Page 42 of Assassin's Game
“Your uncle sent you to a boarding school, right?”
Eli’s snort didn’t agree, even if his, “Yeah,” seemed too.
“He didn’t?” I asked.
Another person would’ve missed the barrier that fell between us, someone less observant. We’d spent the past day and a half drawing lines to keep our teams safe from the other—and, on my end, to keep the way Eli affected me from everyone. But on an op, trust was key, and we had to start building it somehow.
“Eli.”
I didn’t miss the way he wouldn’t look at me, and I didn’t think it had anything to do with keeping his eyes on the road.
“We’ve been fairly transparent with you and your brothers,” I pointed out.
“You didn’t really have much choice.”
Thanks to you, cocky bastard.Not that he hadn’t earned the right to be cocky. “If you guys have as much to lose as we do, at some point the secrets have to start getting told.”
“Maybe.”
Tension held his body tight for a couple of minutes as he navigated a blinking red light and a turn. I could see the moment it eased the slightest bit, but only when he started to speak did I let my held breath go.
“Our public story is that we were raised in a boarding school up north. The truth is”—he cleared the gravel out of his voice—“we ran away. Levi raised us on the streets.”
I thought back to the research Maris and Monty had pulled. “But…”Jesus.“You weren’t even teenagers when your parents died. Why run away?” And how the hell had they managed to survive at that age, alone?
Eli flashed me a look, part steel and part amber fire, before turning back to the road. “We ran away before he killed us too.”
Their uncle had killed their parents.
Immediately memories of Maris at that age hit me, how fragile kids were, how vulnerable. “And”—I swallowed hard—“you went…?”
Eli shrugged, the movement not at all casual. “Nowhere to go.”
Holy...fuck. How had three preteen boys survived on the streets?
I considered what I knew about the three men and shook the question away. Survival and necessity were great teachers. I understood that. And if they’d been underground until Levi emerged last year to accept his inheritance? That was a long time to survive in this profession. No wonder X had the confidence to pit them against an ex-Delta Force team. “So you all—”
Eli put up a hand to stop me, his frown full of regret. “I’ve told you all I can, Mikaela. I’m sorry. They’re not only my secrets to tell.”
He hadn’t actually told me much, but I didn’t argue. I kept my silence until we parked a mile out from where Sullivan’s car had stopped. We left the Corolla behind—I’d return for it when our target was secure—and footed it toward the location for Sullivan’s…well, whatever the hell he was doing. I kept my head focused and my gaze off Eli’s very fine ass as I followed him. The plan was to tranq the driver, allowing Eli to take his place. We’d keep the driver in the trunk while I waited in the dark back seat for Sullivan to enter the town car.
“He’ll notice me,”I’d argued when we came up with the plan.
“No, he won’t,”Eli had said. My three guys had smirked but hadn’t taken a side.
“Why not?”I demanded.
“Because Sullivan is having a nice long play session,”Eli pointed out.“And that means sex. Most men are lazy after sex. Their attention is lax. That makes them easy to jump.”
I couldn’t help digging at him.“Are you speaking from experience?”
He’d glanced at the faces watching us spar like a tennis match and shrugged.“Ask me later and I’ll tell you, Mikaela.”
The man drove me nuts.
We arrived in minutes within sight of the car, parked down the long driveway of an isolated ranch surrounded by woods. I could clearly see a figure in dark clothes leaning against the front fender. Our driver. Periodically a pinprick red glow lit up his lips.
The dart gun was good at a hundred yards, but Eli had told me he preferred fifty to ensure an accurate hit. Circling the property, we made our way into the woods at the back and then, keeping an eye out for cameras or extra security, we rounded the house to come to the corner closest to the front end of the town car.
