Page 34 of Zero
“Why don’t I pick Dude up since I know the lay of the land?” I asked. “You can have the others help with whatever you need. Just give me a picture.”
“I don’t want you to be left alone.”
“I’ll be fine.” I kissed his nose. “Besides, I’ll only be alone one way. I’ll have a super badass, no doubt sexy, SEAL with me on the way back.”
Rei growled. The green-eyed monster raged through his beautiful gaze making me smile.
“Down boy.” I reached up to nip at his ear. “Whose bed am I in?”
“Mine.”
“And don’t you forget it.” I giggled while scrambling from the bed before he could hold on to me. “Get up, shower. I’ll make you and the others something to eat.”
He muttered something under his breath, his eyes taking in every bit of my body as I dressed. Once I was finished, I tossed his track pants and boxers into his lap.
“I mean it. Get dressed.”
“Taskmaster.” He grumbled but climbed out of the bed, got dressed and padded after me out the door.
While I ventured out to make food, he grabbed his laptop. Eton was out back doing exercises with Jasmine and Patrick. I knocked on the glass to wave at them. Once they returned the greeting, I set to work, listening to Rei move about the place like a lost spirit.
It was just after six in the morning, but already the bullshit of reality was beginning to crack through the veil. I exhaled, said a soft prayer for my brother and began moving food to the dining room.
Eventually, they all convened.
Each person grabbed a plate as they talked over the case.
I found the information for Dude’s flight on Rei’s computer. It wasn’t easy. He had to talk me through getting into the damn thing. His computer was packed full of security features and firewalls and all the high-tech mumbo jumbo you hear the nerds talk about on television.
The fact he was smart enough to do all that made me want to take him back to the bedroom.
In the end, Jasmine sat beside me in the passenger seat heading toward the airport. Rei’s plan was to head back to the base and carry on training the other two so that no questions were asked. Once Dude arrived, we’d give him enough time for some rest then he, Rei and Patrick would go to the mansion.
“Justice talks about you all the time.” Jasmine broke the worried silence around us.
“He does?”
“Yeah.” She replied. “He’s very proud. Growing up in the family I did, I didn’t think a brother could love his sister as much as he seems to love you.”
“Not all brothers are the same.” I pointed out.
“Tell me about it.”
“I’m sorry your brother wasn’t—”
“Human?”
I glanced at her quickly as we sped through the heart of St. Ann’s Bay. “Tell me about him?”
“How much time you got?” She asked, exhaling loudly. “He is four years older than I am. Every li’kle girl wanna be ‘round her big brother, you know?”
“I know.”
“Mi follow ‘im everywhere. I was a baby, didn’t know better. I just wanted to be ‘round ‘im, you know?”
I nodded, terrified of where this story would lead.
“He got so angry he grabbed my arm and twisted. Broke it in two places.” Jasmine told me sadly. “Mi father say it was an accident. It wasn’t. It was a bad life with ‘im ‘til mi mother was ‘fraid he’d kill me.”
