Page 50 of We Will Rise

By the time I get back to the compound, I can’t stop yawning.

I need a long, hot soak in the tub, and then I want to curl up with one or more of my men and sleep into next week. Okay, maybe not actually that long, but just a full, uninterrupted eight hours would do me the world of good right now.

The girls have been having nightmares, which is more than understandable, but that’s meant I haven’t been getting much sleep, and at this point I’ve never understood the saying “dead on your feet” more.

I take the elevator to the floor the offices and bedroom are on, completely bypassing my own room. As much as I’d love to be surrounded by my things right now, I need the comfort of my men.

The doors slide open, and another yawn escapes me as I step out into the hallway, looking each way before I decide to check Crew’s office first. He spends at least sixteen hours a day in there, so there’s a good chance I’ll find him behind his desk.

But when I stop in the doorway, I find the light off and the computer screen turned off.

Weird.

I turn on my heel and move back toward the bedrooms. Maybe they’re all just as exhausted as I am and have turned in early despite the fact the sun hasn’t even set yet.

I reach Bishop’s bedroom, but the door is open and the room is empty.

A frown pulls at my brows. I don’t know if it’s just my overactive imagination or everything we’ve been through in the last few weeks, but my heart rate picks up as I push Crew’s bedroom door open and find a dark, empty room.

What the fuck?

“Guys?” I call out, hoping one of them will hear me and put me out of my misery. While I wait, I cross the hall and push Kaos’s bedroom door open, finding the same thing I did in the others.

A door further down the hallway opens, and Kovu steps out, sweat across his brow and his hair pushed back out of his face like when he’s been doing a workout.

“Hey!” he says a little too loudly. “You’re home earlier than we thought.”

“Uh, yeah. Luca has everything under control.” I flick my eyes to the door behind him, the same room that I caught him sneaking out of last week. “What are you up to?”

“Oh nothing, just going through some old junk,” he replies quickly.

My frown deepens. He’s lying to me.

Anxiety washes over me. What reason does he have to lie? Unless they’re keeping something from me. Or someone, perhaps. That thought makes my stomach roll uncomfortably. It can’t be that. Surely it’s not that.

“How about we go have a long shower together, and then we’ll order in for dinner?” He takes a step toward me, but I step out of his reach.

“What’s in the room, Kovu?”

“It’s just a junk room.”

I press my eyes closed to force the tears threatening to escape from falling. The lack of sleep and complete clusterfuck that has been the last few days has me more emotional than I normally would be. Plus, my period is due any day now, and my hormones are all over the place.

When I open my eyes, Kovu is standing in front of me, his eyes full of concern. “You okay, Little Lamb?”

I flinch at the nickname, causing his brows to furrow.

“You’re lying to me.” The words are bitter on my tongue, but I force them out regardless. I promised myself I wouldn’t fall into a relationship founded on lies, and they promised after they didn’t tell me Kovu was the one to end my father’s life that there would be no more lies, no more deception. And yet here we are.

His blue pools fill with regret as he flicks a look over his shoulder. “Stay here.” He turns on his heel, and before I can argue, he slips back into the room.

I cross my arms over my chest and huff out a sigh. I’m too tired to deal with this, and yet I stay put despite how badly I want to turn my ass around and head down to my room.

A few minutes pass before the door opens and Bishop steps out. His sweatpants and black shirt are covered in paint, which has my brows rising, and then I spot the flecks in his hair, and I have to fight the laugh that tries to escape.

“Hi, love.”

“Bishop,” I say coldly. “What’s going on in there?”

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