Page 65 of His Black Onyx

"Only if we have to, and this mission is no different, for the Covey, that is. It's not about agreeing to deals with them, but about gaining ground on a territory that will always be theirs."

She knots her eyebrows as she scrapes up the last remnants of her meal. Her portion size was the same as mine, and I'm mildly impressed by how such a petite person can eat such a large amount of food.

"Are you good? Need more?"

She shakes her head emphatically. "No, God no, it was great. But I am stuffed."

Her eyes wander to my plate, and a hint of shame appears to cross her pretty face when she realizes that she finished ahead of me. Adorable.

"Do you really think it will work out? The Onyx mission." she whispers shyly.

She averts her eyes when I look at her now, as if she's afraid of me—or of the response to her question.

"For the Covey, I mean," she hurries to add. "Let's say I can do what you need me to do—which you know, I highly doubt—do you think the Covey will get out of this what they're hoping for?"

Knitting my eyebrows, I cast a quick look to the closed door behind my back. There's no one around, as far as I can tell, but in here you never know for sure who's listening. It's dangerous enough that Lailah told her anything, here, in this house.

"Yes," I say. "I wouldn't do it if I didn't believe in it."

She noticed my little scan and nods in understanding. Something about her has changed over the past few hours since arriving here. It may just be the added comfort of this mansion compared to the shitty safe house, or the fact that we're closer to the city, maybe feeding her hope for a successful flight attempt.

But maybe it's something else. Maybe she feels safe because of something that should worry me. Next to her fear, she has shown a degree of confidence that seems uncalled for, given her situation.

And it may be due to something that's happening outside of our world, unbeknownst to us.

"By the way, that Jayson Bowlan guy," I say, giving voice to my suspicion. "I need you to tell me a little more about him."

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