Page 27 of Judgment Day

“Word is going around that the leader of the Triad, Zian’s grandfather, is missing.”

“Okay,” Seven said with a shrug. “What does that have to do with us rescuing Letisha with the guys?”

“Nova believes if the guys are involved with this, the Triad will try to pin the older Fang’s disappearance on them.”

“Shit,” Exa muttered.

“That’s not all.”

Exa sighed. “I figured there was more. None of those things warrant you leaving the room to talk to Nova. Hit me with it. What else did our wonderful superior have to say?”

As Arson relayed Nova’s message, Exa’s heart continued to sink. But Arson’s last line caused Exa’s heart to drop to her feet.

“Exa, superior ordered you not to tell Scar about us taking over this case. We’re to do this in secret. She feared you’d be on the phone with him during my call, which is why she had me leave the room. It wasn’t you that she was keeping it from.”

“It was the man I love,” Exa whispered before Arson could finish.

Arson gave her a sad look. Exa may not know much about relationships, but she knew lying and hiding things from the person she loved was wrong. She knew going behind his back was wrong. Scar had been hurt before. He’d been betrayed before. If she followed Nova’s orders, would he consider this a betrayal?

Would saving a woman and her child’s life cause Exa to lose the trust of the man she loved? What if something went wrong and they weren’t able to save Letisha? Would Scar forever blame that on Exa? Exa blinked back tears. She’d feared a day like this would come – a day when she’d have to choose between Scar and the agency.

She’d hoped it would come later down the line when she was ready to retire anyway. Not right now, when she’d just been assigned to a case Scar was a part of. Not right now, when they were still getting to know each other. Not right now, when they were still in the early stages of forming a trusting bond that could last a lifetime. That bond was getting ready to unravel before it had a chance to finish developing.

“Is that all she said?” Exa asked, glad her voice wasn’t shaking, though she felt like crying.

“She’s going to add Chopper and Des to our team,” Arson told her.

“Destruction is coming here?” Seven asked, excited.

Arson nodded. “She’ll be here after she finishes up what she’s working on. Nova said to expect her in four days.”

Exa was glad she’d finally be able to see Des again. But she was sad because of what Des’s arrival would symbolize. It would represent the end of Exa’s relationship. A relationship Exa didn’t want to end. But was she ready to put her love for Scar above her love for the guild?

“Say something?” Arson told her.

Exa shrugged and stared past Arson. Eyes on the back wall, she said, “What can I say? I’ve been given an order. To disobey would mean going against my superior and the agency.”

“But to obey means you’re going against Scar and his team,” Seven pointed out.

“Either way, you’re going to disappoint someone,” Skye said. “Who is more important to you? The guild or a man?”

Exa’s gaze jerked to Skye. Her apprentice shrugged.

“I’m quoting you,” Skye told her. “That is what you put in the booklets you typed then printed for us to read. You even tested us on this. In the booklet, you said falling in love could complicate our lives and jobs.”

Skye gave her twin a pointed look. Seven looked away and glued her eyes to her computer screen.

Skye continued her lecture. “It also had examples of agents who’d fallen in love and regretted it. A more recent example is Snake. Through her, we witnessed firsthand what love can do to an agent. Love made her become a traitor.”

“That wasn’t love,” Seven corrected her sister. “Snake was brainwashed by a man. That’s something entirely different.”

“It’s the same thing,” Skye countered. “From what I’ve seen of love, it’s just a fancy form of brainwashing. I call it voluntary brainwashing. As soon as the relationship is over and you snap out of your enchantment, then you wonder why you ever loved that person at all.”

Her poor apprentice was like her. She hadn’t seen enough healthy relationships in her life.

“All love isn’t like that,” Exa told Skye.

“I’ve never seen a different kind of love between a couple. Man and man. Man and woman. Woman and woman. It doesn’t matter. It’s all the same in the end. It all leads to regret. What doesn’t lead to regret is sisterhood. I trust you all completely. Exa and Arson, if either of you told me to jump off a building and that I’d be alright, I’d do it. I’d trust you to have a safety net or something in place for me. I have blind faith in you and in Nova. And in my sister. I don’t think I can ever have that same faith in a man. Or a woman. I don’t know if I even want it. But that’s just me,” Skye added. “The question is, what do you want, Exa?”

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