Page 63 of Eternal
She didn’t say anything else, she leaned back, her head resting lightly against the window, eyes closed. Anyone else might’ve thought she was calm, relaxed, even careless.
My hands tightened on the wheel, this wasn’t me, I didn’t lose my focus, I didn’t get caught up in shit that didn’t matter.
But here I was, completely off my game, not because she was in my car, but because of how normal it felt, how goddamn easy it was to let myself notice her.
I hated it.
But I couldn’t stop.
The ride to the hotel was mostly quiet.
Kat had sent us the location of a mid-tier hotel in the city near the coordinates Viktor mentioned. It was close enough to the target to be useful but discreet enough not to draw attention.
“Tell me the plan again,” she said finally, breaking the silence.
I glanced at her, and she was already looking at me. For a second, I lost track of what I was going to say.
I forced myself to look away, back at the road. “We’re in the city where the shipment disappeared and know the route it was on before it went dark. We start there, canvas the area, track its movements, and find a lead. It’s not perfect, but it’s what we’ve got.”
It was a barebones plan, too slow, too uncertain for two people alone in hostile territory. The Cosa Nostra might tolerate us poking around for now but you never know.
Some of their clans still didn’t trust the Zennites and outright despised the alliance with the Bratva, not surprising, every alliance had its cracks, and rebellions.
Their “support” here could as easily mean a trap, a few rogue factions waiting for an excuse to sabotage us.
Her head tilted slightly; pretty confident eyes fixed on me. “That’s the plan Vik gave us. What’s yours, partner?”
Partner.
My jaw tightened. “Mine’s the same for now.”
Her lips twitched, not a smile but enough to feel like she’d called me out without saying it outright. “You don’t sound convinced.”
“I’m not,” I admitted. “But it’s all we’ve got unless you have something better.”
The SUV hit a bump, and I shifted gears, my hand brushing her thigh in the process. The movement was entirely accidental, a reflex from adjusting the speed but she didn’t flinch, didn’t acknowledge it.
Her gaze stayed on me. “I want to know what we’re walking into,” she said, her voice steady. “No surprises. And if we need to study it for days before going for it, we’ll do it, rushing could kill us.”
I sighed. “We’ll scout the area when we get there, we’ll figure it out.”
Voron leaned back, her arms crossing over her chest as she turned slightly to face me. “You’ve been watching me the whole ride.”
I kept my eyes on the road. “I like watching you.”
She didn’t respond immediately, and I could feel her eyes on me. After a beat, her voice was cool, like she already knew the answer. “Partner curiosity?”
I smirked, glancing over at her. “Am I not allowed to watch you?”
She shot me a quick look. “Creep.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “You were pretending to sleep. I could see your eyes moving, you know. Who’s the creep now?”
“Whatever the creep says,” she muttered, then added, “I hope you’re as good as they say.”
I couldn’t help the slight smirk that tugged at my lips. “You’ve been digging into me, haven’t you? Getting cautious.”
Her eyes narrowed a little. “Of course. Still not convinced by the whole ‘good soldier’ thing. Why’s it so hard to find anything on you? Every time I dig, I hit a brick wall.”
