Page 7 of Mad Love

“Not even here?”

She winces. “Okay — yeah — that’s a little tender.”

I pour the rest of my coffee down my throat and my tongue twitches for another cup. “Jeez, Eli. Give her a safe word or something.”

Lucy laughs. “It’s not as bad as yesterday.”

“Good,” he says, snatching a fresh wrap from his medkit. “I’ll give you this, Lucy Vaughn. You heal fast.”

“Ballet has beaten me up since I was a kid,” she says, keeping her smile. “I imagine that’ll come in handy hanging out with you guys.”

“Oh, yeah,” I say.

As I stand to move toward the coffee maker, I hear the soft thud of feet coming down the stairs.

“Hopefully not as much as before, but…” Elijah nods. “Yeah.”

Dante emerges from the stairwell and I smile at him. It’s odd how much some things never change. It’s been years since I’ve watched him bound down those stairs, but the result looks exactly the same. His dark hair sits sloppily to one side. His sleepy eyes shy away from the corner window facing the sunrise. Wrinkled clothes and puffy cheeks.

“Good morning!” Elijah says, keeping his focus on Lucy’s wrist.

“Hey, big brother,” I add, fighting my own yawn as I sit down in front of my laptop to finish booking our hotel rooms.

Lucy tilts her head upward and smiles at Dante. “Hi.”

One little word and my brother melts. Even my heart warms a little as I watch him lean over to kiss her forehead. A tough brute like him brought down by a damn ballet dancer. It’s actually kind of sweet.

Dante takes the seat next to Lucy and gestures toward our bags stacked up near the front door. “Going somewhere?” he asks.

“We have a little business to tend to,” Elijah says, finishing the wrap on Lucy’s wrist.

Dante flashes a suspicious eye. “What kind of business?”

I swallow a healthy sip from my mug. “Nothing to worry your pretty little head about—”

“Lilah—”

“Seriously. It’s nothing.” I laugh as I close my laptop. “More than anything, we just want to give the two of you some privacy.”

Lucy shakes her head. “You don’t have to do that. This is your house more than it is mine.”

“We disagree,” Elijah says.

“And…” I shrug. “We need to take a little time for ourselves. Snake Eyes was a part of us for so long. Living off-mission feels… strange.”

Dante nods. “I know what you mean.”

“Maybe it is time to start over,” I think aloud. “Build a new life somewhere.”

Dante reaches for Lucy and lays a thick hand on her shoulder. “Maybe it is.”

A new life. I have no idea where to even start.

Elijah reaches into his bag and pulls out a cellular phone. “We set up a secure line for all of us to keep in touch,” he says, sliding it across the table at Dante. “Just in case.”

“Exactly what everyone needs when easing into civilian life,” Dante jokes.

“It’s an interesting transition.”

---