Page 78 of Ravens
The corner of his mouth twitches, and I look at it, and then look up again. His head tilts slightly, and he exhales heavily.
“Fuck’s sake, Tripoli,” he mutters and releases my chin as he pushes away from the counter, away from me. I watch him walk out of the kitchen.
The heat from his proximity dissipates, and I let out a slow breath. What’s wrong with me? I literally hate him. I find him intimidating in a way that is separate from York . . . William seems far more volatile and unpredictable. God, what if that’s what I like about him, too?
I narrow my eyes on August. He owes me no loyalty, but as he said, I saved his ass today.
“Sorry.” He raises his hands and backs out of the room.
“Are you serious?” a raised voice floats down the hall a minute later. Carter.
Groaning, I rub my eyes. Good news spreads like wildfire. I flex my hands a few times to steel my nerves. This isn’t that bad. They don’t know the whole picture . . . They think they’ve figured me out, and if I let them think that, then they’ll stop looking for anything more. Now they’ll simply want to kill me all over again . . . or use me.
Walking down the hall, I round the end of the stairs, intent on ignoring them as I head up to check on York but stop when Carter speaks.
“We just destroyed all that information, and now I’m being told you’re a walking, talking copy of it?”
“No,” I snap and step off the first stair and walk into the living room, where William is standing with his arms crossed, August is pacing half-heartedly, and Carter is glaring at me. “I onlyknow what I saw or had access to. Ravens are insulated from one another—independent. Besides, not every op or subject was fruitful. The shrewd ones play it close to the vest.”
“What do you mean,subjects?” he asks.
Again . . . I need to protect myself, but I certainly don’t need to protect the Agency anymore. “Our mission parameters were broad. I participated in everything from operations to state dinners, balls, diplomatic events . . .”
“So, you have information on . . . everyone.”
“A lot of people,” I correct.
“Home and abroad.”
“Yes.”
“Does York know this?” Carter leans forward with his elbows on his knees.
“Not the memory bit.” I resist the urge to wring my fingers. It does feel wrong that he will be the last to find out. I can’t imagine it will make him very happy, either.
Carter looks to William, some silent conversation passing between them before William’s sharp gaze lands on me again. “So, do we kill her or keep her?”
“York needs to weigh in on this . . . He singled her out for a reason.” Carter rubs his beard. “I’m sure he had all kinds of probabilities worked out regarding why she was redacted from everything. This . . . makes sense.”
“Too bad.” William smirks, and his eyes drop down my body. “I was looking forward to the inevitable chase when she ran.”
“York might decide to kill me,” I point out. “So, I might still run . . . but no promises.” My voice sharpens. “You can paper-rock-scissors for the pursuit, though.”
“I like working in a team.” William’s eyes grow heavy, and his hands clench beneath his folded arms.
There is a pulse between my thighs as our eyes meet. It feels like he’s working fucking witchcraft on me. I nibble the inside edge of my lip.
“York won’t.” I raise my brow but openly appraise him too.
His eyes are full of heat when I find them again.
“York won’t want her dead,” August says calmly. “And we all know it.”
“I’m going to . . . take a bath.” I point my thumb over my shoulder. “There is no window in there, so you don’t have to worry about me escaping . . . yet.” My eyes linger on William lazily before I turn my back on the room. I can feel his gaze follow me until I disappear up the staircase.
This is reckless. Really reckless.
I’m not even sure what I’m doing.
