Page 95 of Beta Team-The Saviors: Part One
“Thank you, Chels,” I say sincerely.
“You’re welcome. Make sure you ask Kira when she gets there. I’ll message Jason in a bit.”
“Okay.”
We say our goodbyes, and I sit back in the chair. I can hear Jason laughing at something Keon is saying, and it brings a smile to my face. Having him in my space and waking up to him every morning feels nice. I plan on asking him to move into the new house with me, no matter how this whole thing goes. It’s fast, but I don’t give a fuck. Life’s too damn short to let things as good as Jason and Kira pass you up.
I hear Jason laugh again and make my way into the living room. Jason’s head is lying on Keon’s thigh, and they’re looking at something on Keon’s phone. I slide under Jason’s legs and massage his calves. He smiles and goes back to Keon’s phone, and it just feels… normal. I feel a tug in my chest and know that I’m falling hopelessly fucking in love with him.
“Anything?” Keon asks.
“No. They’re still rolling, though. If he’s around, they’ll catch him at some point.”
Keon settles back on the couch and absently starts running his fingers through Jason’s hair. “Maybe we should go back to that CIA agent’s hideout. See what we can dig up.”
“We can, but I think it was just a safehouse, so there’s probably nothing there.”
“It won’t hurt anything to check,” Keon replies. “I feel like I always have eyes on me.”
“Gavin said the same thing,” Jason adds. “He said he feels like someone is always watching him on campus. I told him it’s probably just because he’s tall and gorgeous.”
I huff a laugh and squeeze his leg. “Possibly.” I didn’t know whether to voice my worry about Professor North. It just seemed like I was adding more shit to the pile. I decide I’ll talk to the team alone, that way I’m not putting more on Kira and Jason. I did tell Nolan to keep digging further into him, but still nothing. I stared at the pictures Nolan had found, trying to stir something in my brain, but there’s been no indication that I know him. But something in my gut is saying to look harder. Maybe I need to see him face-to-face.
I check the time on my phone and realize I have about thirty minutes before Kira leaves his class. Hoping that he’ll walk her out again, I tell Keon and Jason that I’m going to take care of something real fast. Keon gives me a look that says he knows I’m up to something, and I nod, letting him know I’ll let him know later.
I ride to the campus, a million thoughts running through my head. I know I said we shouldn’t go out alone, but I needed Keon to stay with Jason. I pull in twenty minutes later and see Tyler and Gavin on the bench outside the building. With a sigh, I climb from the car, knowing I’m going to have to explain myself.
Tyler sees me first, and his brows furrow. “Is everything okay?” I quickly let them know what I’ve been thinking and what I want to do. Tyler nods in understanding. “Better safe than sorry. You want us to wait at the car?”
“No. Wait for Kira and steer her that way when she comes out. He seems to be taking an awful lot of interest in her.”
“I thought so, too,” Gavin agrees. “But it seemed harmless. They both enjoy reading, so it made sense.”
I shrug. “It probably is, but something is telling me to look further.”
We wait another twenty minutes before Kira pushes through the door, Professor North right behind her. I stay to the side as Tyler and Gavin surround her to lead her away. I step out before Professor North can walk away. His eyes widen for a brief second before it clears. I quickly assess him, seeing if anything seems familiar. He has dark brown hair and eyes. He’s a little shorter than me, not as broad. He’s wearing a simple polo and khakis, and something about it doesn’t feel right, almost like he’s not comfortable in simple clothes.
“I’m Ari,” I introduce, sticking my hand out for him to shake. His eyes flash down to my hand and then back to mine. He shakes it briefly and then shoves his hands in his pockets.
“Adam North.”
“Kira’s told me a lot about you.”
“I wish I could say the same.” There’s an edge to his tone that immediately has me paying attention. His eyes are assessing me, just like I’m doing him. Does he just have a crush on Kira, or did it go deeper than that? I notice that he won’t look me directly in the eye. When he does meet them, they slide away just as quickly. “Is there anything else?”
I cock my head to the side and smile. I know it sounds vain as fuck, but I’ve been able to get information from people just because of my looks. Professor North’s cheeks darken slightly, giving it away that it will work for him, too. “No. I just saw you the other day and thought it would be nice to meet you.” I step closer and watch as he struggles not to take a step back. “She made me curious because of the way she talks about you. She admires you a lot.” Nothing like pumping a man’s ego to get them to loosen up. It works because his chest puffs out slightly.
“I admire her too. Kira’s obviously been through so much in her short life. She’s a good student. Who are you to Kira?”
This is where I have to watch what I say. I can’t say I’m another one of Kira’s boyfriends because he already knows aboutTyler and Gavin. I don’t want to put him on the defensive if he really is just interested in her. “I’m friends with her brother. She decided to stay with me while she’s here.” Not a total lie.
“She told me she moved out of the dorms.”
I glance over at the car, and Kira’s staring at me with a confused look on her face. Maybe I need to tell her what my thoughts are, too. As much as I don’t want to involve her or Jason, I don’t want to keep anything from them. “Well. I need to get going. I hope to run into you again sometime.” I smile at him again and watch him swallow.Gotcha.
“Yeah. Me too,” he replies, his voice cracking on the last word. “Nice to meet you.”
“You too,” I respond, but he’s already high-tailing it into the building.
