Shrugging my shoulders, I let a grin slip as I say, “She’s family.”
He grumbles something I don’t catch, and I feel instantly lighter.
“Don’t poke him, Pres,” East chuckles.
“There were no adult remains found at the explosion site,” Seth blurts uneasily.
“Oh, dear God,” my mother says, clutching her heart.
“Civilians, Seth,” Ashton says through gritted teeth. “Rein it in.”
What the fuck does ‘no adult remains’ mean?Giving Ashton the side eye, I can tell he is thinking the same thing.
“Sorry. That means that Loki wasn’t caught in it. Knowing him, he probably set the explosion himself to buy some time, but that’s just speculation at this point. As you know, we have had nothing from him for six weeks. That’s not his MO, so there is still reason for concern. Ashton has confirmed that Loki took out the entire operation. Anyone looking to take over will have no ties to any of you, so that’s the good news.”
“Then why hasn’t he come home?” my mother asks, worry lacing her shaky voice.
“According to intel, the Russians have taken over that territory, and they won’t go near Loki,” Ash tells her. “But that doesn’t explain why we haven’t heard from him. There has to be a piece we’re missing.”
“Why would bad guys be scared of Loki?” Sloane asks.
“Are you taking notes?”I think this freaking girl is taking notes like she’s in class.
She looks around guiltily. “Loki sounds like he would make a good hero.”
Seth marches to her and rips the notebook out of her hands. “This isn’t a fucking joke. Loki is the most highly trained special agent we have seen in decades. That doesn’t mean he’s invincible.”
“Hey,” I interject. “Tone it down, Seth. This is a lot for anyone to take. Sloane hasn’t been here long enough to be desensitized like the rest of us.”
“How is he different from other agents?”
Christ, where is Emory? Her sister does not know when to stop.
“Loki graduated the same year as Preston, Dex, and I, but he is two years younger. In book terms, he would be the hero, the nerd, the jock, the man from the wrong side of town, and the bad boy all rolled into one.”
When Trevor finishes speaking, we all stare at him in shock.
“What? Have you read her books?” he whispers. “They are like fucking crack to Julia. I think she is going to break my dick if she keeps reading them. I swear, every goddamn chapter, she is climbing me like a tree. I’ve even thought about buying her a dildo just to give my junk a rest.”
When I hear Dex exhale, I look at him and almost laugh.
“Thank fuck. I thought it was just Lanie’s hormones all out of whack again. I actually hid in the closet last night when I saw she was reading another one. I’m chaffed in places no man should ever chaff.”
Are these two idiots kidding me right now?
“Please tell me you two numbnuts are not complaining about having too much sex,” I say, running a hand over my forehead.
“You just wait. You don’t understand what those books do to women,” Trevor grumbles, cupping his sack.
Jesus Christ.
“Ah-hem. Are you ladies about done over there?”Fucking Seth. Giving him the finger, I motion for him to continue.
“The reason I’m giving you this intel is that the agency has called off the search. After he pinged a second time, they’re considering him AWOL.”
“What?”
“He wouldn’t do that.”