Page 67 of Secret Weapon

“Lucy.”

A second later, the cameras blinked back on, and I saw Ana and Emmy standing by my dining-room window.Nice choice.The walls around it were clear, and they could climb down onto the sideboard.The sideboard itself had a built-in pressure sensor and was packed with enough explosives to level the entire house, but they’d only blow if I armed them.And today, I wouldn’t do that.

“Now go and wait by the front door.”

Alex hung up the phone, and I tucked my semi-automatic into my waistband.

“I’m sorry I pointed a gun at your head.”Fuck, this was awkward.“And kicked you.”

Alex held out a hand.“I think the lesson we take from today is that we all need to learn to communicate better.”

“You’re not mad at me?”

“I know why you reacted the way you did, so no, I’m not mad.But I’ll be upset if you do it again.Come on.”

He twitched his fingers, and I stared at his hand.Did I want to take it?Sure, I’d had my hands all over him last night, but this was different.It was also Alexei.

I took his hand.

“Better.”This time, I got a proper smile.“I’ll make you coffee.”

“My head hurts.And my ribs.”

“Your ribs?Did I injure you?”

“No, Emmy did.”

“What?Why didn’t you say anything?I was rolling you on the floor last night.”

“So?Bruises are not a valid excuse for slacking.”I shrugged.“And I needed the training.”

Alex let out a calming breath, resigned.“We’ll find you painkillers.”

Ana and Emmy were waiting at the front door as instructed, and when Alex tugged it open, I glared at both of them.

“Haven’t you ever heard of a doorbell?”

Ana rolled her eyes.“I said we should knock.”

That, I believed.Emmy was the problem, not Ana.

And she folded her arms.“I’m sorry I disabled your cameras, okay?I was worried about Alex.He wasn’t answering the phone.”

He glanced at me.“There are issues with the signal in some parts of the house.”

Now Emmy smiled.“Ah, so there’s a basement?”

Pizdets, why did he have to give that away?

“I should have messaged you last night.That’s on me, and it won’t happen again.”

“Good.Where’s your bag?You need to get to the hospital.”

“The hospital?Why?”

“The Marquette thing is bigger than we first thought.”She locked eyes with me.“And then there’s the Russian connection.”

She just had to get the digs in, didn’t she?

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