Page 29 of Six
“Did Jeremy ever come here?”
Six wasn’t sure what thought was driving that question, but she answered. “Yes, he’s been a few times. Holiday parties, mostly.”
“Do you have a picture?”
Without hesitation, Six pulled her phone out, logged back into her cloud account, and started hunting through her photo albums. Less than a minute later, she found a series of photos from Cyn’s Fourth of July party the prior year, several of which contained Jeremy. Her eyes lingered on a photo of him with Nora. Nora had brought a litter of puppies she’d been fostering, and Jeremy and she had spent much of the afternoon playing with the little beasts. In this particular picture, Nora and Jeremy had an arm around each other and each held a little black-and-white bundle of joy in their other arm. Her friends were smiling and laughing, and the puppies were trying to lick their faces.
Six blinked away tears and handed the phone over to Abyasa, who twisted in her seat so Candra and Shinta could see the screen as well. Abyasa scrolled through several pictures. It was a paltry thing to offer. But trust was earned. If showing these women proof of her relationship with Jeremy—and his with Nora, Cyn, and Devil—helped to earn it, then that’s exactly what she’d do.
All of her friends remained where they were, patiently waiting for the women to make a decision. Five minutes later, Abyasa handed Six her phone back.
“We are ready,” she said.
Six nodded, then opened her door and climbed out. Circling to the passenger side, she reached it as Abyasa closed her door behind her. A few seconds later, both Shinta and Candra were standing at their side.
Six gave them a moment to look at Cyn’s house. Inspired by the Breakers in Newport, Rhode Island, it wasn’t a house to be ignored. “Ready to meet everyone?” Six asked.
The three women shared a look, then Abyasa nodded. Six gestured them forward, and as one, Devil, Nora, and Cyn came down the steps. Gavin joined Joe, who’d remained by the door, shaking the man’s hand in greeting.
Six introduced the women to her friends and from there, Devil swiftly took over. Apparently one of the many languages she spoke was one all three women understood. Soon, her friend was ushering the women inside and through the foyer to the large kitchen at the back of the house. Six brought up the rear of the group, though Joe and Gavin trailed behind her, speaking in low voices.
It was nearing dinnertime, but Devil offered to show the women to their rooms first, and Nora assured them that there were clothes for them as well. Nodding in agreement, the women allowed Devil and Nora to usher them upstairs, while she and Cyn stayed behind to get the food ready.
When they were out of earshot, Cyn turned to Six. “Do you think Candra is one of the women in the pictures?”
Her hair and body type were the right fit, but Six didn’t know and hadn’t asked. “Possibly. We’ll have to find out at some point, but I think we should let them settle in and talk to us when they are ready.”
Cyn nodded and started pulling items out from her refrigerator. “Abyasa seems like the one they rely on to guide group decisions.”
Six opened a bottle of wine as Cyn checked the oven. “Definitely. I think part of it is the language—she speaks a little English, so she probably had a different kind of connection with Jeremy. But you’re right, they are all incredibly strong women to be here doing what they’re doing, but Abyasa has a confidence that I think the others take comfort in.”
“Are you going to introduce me?” Cyn said with a nod of her head toward where Joe and Gavin stood talking in front of the window. The two men were about the same height and, although Joe was slightly leaner, had a similar build. But that was about the extent of the similarities between them. Well, Six cocked her head and watched them. Perhaps not. They may look physically different, but they had similar intense expressions on their faces. And both men had the air of someone confident in himself and his place in the world.
She cleared her throat, and the two men looked over.
“Six,” Joe said, coming forward and brushing a kiss on her cheek. “I’ll admit, when Cyn told me where you’d gone this afternoon, I had my doubts it was a good idea, but I’m glad you did.”
She inclined her head. “Me, too. Gavin can fill us in on what happened after I took the women away. But first, Cyn, this is Gavin Cooper, British Special Forces and paralegal extraordinaire. Gavin, this is Cyn Steele.”
“It’s very nice to meet you. I understand you and Six will be working…closely together,” Cyn said. The words might have been polite, but Cyn had infused them with her trademark mischievous undertones. Gavin grinned, winked, and shook her hand.
“Lovely to meet you as well. I have a feeling we may be seeing more of each other after tonight.”
Gavin, Cyn, and Joe all turned to look at her. “Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Six muttered, yanking out a single wineglass and pouring herself a healthy dose.
“None for me?” Gavin asked.
“Or me?” Cyn chimed in.
“Fuck off, both of you,” she said, then took a big gulp. Cyn’s wine wasn’t really gulping wine, but at the moment, Six didn’t care. “And you,” she said, pointing to Joe. “Wipe that grin off your face.”
Joe, who’d been looking down, trying to hide a smile, raised his eyes and managed to meet her gaze. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Six,” he said with as much innocence as he could muster. Then he cleared his throat and turned to Gavin. “We have beer, if you prefer.”
Gavin nodded and walked to the fridge with Joe to see what was available. Six shot Cyn a dirty look. Just because Cyn had ended up in a relationship with Joe after Franklin’s shenanigans didn’t mean she and Gavin were headed down the same path. She’d traveled that road before with another operative and had no desire to ever do so again.
Yeah, there were very few secrets—other than the ones required by law—that Six had from her friends, but the events of an op eight years ago was one of them. Another time, another op, another man. It had been amazing until it wasn’t and after that, Six had decided that relationships weren’t for her so long as she continued to work for AISE. Especially relationships with other operatives.
“Are you going to share?” Cyn asked, pointing to the wine bottle Six still had her hand wrapped around.
