Page 97 of Surrendering Hope (The Hope Legacy)

He nods and wraps his arms around me.“You are the strongest person I have ever known. Forget gods, those fuckers wouldn’t be able to see past their own superiority complex for a backup plan.”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

“When do we need to get the blades?”

“Now.”

He pulls back and stares into my eyes. “You want to do this old school?”

I grin.“We need to get rid of Jed. Aaden can keep the lovely Emi occupied.”

He frowns.“You don’t think they’d support you?”

I push my tongue into my cheek.“I don’t want to put them in that position.”

I don’t want them to examine my actions. They need them to believe in the plan, we all need to believe in the plan, because the alternative will lead to heartbreak and deceit. They won’t forgive me, I’m not sure I would deserve it.

“Duncan?”I send out to him and Zee.

“You okay?”he asks.

“Yes, don’t react. I need you to get rid of Jed, or make an excuse why we have to go out. Just me, you and Zee. No gods allowed.”

“Easy,”he says. I love that he doesn’t question me, he accepts that if I need it to happen, it must be important. You can’t buy that kind of trust or friendship.

Zee leans back on the bed, content that Duncan has this handled. “You know if you were feeling sorry for me, you could walk around in your underwear all the time.”

I smack his head. “Don’t push it. My state of undress is yesterday’s issue. I have this whole clothing thing mastered.”

He chuckles. “Wanna bet?”

“Sure.” Idiot brain shut up.

“Go the next week without me seeing you naked.”

“Accidentally naked, not like barging into the bathroom where I would be naked, anyway.”

He narrows his eyes like he’s imagining it. I elbow his ribs, making him grunt. “Okay, somewhere you shouldn’t be naked. It’s still good odds that I’ll win.”

“Fine, what do I get if I win?” He scrunches up his face in deep thought. “Zee…”

“If I win, when you take me out to this hot club, you can dance around me so I look like I have the hottest woman in the room at my mercy.”

I chuckle. “Fine, what about if I win?”

“I can dance around you?”

I shake my head. “If I win, you’ll go on a date with a woman of my choosing.”

He groans. “Fine, deal.” He shoves his hand at me to shake on it. We clench hands as Duncan flings the door open, his phone in one hand and a suspicious smirk on his face. Duncan doesn’t smirk unless he’s up to mischief, which isn’t often. I’m the mischievous one in our duo.

He shakes his phone at us. “Charlie called. He wants us back at SIP for a debrief.”

I sit as Jed looks over his shoulder. “Slumber party?” he enquiries.

I jump off the bed. “Later, Smoothie. My boss is demanding our attention.”

“Great, I’ll come along. The Bolognese will keep for a few hours.”

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