Page 13 of Raven's Claw
She laughed.“God, your face.I’m kidding.”
Kash held firm when she went to move.“Are you?”
She simply stared at him.
He closed the distance.“C’mon, before Zain proves Foster wrong.”
Kash led her into the other room, holding her chair before sitting next to her.There was a round of greetings, then everyone settled into an easy conversation.And Kash had to admit, his brothers kept it light.Nothing about her past — how she’d vaulted over Tucker like a damn gymnast.Safe topics.The weather.The café.Some of their adventures with Raven’s Watch.Anything, but what really mattered.
They’d been sitting there for about an hour when Jordan sighed, shaking her head as she gazed around the room.
She pushed back in her chair, resting her hands on the top of the table.“While I realize Kash probably threatened you with some form of horrific punishment if you said anything remotely controversial, the obvious tension is starting to take a toll.”
The room fell silent, everyone staring at her.Mouths pinched tight.Eyes narrowed.Even Nyx stopped panting, pushing onto her haunches at Kash’s side.
Jordan dabbed the corners of her mouth with a napkin, studying them all in turn before sighing.“How about I clear the air a bit.”She took a breath, looking at Foster and Mac.“I’m not a sleeper agent.”She moved on to Zain.“I’ve never worked for the CIA.”Finally, Chase.“And I’m not part of the mafia.”
Her confession lingered in the air, like an echo still playing in the distance.She’d been serious.The even tone.The steady eye contact.Kash wasn’t sure if this was progress — if she was starting to align with his way of thinking even if he hadn’t voiced it, yet — or if she was upping her schedule.Giving them just enough of the truth, they wouldn’t question it when she vanished.
Foster leaned forward, his forearms braced on the table.“But you did...Work for an agency.”
He hadn’t framed it as a question.Just a simple statement.No judgement.No hidden implications.
Jordan gave Kash a quick side-eye, resting one arm over the back of her chair.“I did… Until seven months ago.”
Chase nodded.“Did something change?”
“We had a… difference of opinion.”She shrugged.“And we parted on less-than-ideal terms.”
“What kind of terms are we talking?Bad blood and a shitty job reference, or a tactical squad showing up on your doorstep?”
Jordan slipped Kash another glance.“Nothing I can’t handle.”
Zain narrowed his gaze, giving the room a quick sweep before inching forward.“So, more of the second.Makes me wonder if you thought Tucker was coming for you.”
Jordan didn’t blink.“You seem fairly certain he wasn’t.”
“Atticus vets potential crew fairly rigorously.And I’d expect your former agency to send someone worthy of you breaking a sweat.Not a guy you took down in all of five seconds.”
“Different skill sets for different outcomes.”She folded her hands on the table, again, but not before Kash noticed the slight tremble.“Hypothetically speaking, of course.”
Zain obviously noticed too because he sat a bit straighter.“Are you suggesting they’d send someone you could neutralize in your sleep just to get you to show your hand?”
She stared directly back at Zain, pulling in a few easy breaths, before shifting on her seat.“I just wanted to clear the air.”
“Well, that’s a yes.And now I’m thinking I want to rethink my pool strategy.Side with Kash.”
Her breath caught, the corners of her mouth tightening.As if she’d realized she’d given them a bit too much.
Kash pushed back his chair, then stood.“And that’s our cue to head back to my place.”He leaned in.“I promise I can make a killer cup of coffee without setting the room on fire.”
Jordan clambered to her feet a second later, her palm sliding over his.His buddies all stood, hands digging into their pockets.
Foster moved around to their side.Close, but not to the point Kash thought she’d see him as a threat.“I’ll make sure your clothes are stacked by the back door, so they’re ready whenever you need them.And for the record… Just because we’re not still wearing the uniforms, doesn’t me we’ve stopped stepping up.We all spent twenty years eliminating threats.Nothing’s changed.”
Jordan glanced down, staring at her feet, or maybe the floor.She inched closer to Kash before looking up.“I’ll keep that in mind.Thanks for dinner.It was… pleasantly uneventful.”
“I meant what I said, Jordan.We don’t scare easily, and we don’t back down.All you have to do is talk to us.”
