are the best!”

20

The sun began to set, casting long shadows across Mikhail's office. It had been an excruciatingly long day talking with dignitaries, commoners, and what was left of his family. The questions were endless, which he expected. But he was surprised to discover just how chaffed he felt. He’d gotten too used to the freedom at the rebel camps.

He sat behind his massive desk, his brow furrowed as he silently calculated how much longer they would be. “Thirty minutes. Maximum,” he decided with a mutter. There were only four names left on the list.

“I’m holding you to that,” Brax said quickly, pointing a finger at Mikhail. He was seated next to him in a fancy, high-backed chair and looked uncomfortable as hell.

Sabre lounged in a plush armchair across the room, idly twirling a wooden stake between her fingers. “This sucks.”

“Would you sit up? The next person is due any moment,” Draven scolded from his position behind Brax’s chair.

Sabre let out an exaggerated, long-suffering sigh but did as directed. She rolled her head on her neck before rising and walking over to stand behind Mikhail’s chair. “There. Happy? Now we both look like idiot sentinels.”

Thankfully, there was a soft knock at the door before Marius announced their next visitor. Hugo led in a striking woman who appeared to glide across the room. Her porcelain skin glowed in the fading light, and her eyes, a lovely shade of violet, fixed on Mikhail with an intensity that made him stiffen. He felt Sabre swiftly move closer to his back, sensing something off as well.

“Good evening,” the woman purred, her voice like silk. “Thank you so much for seeing me. I hope I'm not interrupting.”

“Not at all,” Mikhail replied graciously. “Miss ...?”

“Zara,” she supplied, a coy smile playing on her blood-red lips. “Miss Zara.”

Mikhail's eyes narrowed slightly as he studied her. He had never seen her before, and yet there was something about her that seemed familiar. “What brings you here this evening, Miss Zara?” he asked, trying to keep his tone formal.

She sauntered closer to his desk, her hips swaying seductively. “Firstly, I just wanted to say how happy I was to learn your death was exaggerated. Welcome home. Secondly, I heard that you were in need of some assistance with the recent events involving your family.”

He exchanged a frown with a tense Brax. “Assistance?” he repeated cautiously.

Zara's smile widened. “I am known as a seeker of knowledge,” she said smoothly. “I have access to information that others do not.”

“A seeker of knowledge, huh? I’ve never seen you before,” Sabre said icily.

Mikhail was just as suspicious as Sabre, but he couldn't lose a potential opportunity for information. He proceeded cautiously, gesturing for the woman to take a seat across from him, even as he signalled Sabre and his brother to stay on alert. “Please, have a seat.”

Zara sat down gracefully and crossed her legs, displaying a hint of thigh through the slit in her long black dress. She leaned forward slightly, allowing them all a better view of her ample cleavage. He could have told her it was wasted on everyone in the room, but he held his tongue. “What information do you have for me?”

A sly smile curved Zara's lips as she leaned back in the chair. “I have a proposition for you,KingMikhail.”

Mikhail wasn’t thrilled with the emphasis she placed on his title. His gut was now screaming at him.Thirty seconds,he told himself.Give her thirty seconds before you set Sabre loose on her.“Go on,” he prompted gruffly.

“I can provide you with information about the attacks on your family, and in return, I ask for your help with a personal matter of mine,” Zara explained, her voice low and alluring.

---