Page 43 of Suspicious

Haven smirks. “You know me, I’m gonna play my role. In there, I’ll need to be Blue Jay. I’ll have to be tough, Alpha. But I will gather as much intel as I can, all while keeping a protective detail on your mother, Montana.”

“Thanks, Haven. Ireallyappreciate this,” Montana replies.

Haven moves to stand, but Alpha turns to me. “Loki, can you give her something so we can watch her? I’ll tell the warden to inform the guards so she can keep it on her.”

Nodding, I stand and slide my chair out. “I know just the thing. I’ll go get it prepped right now.”

Alpha rises from his seat to meet the rest of us. “Okay, we have a plan. I’m going to call the warden and see if we can get this moving. In the meantime, Loki, you do your tech thing, and Montana, no word to your mom until we get Haven situated in there. We don’t want anything to slip that we have an informant going inside.”

“Got it,” Montana replies while I head for the stairs, leaving the three of them to it.

I have enough to keep me busy, the sooner I get back to work, the better.

Trudging down the stairs with what feels like the weight of the world on my shoulders, I glance out into the dining room to see if Bea is still there eating her lunch. I can’t find her anywhere. I figure she’s gone back to my bedroom to get some more rest.

Lord knows she probably needs it.

Stepping up to my den, I push open the door but instantly jerk my head back when I spot Bea sitting on my desk, her long legs crossed over each other as they dangle down. Her feet tapping away, her eyes closed as she bounces away, doing some kind of dance, listening to something on her headphones.

Inhaling sharply at the sight of her so happy and carefree, my stomach knots that she honestly has no recollection of the moments we shared last night.

And all it does is send aggravation through me that is hard to control.

Huffing as I step inside my den, I close my door with a hefty bang.

Her eyes shoot open as her entire body jumps on top of my desk with fright, a small giggle erupting from her lips. Striding past her to move to my seat, I don’t say anything.

She pulls on her headphones, yanking them from her ears, and drops them to the desk beside her. “Man, I swear “Bye Bye Bye” by NSYNC is the perfect song to get your mood up, am Iright? I mean, just check out the opening scene toDeadpool and Wolverine. Fucking epic!” she chimes happily.

My annoyance shifts just marginally at how cute she looks right now. The way her smile is so fucking bright, it’s like the sun is fucking radiating in here. She lets out a small giggle, shifting a little closer to me along the desk. “So, anyway… I was thinking,” she states, and I roll my eyes, turning from her toward my keyboard and start getting on with work because that sentenceneverends well. “Hey, Loki, stop. Just hear me out.”

Exhaling, I turn to face her, raising my brow and still not saying a single word to her. “Okay, so… how about… and just go with me on this… you, me, and Theo…” She pauses for dramatic effect, though all it does is make me feel fucking impatient to get back to work. “Go to a karaoke bar? Sing the night away. Just like old times?”

“You want to go to a karaoke bar?” I snort out an obnoxious laugh staring straight at her like she’s gone fucking crazy.

“Yeah, you, me, and Theo. The three of us. We used to be thick as thieves back in the day.”

Huffing, I spin back to face my computer and begin typing, anxiety ripping through me. “Bea, this isn’t like the old days. You can’t just come back into my life after so fucking long and think that karaoke with your brother is going to make everything okay.” My breathing is fast as I try to focus on work, but it’s hard when little Miss Sunshine behind me has suddenly stopped radiating.

She sighs, the weight of the moment crashes down around me, and I finally turn to face her. The smile wiped from her face as she gnaws on her bottom lip. “Are we really not going to talk about it?” she asks with a slight smile.

Groaning, I shrug, completely exasperated. “What do you want to talk about, Beatrice?” I snap.

She widens her eyes, letting out a small laugh. “Full namingme? Youmustbe pissed!”

Growling beneath my breath, I spin back to my computer to keep working, but she keeps persisting.

“You know… they say that a man who is grumpy all the time is lacking inotherareas of his life.”

Inhaling deeply, I try to immerse myself to ignore her, but she continues, “Is that what’s wrong with you, Loki? You know I have a health and wellness app that can help you with some relaxation and meditation techniques,” she quips.

Slowly turning to her, I raise my brow. “And have all my information stolen too?” I jab.

She slaps her hand to her chest, her mouth dropping open as if she is pretending to be shocked. “Oh, that’s hurtful.”

Snorting out a huff, I turn back to my computer. “Not wrong though, am I, Sparkle?”

Bea lets out a small laugh. “Jesus… I haven’t heard that nickname in…” she pauses, and my chest tightens as I continue to work, but I decide to finish her sentence for her.

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