Page 75 of V for Vindictive

“Glad you asked. Everything you need is in here, and you’ll want to be on your way…” Her eyes looked down at the phone she pulled out of her pocket, “well, now, actually.”

I retrieved the manila folder and quickly scanned its encrypted contents, eyebrow raised.

“Oh, and Sloan,” she called out to me as I put the papers back in the folder. Looking up, her mischievous eyes greeted me with something I wasn’t expecting—sarcasm. “We’re not limited to feeling for just one person. Relationships can come in many, many forms. I’d think about that a little when you decide what to do.”

Unsure of what she meant, I gave her a curt nod, then sped off to get everything I needed for a mission to assist the woman I planned to woo whatever it took.

Chapter 28

Can’t Catch a Break

“V?” Phillip questioned, and I almost didn’t look at him out of fear of giving away my inner thoughts. “This is between Sloan and I.”

“Is it, really?” Cassius asked the internal question floating around in my head, and we all jerked our eyes over to him. He shrugged like the cat-eyed bastard he was. “I think there’s a story here, but more than that, I think you two are making the lady uncomfortable.”

Sloan was the first to back off. “He’s right.”

“I am?” Cash said in audible surprise, and I rolled my eyes.

He was a goddamn idiot.

Sloan’s arms crossed over his weapon-heavy chest, and he offered me a sheepish smile. “My apologies, V. This wasn’t how I envisioned our reunion carrying on. Last time, I wasn’t given a chance to say how relieved I was to see you unharmed after Lux kidnapped you, but...”

It hit me out of nowhere that, last we parted, I’d been the unfortunate captive of a diabolical fucker for over a week. And then what had I done? Gone all gooey-eyed for Phillip, sought out the comfort of my long-lost Grams, and left this beautiful man as a cliff note in my happily ever after.

I’msuch an ass, gah!

“Thanks, Sloan,” I muttered, doing a poor job of expressing how genuinely grateful I was. Truth of the matter was, Sloan had been there when the Austrian abandoned me, and his mere presence was a safe haven. “I’m happy you’re here, truly.” The last statement I said with a quick glance over my shoulder at Phillip, and when our eyes connected, it was evident I’d pissed him off.

Good.

Cassius sighed loudly, as was his way, and cleaned his hands with a wet wipe—where the fuck does he even keep those in that ensemble?—before pocketing his random-ass snack.“Well, that was a cute break, but I’m bored now. I hate to point this out to you born-and-raised vampire killers, but we’re losing daylight. We should probably go over there and do what you lot wrangled my beautiful self into doing.”

Was this dude for real? Hadn’t he, of his own damn accord, only just offered to help us with the vampire coven? I couldn’t figure Cash out, but something told me I never would. The dude was a mystery and a half, and I’d have an easier time stealing secrets from the Illuminati than understanding this cat-eyed asshole. To be fair, I didn’t understand dudes in general, and that was abundantly clear as the months ticked on.

Sloan’s eyes tracked back over to where the Dark Fae stood, and then down to me near him.

Something about the way he stared at the Fae suggested a past that wasn’t pleasant, and I mentally noted to ask the Brit about it later. You know, after I’d worked through this horny bullshit already taking front stage with the gorgeous Hunter nearby, like a dream—nightmare?—coming to life.

Shouldering his pack, the dark-haired gentleman motioned for me to go ahead of him. “It pains me to agree, but we’ll be at the best advantage if we hit this particular coven type before dusk.”

“Spying, were you?” Phillip asked, passing the other Hunter and taking his place by my side.

I kept my eyes straight ahead, determined to focus on the mission at hand. But it was only a second later that Sloan was on the other side of me, falling in stride with our group.

“Something like that,” Sloan replied like the smooth operator he was, plenty used to Phillip’s interrogation tactics.

I momentarily admired the way Sloan dismissed Phil one minute, then tossed me a cheeky grin the next. The guilt I’d been waiting for all damn day came a-knocking, twisting my stomach into knots and lodging the shame of a woman conflicted into my chest.

It didn’t take long to make it over to the entrance for the underground hideout. I’d spent the better part of the trek ignoring the heated stare Phillip sent my way several times. When we stopped in front of it, the other two Hunters shared a look. Luckily, it appeared both had reverted to their usual behavior, preparing for infiltration and completely in the Hunter zone.

Despite knowing the reprieve from the awkward-as-shit air was likely to be short-lived, I was unbelievably thankful for it.

I hadn’t gotten a chance to think about the looming battle ahead with the Dark Fae bastard who put literal ice in my veins every time I faced off with him. Hadn’t gotten a chance to spare a single thought for Lux and the burned facility, or the traitorous siblings who’d I once considered friends,or even Grams’s surprising return after spending months worried she’d been taken out by the Organization.

But that seemed to be the way the dice rolled with my head these days. Easier to hyper-focus on the pure, unfettered bullshit of my messy love life and how it only seemed to get worse as time went on than it was to deal with shitty realities that never stopped coming.

A girl can’t catch a break…

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