Page 58 of Bearing Secrets
“Not right now,” she said sourly, tossing the phone to the side and serving herself some food.
There was still time. The confirmation ceremony was tomorrow afternoon. She didn’t need to go back to him tonight. Let him stew about it and she’d see if there were any more things she should know about first. Then when she called him in the morning, he could let her knowbeforethey continued.
She tried to ignore the way her mind was thinking, acting like it was a foregone conclusion she was going to go back to him. Things were still up in the air, she told herself. She was undecided.
“Nat, you like this guy, don’t you?” Loren had put her food down.
“Shit. I think I might? I don’t know. But Lore, he lied. About something serious.”
“Like what?”
Natalia shook her head. “I’m sorry, I can’t. That would break his trust. I don’t want to be petty and reveal stuff just because he didn’t tell me the whole truth.”
“I understand.” Loren smiled and raised her wine glass in Natalia’s direction. “That’s why you’re such a good friend. You’re loyal, Nat, sometimes to a fault. I love you for it. But did he lie to you, or just not tell you everything? There’s a big difference.”
She knew the answer to the question, but Natalia didn’t want to say it. Saying it would give it legitimacy, and she still wanted to be angry for a bit.
“So, when are you going to go back to him?”
“What? Who said I’m going to go back?”
Loren just looked at her.
“I haven’t made that decision yet. I’m crashing here tonight, I’ll help you get ready in the morning. First day of work, how exciting.”
Her best friend gave her one last knowing look before she let the conversation swing onto other topics, including her first day at the job tomorrow. They talked about her nerves, what she would wear, and all manner of things in between.
It worked as a perfect distraction until Natalia lay down to sleep a few hours later and all the thoughts of Kirell came bubbling back to the surface.
Dammit. Get out of my head! Why can’t I stop thinking about you?
26
Yawning, he stood up, rubbing at his eyes. They were starting to throb after so many hours in front of the television screens.
From late the night before, until an hour or so before noon, he’d spent all but four hours reviewing video footage of the day of the uprising.
We really need to come up with a better name for the incident. Something shorter.
“You’re still at it?” Krave asked as he came and sat down at the console next to him.
“Yes.”
They were in the security control room of Ursidae Manor. A bank of screens occupied the wall in front of them, with various controls spread out below that. From here, Kirell could access, view and manipulate the footage from any of the dozens of security cameras that monitored the activities around the Manor.
“Anything yet?”
Kirell shook his head. “Not yet. So far, everyone checks out.”
“That bothers you?”
Kirell looked at Krave, surprised the man had picked up on that. “Yes.”
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t it a good thing if our men are loyal like they say they are?”
“You are correct. I’m not disappointed that they are not disloyal. I’m growing irritated because I’ve been here for probably twelve hours checking footage of everything, and I’ve yet to find any sign of traitors trying to cover their tracks.”
Krave’s face didn’t change. “How is that a bad thing?”
