Page 84 of Echoes of War

Alexiares

“I’m not worried about what Finley had to say, because we don’t need her. Even still, she offered us something of value, anyway. It’s a win as far as I’m concerned.” Amaia fought to keep her tone even, but I saw right through the bullshit.

She was hiding something and the thought of that fucking hurt. Had I not proved my loyalty to her? I would do anything for this woman who had rocked my world in more ways than I could count. What was worse was that I knew better than to buy into the whole family shit they had pushed so hard for. Of course, that didn’t include me. Why would it?

“Why don’t we need her?” I asked, wanting her to be straight up with me. “I thought you were worried about Kansas.”

Her lips pulled into a tight smile, head held high. “I was until Imade plans.”

“Of course you did.” I scoffed, hating when she did that stupid, prideful shit. “Care to enlighten anyone else?”

A lie. I didn’t hate it. I just hated it when it was directed toward me.

“Riley has it under control. He should be putting them into place by the time we get back. Don’t stress over nothing.”

“Right,” I gave a tense nod in frustration, “Riley. What can Riley do that I can’t?”

She wiped her palms against her torn pants, turning her back to me. “There you go again, with that string of jealousy. It’s not cute.”

“It’s not jealousy, it’s annoyance. What’s not cute, Amaia, is you trying to use Moe to look into my past and future. How long did that go on for? Until we made it to Duluth?” I ground out.

The thing was it made sense that she had used Moe in that situation. I got it, really I did, scouts’ honor or whatever. I was the new guy who had shown up in not the best of circumstances. I had been cagey when I arrived. That certainly hadn’t played in my favor in hindsight. In my defense, it hadn’t exactly been the most welcoming environment. In her defense, she now knew I had been there to kill her and burn Monterey Compound to the ground. Semantics.

“Oh,” she muttered.

I crossed my arms in response, biting the inside of my cheek. “Oh?”

“Yeah,oh.” Amaia sighed her haughty little sigh, matching my stance. “As in, you’re still stuck on that.”

Her curls bobbed around every time her head moved, attitude rolling off her. It was shocking how much insolence and stubbornness could be kept inside such a small body. Amaia was a Tasmanian devil, wild and untamed. Not able to control an ounce of her emotions the way she thought she could when it came to me. Wewere so similar, sometimes it was as if we brought out the worst in each other.

I kicked that thought to the door the moment it entered my mind. That wasn’t true. Amaia brought out the best in me. She challenged who I was at my core and I could only hope to one day return the favor.

Swallowing the laugh that wanted to find its way free, I kept my face slack. I was pretty sure Amaia didn’t want me to bring out the good in her. That wasn’t what she appreciated about me and I knew it. We both took what we needed from each other. She fed her beast from mine.

I loved that about her. Loved a lot of things about her.

“Hard not to be, considering it came out an hour ago,” I retorted.

Amaia inspected the dirt beneath her nails. “Hm, then you’d be even more mad if you knew why I wasn’t upset when she couldn’t.”

My tongue slid across my teeth, biting down on the anger rising within me. I didn’t want to be angry with her. Most of it wasn’t even coming from what we were currently arguing about. This was just an outlet I could find relief in, a fight she might let me win. My girl did no such thing. That was how hurt people operated. We hurt each other.

“Continue,” I said.

“You don’t give me orders, Alexiares.”

Nodding slowly, I smirked. Daring her to go on. “Continue, Amaia.”

“Damn it!” she shouted, kicking at the wall. The photo of the family fell to the ground with the impact. Amaia stared at it for a moment, flames encasing her hands. She took a deep drag of air, willing them away. “Stop pushing me on this! I made him a promise. It’s not up to me to reveal his secrets.” The latter came out softer, adjusting from her unsuspecting anger.

I was better off solving a fucking five-hundred piece puzzle than trying to understand Amaia. Every time I thought we got closer, she pushed me further away. I didn’t like it, it made me feel … lonely.

“His secrets or the secrets the two of you share?”

She went quiet, attention trained on the stupid dust coated floors again. I crossed the room, towering over her. Cautiously, I guided her chin up, forcing her to meet my stare.

“Oh … it’s not just the two of you, is it?” I questioned.

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