Page 3 of Kortlek

“No, it does not,’’ he agrees. “But you’re not bulletproof either, are you?”

“Okay, you have a point, but—’’

“Just drop it, alright? It’s not happening this time, or the next one. Not until you complete the training regime you’ve been procrastinating for two years.’’

I scoff. “I wouldn’t call it procrastinating. I just never had the time, alright?”

“Oh? And what were you so busy doing?"

“Just… stuff.’’

“Stuff?” He raises an amused brow. “By stuff, you mean dropping out of college twice, or do you mean running around the world with Rose, getting high and drunk on every beach known to mankind while chasing hot men?”

I open my mouth to respond, then shut it closed.

He does have a point.

“Alright, I’ll finish the training regime for next time.’’

He snorts, pouring himself and Blair a glass of whiskey each. “Yeah, right. I’ll believe it when I see it.’’

With a deep breath, my eyes turn to the window. The VIP booth is located on a platform in one of the corners, and the glass is tinted; no one from the outside can see inside. As always, it’s packed with people. Everyone’s dancing, drinking, and having a good time, completely unaware that my brother, his girlfriend, and his best friend just randomly picked how many people they’ll kill in the near future.

My eyes shift back to Arlo.

“Out of curiosity… where’s the next location?”

Arlo doesn’t have the time to respond when a deep chuckle comes from Cove. As usual, he’s been silently observing my interaction with my brother, looking rather bored. Though now, a hint of amusement can be seen on his otherwise stoic face.

“Nice try, little bunny. We’re not that stupid.’’

“Is that nickname ever going away?”

He smirks lightly. “No, unless you get rid of your bunny teeth.’’

My two front teeth do resemble bunny’s teeth, and Cove’s been calling me little bunny since I was fourteen. He thinks I’m short, which I’m not. I’m five foot seven, an average height for a woman. He’s just abnormally tall, which makes everyone short in comparison.

I’d get rid of the teeth and fix them just to have him stop calling me that, but I can’t. They’re my most prominent feature, and I actually happen to love how they look on me. It’s cute, and it’s how I’ve always looked. He’s not calling me little bunny to make me insecure, just to annoy the shit out of me.

And it’s succeeding.

With a sip of my sparkling water, I toss on my jacket and head out of the club. I don’t bother bidding them goodbye because I’m wearing a necklace with a tracker in it, so Arlo will definitely be alerted if something happens to me.

Being in Cove’s presence is rough.

He is rough.

He is so fucking hot.

I’ve had a small crush on him since I’ve met him, though I never voiced it out. Until I got high and drunk on my eighteenth birthday, two years ago, and spilled the beans. Unfortunately for me, I wasn’t that high or drunk enough to not remember it, and although he didn’t reject me, I know he never felt the same way.

He’s always been the quiet, reserved type, distant almost. However, ever since I told him how I felt, he has made sure to put more distance between us, as if to silently let me know he’s rejecting me.

Which is why I never brought it up. It happened, and I regret it. It ruined the friendship we had, and if my brother ever found out, I’m not sure if he’d kill me for confessing to Cove or if he’d kill Cove for not reciprocating my feelings.

For now, all I can do is act like it doesn’t bother me when I see him with his usual flings or that it doesn’t hurt when he barely speaks to me. It’s the only way for my stupid feelings to stay hidden because not one scenario is viable here where I’d get a happy ending with him.

And the sooner I make my peace with it, the better.

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