Page 25 of Covert
"You can't look me up. Please. Please stop. I'll leave if you keep looking." Her eyes dart around the party, wide with fear, a deep, paralyzing fear. "I'll leave tonight," she whispers, almost to herself, her mind already planning an escape
He holds her hands in his, rubbing his thumb across her knuckles. His normally playful expression is gone, and he looks down on her with concern in his eyes. "I'll stop," he promises quickly, and her eyes snap back to his.
"Promise?"
He nods. "Are you in like witness protection or something?"
She hesitates before nodding. "Something like that. People are...looking for me. Bad people." Her eyes find mine again. "I move every few years so they don't find me. I don't have social media or a bank account, so they can't track my movements." Her eyes dart between the three of us, nervously. She wants to say more, but bites her lower lip instead.
I nod. I don't care what she did or who is looking for her, but I don't want her to leave, not after we've had this brief moment of understanding. We're attracted to each other, the guys are, too. But that's as far as we've gotten.
I want to touch her, hold her, kiss her, fuck her. Be better for her. Maybe there's something here, maybe not, but if she leaves, or these people find her, it doesn't matter.
"What can we do?" Beckett asks.
She shakes her head. "Nothing I'm not already doing, but if you go poking around, you'll bring them right to me."
Axel holds up his hands. "I'll stop. No more."
She nods, and her shoulders relax.
"That was a really stupid move, even for you, Mads," Axel says, turning to me.
I nod. "I know."
"Care to explain what that was all about? What's worth almost getting killed over?"
"Speaking of, what the fuck were you thinking, Nik?" I glare at her and point a finger at her chest. "Don't youeverstep in front of a bullet for me again," I growl. She simply smiles in return.
"Don't hit my MC boyfriend again, and I won't have to."
Beckett winces at the term boyfriend, and she notices.
"Look, I think we've all been dancing around things for too long." She wipes her hands on her dress while Axel kneels to inspect her knees.
"I'm attracted to all three of you, and Diesel, but I don't date. I move every few years, so all I can ever do is friends with benefits, and don't usually do that anymore." Axel's grin is salacious. She smacks him on his shoulder, but can't help but return his smile.
"Diesel knows the score and has accepted my terms."
I tilt my head back to the crowd. "Your boy toy doesn't mind you propositioning us?"
"It's called why choose, and it's one of my favorite tropes," she says back with a sass in her tone. Her sass is trying to cover her nerves, but I can see the way she's twisting her fingers together.
"Why choose?"
"Yeah, like why choose one dick when you can have three?" Her glare dares us to argue with her. She crosses her arms in front of her and looks each one of us over.
Beckett's cheeks heat, and he looks away. Axel looks like he wants to devour her then and there. I'm sure I look more confused than anything.
Is she really greenlighting sleeping with all of us? Beckett wouldn't be able to, even if he wanted to, but there's clearly a chemistry between the two of them since she made accommodations for him. They look at each other with barely concealed longing. I had wondered what it meant before, but now I get it.
I wonder if she isn't the girl who could help him get over his fear.
I nod, ready to unpack all of this later and get back to the party.
She stands and pushes Axel's shoulder, sending him on his ass. He lies in the gravel laughing. She goes to step over him, but he grabs her ankle briefly, causing her to stumble.
"Ass," she mumbles through a smile as she collects herself.
