Page 76 of Wrath
He gave a curt nod. “It’s a bit of overkill for me, though. I probably don’t need it.”
“The suit isn’t only for protection,” Griffin explained. His dark gray outfit hugged his body like a second skin, giving Misha a good idea of his musculature underneath. Out of habit, his hand lifted to adjust his phantom glasses, then lowered, scowling when he must have remembered their absence. “You’re part of the team, Wyatt. You’re part of the family. The suit has comms links, AIMI’s interaction, the vitals health monitoring, the—”
“Yeah. I get it. Sorry,” Wyatt conceded. “I’ll wear the suit.”
Silence settled on the room and then Liza spoke up. “Did you just… apologize?”
“Fuck off.” Wyatt’s ears reddened. “We’re getting sidetracked here. We’ve got details to hash out, and time is wasting.”
“Wyatt’s right.” Parker ran his hand through his long auburn mane. He shifted the laptop he’d been eyeing out of the way and revealed some blue and white paperwork. “Tony, get out of that ridiculous disguise and get into your suit.”
Tony groaned dramatically. “I dressed up for nothing?”
Misha bit her lip. “My little brother’s in danger.”And it’s my fault.
“Way to be disrespectful, bro.” The sarcasm dripped from Evan’s tone as he clapped Tony on his shoulder. “The douche has her younger brother. We’re assuming Alek is safe because Dimitri hasn’t called with demands, but that might not be the case.”
Please be safe, Alek.
Even through his makeup, Tony had the grace to look ashamed. “No one told me.”
“You were too busy making us fawn over your disguise,” Liza replied.
Tony approached Misha, and she couldn’t help feeling awkward.
When they’d met on the dance-floor in Hell, he was up for anything. In fact… a bit too much. He had wanted to take things further with her, and to be honest—a one-night stand with a hunky movie star was right up her alley—but when she’d learned that his idea of partying included substances that weren’t exactly legal, she’d declined. She was grateful for that missed ship now. It made her icky to think of Wyatt’s brothers like that.
“Sorry, Meesh,” Tony pouted as he tugged his big ears off. “My bad. We’ll get your brother back, don’t worry.”
“Thanks, Tony,” she mumbled. “I’m sorry you didn’t get a chance to play.”
But as soon as the words left her mouth, something clicked in her mind. Wyatt had said the recon mission was over, and that it was an extraction instead. Did that mean the original plan was being set aside for a new one, meaning she wouldn’t be involved?
“I still have to go,” she announced. Alek would need her there. She was his safety net, plus Dimitri was volatile. Who knew what he’d do if she didn’t turn up as planned.
All eyes settled on her, and Wyatt’s eyes blazed. “I thought we discussed this earlier.”
“That was before I found out Dimitri took Alek to ensure my capitulation.”
“The situation is worse, if anything. Even more reason for you to stay safe here.”
Grace shot Misha a worried glance as she settled behind Evan at the strategy table. Misha knew exactly what she was thinking, but the truth was, Misha was wrong in her initial assessment. She could very well have caught a viral bug. Her vomiting could have been one of those hourly things. Sure, those were a thing. She was feeling much better. The fact she was late for her period could mean anything. The implant slowed all that down anyway.
“If I don’t turn up, Dimitri will execute Alek,” she stated. “I’ve told you how he is. The only reason he’s keeping Alek alive is because he wants me there. He hasn’t even announced it to us, has he? I mean, he hasn’t contacted you to let you know Alek is there?”
Parker shook his head. “But that doesn’t mean anything. Wyatt is right. Things have changed. You’re a civilian, you should stay here where it’s safe.”
“Dimitri wants me to turn up for our planned meeting, and he wants to use Alek to get me to do something. Just like he always does. This sick game he has of using me as a puppet isn’t working anymore, so he’s gone to bigger lengths. You don’t understand. He’ll shoot my baby brother.”
“We don’t negotiate with insane people.” Griffin folded his arms.
Panic welled inside Misha. This was all going wrong. SheknewDimitri. Understood how his brain worked. Once she arrived, she could distract Dimitri with whatever he wanted her to do, and then the others could swoop in and save Alek. Or better yet, she could convince him it was all unnecessary, and he was the man in charge as usual. God, she didn’t care what outfit she had to wear, or what promises she needed to make, as long as her baby brother was safe.
“I can get the CCPD on it,” Liza offered. “Call in SWAT. Do we have any proof that the kid is being held hostage?”
“Negative.” Parker mulled over the table. “The family said he left on his own, and they haven’t heard demands either.”
“He’s in there. I know it.” Misha’s eyes began to water.
