Ronan smiled fondly. “It's a gift he has. I'm sure we all wish we could channel it every time we go on missions.”

There was a wistful sigh that went up around the room. Takeshi looked like he was envious of the fact too, and I know if he could have signed that he might have made one to agree.

I smiled as I leaned over to give him a soft kiss. He was so damn cute, and I was far too infatuated with every little thing he did.

His smiles.

His frowns.

The way his face relayed entire sentences without speaking.

Just a few weeks ago, I was hoping to have that type of connection. And here I was, reading him so clearly. It was amazing what spending all your time with someone could do.

I couldn’t wait to see what else I learned about my husband.

CHAPTER 19

DAMARI

“It will only takeme a few minutes. I promise to go there and straight back.” I stuck my lip out in the way I knew would guarantee Ronan would agree to my request. My boyfriend was rather predictable sometimes.

He grumbled for a minute, then tugged me close. “There and back. No wandering, you hear me?”

“I promise,” I said with my pinky extended his way. With a roll of his eyes, he latched his beefy digit around my much smaller one to secure the vow.

Godric huffed a laugh as Cohen opened his mouth, no doubt to tease my partner. Ronan cut him a look that demanded he not. I watched his jaw slam shut. Memphis took that chance to dive into the rest of his spiel about the bad guys they were chasing.

Normally, I’d be intrigued to know what was coming next. At least, I’d try to be.

Lately, my sleep schedule had been in shambles. Sleeping without Ronan around was always hard. With all the work hours he put in, I found myself curled up in the office more than a few times a week just needing to know he was close.

I knew the guys thought it hilarious how I could sleep anywhere. They had no clue it was a survival instinct built on years of sleepless nights and the need to power nap my way through life.

Not wanting to miss my window, I took off down the hall to leave the NightShade offices. Jared waved as I passed, a phone to his ear as his other hand banged violently on the keyboard.

“I’m sure Tank wasn’t trying to slight you. We’ve been very busy at this time and— ” His frown turned down even more.

The elevator came before I could hear the end of the conversation. Whoever it was would get an earful from my friend if they didn’t stop being so rude. His temper wasn’t the worst, but he didn’t have the best patience during stressful times.

And yeah, we were definitely in a stressful time.

Jared might not know all the details of the Gilded Ones, but he knew enough to know the team was working on some heavy shit. Between the long hours, the lack of new clients, and Tank’s general weariness, it was obvious something more had to be going down.

I shook away the negative thoughts as I exited on the main floor and took off towards Sinclair’s coffee shop. He had planned to come in later, but one of his workers called in sick so he was filling in. All would have been fine and dandy if he hadn’t promised to bring some important drive to Memphis at the office.

That and the general need for another round of caffeine meant it was time for someone to take on the role of errand runner. I volunteered since I was bored out of my mind and Archie wasn’t around to hang with yet. He said he’d be coming by later too, though with how the day had gone that could change.

Sinclair’s shop was busy when I got there a few minutes later. I watched as he rushed around making orders and ringing things up. When he saw me, his eyes widened.

“Oh shit! I’ve got it. Just a sec.” He motioned to the customers in front of him to wait a moment as he switched positions with the girl he had working with him. As he slipped toward the office door, he waved me over.

I followed closely, nervous that all the people waiting would be angry at my interruption. Granted, I didn’t plan to stay long. I would be in and out before it could throw things into disarray.

“Thanks for coming down to get this. Memphis said it was fine if he waited until later to get it, but I didn’t think he’d want to wait even longer given I need to stay,” Sinclair said as he reached into to grab his coat from a hook in the office. He pulled out a thumb drive, then extended it my way.

“This is it?”

He nodded. “Yep. Tiny little thing full of secrets. Just like me, according to Memphis.”