Page 28 of Unraveling Connections

She is obviously trying to get rid of us, but I really can’t see why.

Pete frowns but quickly switches it for a smile and pulls her into a hug again, “Okay. Well, we should probably get going. We haven’t been home for far too long. If you need anything, and I mean anything, you have my number. Message me day or night, and I will be there. Got it?”

Emmerson’s weird demeanour disappears for a second as she smiles softly, and it actually reaches her eyes, “I’ve got it.”

“Good,” I reply and hug her as well.

As we walk down the hall I glance back and see that she is still standing in front of the door, one hand wrapped tightly on the handle and a look of determination in her eyes that she quickly wipes as she sees me looking. She pastes on the fakest smile I have ever seen and waves before she quickly rushes through her door, slamming it closed behind her.

“That was weird right?” Peter asks.

I nod, “I thought so. She kept switching from normal and really fucking sad, which is understandable, to twitchy and like she couldn’t wait for us to leave.”

“Maybe she was just embarrassed about her lab being so messy?” he suggests, sounding unsure and like he doesn’t believe the suggestion himself.

“I don’t know, it seemed like more than that, but I have never grieved for a parent that I was close to, and everyone grieves differently. Maybe this is just how she is?” I ask.

“Just how who is?” Trick asks as we meet them just outside the café, their hands full of food and drinks; he hands me my own large coffee.

“Thanks,” I reply gratefully, taking a sip before I answer, “Emmerson was acting strange.”

“Isn’t that sort of expected?” Rage asks with a frown, “I mean she did just lose her mom.”

“Yeah, that’s what we’re putting it down to, it was just weird,” Peter replies, and then quickly explains as we head out of Headquarters.

I was kind of hoping that we would see Zemi, but like us she’s not in headquarters all the time and often is out on jobs. I have been meaning to talk to her about going over to her place; of course, that is assuming that we are still invited; there is a goodchance that she has changed her mind, and I wouldn’t blame her. It shows a tremendous amount of trust to even invite us to her home. Our lives are so dangerous, and the mole proved that we needed to be extremely careful because even an organization like ours isn’t safe. That is why I will still be extremely honored that she invited us even if she has changed her mind.

I mean, we haven’t invited her to our place, and we probably won’t, not for a long time. That is more to do with the fact that we have got a lot of criminals after us who are personally linked to us in some way. We need to remain hidden for more reasons than most of the agents here. I am hoping that at some point, we will have dealt with all the people after us, and we will be safe enough that I can invite Lyric and her guys up.

It's not because I don’t trust her, we have fought alongside her, and both her and the guys have saved our lives as we have saved theirs. They are well and truly our friends, but our home and our safety is not something that I can risk. Fortunately, because they are our friends, they understand this completely and they would never expect us to invite them to ours just because they have invited us to their home.

To be honest, that’s what makes them such great friends and why, eventually, we will have them over to our place.

“Are you okay, Ever?” Jensen asks me, snapping me out of my thoughts. “I’ve been waving food in front of your face for age.”

I was so deep in thought that I completely missed getting in the car and leaving the organization. I fully spaced out thinking about Zemi and her men. That is something else, I need an update on her and her men.

Chapter Nine

Ever

“Shit, sorry. I think I’m tired, I got lost in my own world,” I reply, as I practically snatch the sweet-smelling treat.

“I love that when there’s a pastry around, you’re like a feral little gremlin.” Jensen grins.

I raise my eyebrow, “Gremlin? I look like a gremlin?”

I catch Rage’s gaze, and he smirks, his eyes twinkling with amusement as he looks toward the window to hide his grin.

“I er, no, of course not. Well, unless gremlins are beautiful? Are gremlins beautiful? You know I don’t actually know what they look like,” Jensen rambles, he looks around the car and adds almost desperately, “guy’s help a fellow boyfriend out?”

I only just manage to keep my laughter inside before he looks back at me.

“Oh no, you’re in this on your own,” Luc smirks.

“He’s right; you were stupid enough to insult our girlfriend,” Rage agrees, still looking out the window to hide his smile, although he has somehow made his voice sound completely serious.

“What!” Jensen exclaims, “What happened to solidarity between boyfriends?”

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