Page 93 of Knight

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

Knight

The texton the screens is starting to go out of focus. We’ve spent hours planning every detail of tomorrow’s infiltration, running on nothing but coffee and determination since dawn.

Eva stifles a yawn behind her hand, and shifts on her chair.

"Food is on its way." Rook looks up from his phone.

"Would anyone like more coffee while we wait?" Eva pushes herself up from her chair.

The moment she's out of earshot, Bishop turns to me. "So ... You and the girl whose brother we're rescuing."

"Don't."

"She’s an interesting choice." Rook's tone carries equal parts amusement and concern. "Considering what Bishop told me he saw when he last visited?—"

"We'renotdiscussing this."

"The fact she's wearing your clothes suggests we should." Bishop leans against the side of the workstation. "Are you sure you can maintain focus with her involved?"

"She's proven she can handle herself."

"That's not what we're worried about." Rook exchanges glances with Bishop. "You've never let anyone this close to you before."

"I didn’t this time either. She broke in, and things … escalated." But the excuse sounds weak even to me. "It’s because?—"

"Because you care about her." Bishop cuts through my deflection. "Which turns her into a vulnerability."

The truth in his words burns. "It doesn’t matter. She's already involved. Has been since they used her to deliver that phone to me."

"And now she's in your bed." Rook's bluntness makes me tense. "Knight, that changes things."

A security notification chimes, informing me that the food Rook ordered has arrived. I push a button, summoning the elevator, and Rook heads down to collect the food. He passes Eva coming back with coffee. She must pick up on something in the air because she glances at me, then Bishop, and frowns.

“Let’s go into the other room to eat.” I push up from my chair, and stalk out of my workspace.

Rook returns a couple of minutes later, and we spend the next five minutes spreading out containers of pasta and garlic bread across the coffee table.

We continue working on the extraction plans between bites of fettuccine.

"These response times seem optimistic." Bishop wipes sauce from his mouth with a napkin. "Five minutes for armed backup?"

"Standard protocols," Rook replies.

More time passes as we refine details, moving back into my workspace once everyone is finished eating. Eva contributes suggestions about medical supplies, pointing out things we might need for different scenarios. Her practical knowledge, while basic, impresses my brothers. I see it in the way they slowly begin to include her in tactical discussions.

"We need to take a break, and get some rest. We’ll be back here at oh-two-hundred hours." Bishop finally stands. "We'll bring everything with us."

"Do you need anything else?" Rook looks at me.

"We're good." I keep working on shutdown sequences. "See you at two."

Eva walks them to the elevator, their quiet conversation carrying hints of approval I'm not sure how to process. When she returns, something has shifted in her expression.

"Your brothers are ... intense." She moves closer. "But I don’t think they hate me.”

"They respect capability." I rest my hands on her hips and pull her between my legs. The scent of her fills my nose. "And you’ve shown plenty of that today."

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