Page 31 of Heroes & Hitmen
I snort a laugh, rolling my eyes. “I don’t want to think about his dick right now.”
“Fine, we can discuss it on the way there tonight,” she says, pushing up from the couch. “Should we meet here or at Blake’s?”
“Actually, I think I’m gonna drive myself.”
She goes still, her entire demeanor changing as she stares at me unblinkingly. “You’re making a break for it,” she breathes.
I meet her eyes, jaw tightening. “No.”
Jordan doesn’t look convinced, a mischievous smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. “If you’re gonna try something, you’d better loop me in so I can cover your ass,” she says sternly, pointing a finger at me.
“I’m not running,” I sigh, scrubbing a hand over my face. “I just… I want to control one last thing. Who knows if I’ll ever get to drive again.”
Tension thickens the air between us as Jordan nods slowly, throat bobbing with a harsh swallow. “Fair enough." She glances over at the plant on my windowsill, throwing a thumb toward it. “You taking your plant?”
“Not sure,” I murmur, thankful for the change in subject.
“I’d offer to take care of it for you, but…” she trails off with a wince. “That might be a death sentence.”
I give her a weak smile. “Yeah, you’d forget to water it and blame the sun.”
She shrugs unapologetically.
I glance back at the plant, its glossy green leaves still reaching for the last light of day. My feet move on their own accord, carrying me across the room to drag my fingers gently across the largest leaf. “Maybe I’ll leave it here,” I murmur thoughtfully. “Just in case.”
Jordan arches a brow. “In case what?”
I hesitate, rolling my lower lip between my teeth. “In case I come back.”
The words settle like dust in the air– quiet, heavy, and more vulnerable than I intended them to be. They hang there between us, full of a quiet defiance I hadn’t realized was still alive inside me.
Jordan doesn’t press, but something shifts in her expression– an unspoken understanding.
Maybe I’m not done yet. Maybe I’m not as powerless as they want me to believe.
Before either of us can break the silence, my phone buzzes again on the coffee table, both of us turning to look at it simultaneously. I stride back over to pick it up, unlocking the screen to read the new message.
“Tell me it’s Elias with a dick pic,” Jordan remarks cheekily.
I can’t respond. I’m frozen, all the air whooshing from my lungs as I stare at the words on the screen.
Unknown
Are you really gonna let them leash you without even putting up a fight?
Jordan’s footsteps sound behind me as she approaches, leaning in to read over my shoulder. “It’s him, isn’t it?” she asks with breathy excitement. “Mister annoying as hell.”
I keep staring at the message, reading it over and over, thumb hovering above the keyboard.
I don’t recognize the number, but I know it’s Ares. Who else would challenge Alpha’s authority but that crazy ass man with magnetic eyes and a death wish?
I shake my head with a grunt, shoving my phone into the back pocket of my jeans. “Doesn’t matter.”
“You sure?” Jordan teases, poking me in the ribs.
I shove her away with a laugh, but it dies quick. We both fall silent, standing there staring at each other, trying to ignore the elephant in the room– that this is goodbye. Maybe not forever, but enough of a forever that it hurts.
“You’re gonna be okay,” she says finally, her voice soft.
