Page 113 of Tethered Souls
He grins, then mock salutes.
I cock my head towards the door. “Go.”
“Before breakfast?” he whines.
“You’ll need the time to plan.”
Grumbling, he heads for the door. “First, you make it so I can’t sleep in my damn room without hearing about your dick, and now, I can’t even eat.”
“Here,” Mother says, and he pivots just in time to catch a lunch box.
“Fuck, yes. Love you, bruh!”
He turns, and an onion sails across the room. It pelts him right in the back of the head, and he yelps as he rubs where it hit him.
“What did I tell you about being disrespectful?” she asks.
“Love you,ma,” he says grumpily.
“Love you too, you little shit.”
He laughs as he walks out the door.
“You did good, T,” I say, turning to him.
He ducks his head, then rubs a hand through his black hair. “Rei’s had a really shitty life,” he says slowly. He looks at the reaper. “If you can break him before you get to her…” He trails off.
Khalid nods. “I’ll try.”
“Thanks,” he says, but he doesn’t seem hopeful.
“And Micha,” I say, turning to her as she brings a plate of food to the table – scrambled eggs and bacon and toast.
“Yes?” There’s no tilt to her tone that demands suspicion, but my gut rolls nevertheless.
“I’m calling Leno back, so I need you to go up north as a representative. The groundwork has already been laid. Your father knows the terms. You just need to cement what has been established and drink the required toast. Think you can do that?”
Her eyes widen in shock. That isn’t the job of a woman in the Shadow Domain. They’ve always been nothing but breedmares, but I can’t stand to look at her right now. Can’t stand to have her around. I need to be on top of my game. She’s too distracting. And…
The real reason...
I don’t want to know if she’s a traitor yet.
I want to give myself another few days of bliss. Where there’s no way she can get access to the ledger, no way to trigger the trap I’ve left in my office.
No way for her to hurt me in her betrayal.
A slow smile curls her lips. “Yeah. Yeah, I can do that.”
“Good. You and Khalid will leave after breakfast. He’ll come back without you.”
She nods, then places the plate down in front of my chair. After walking over to me, she leans up and pecks my cheek, and fuck, do I want to grab her and kiss her properly. It’s been too long since I’ve touched her.
But instead I keep my hands at my sides as I take a seat at the table. Until I find out if Micha’s yet another traitor, I don’t trust myself with her at all.
A one woman army…
Forty
