Page 35

"Who the fuck is Wraith?"
Anya smiled. "I'm going to so lose my job, maybe end up in prison if anyone finds out I'm talking to you. But fuck it. Wraith is Fleur's codename—cause when she started her career, she was one of the best white hats ever and caught a whole hell of a lot of black hats."
White hats? Black hats? I felt like I was in a CIA movie. I never suspected, not even in my wildest dreams that this was what my sunshine did. No wonder she made such good money because she risked her fucking life. Well, she'd just have to quit when she got home. I couldn't live like this.
But what if she never came home? What if…? I looked up at Anya, my vision blurring with unshed tears. "I need to do something. I can't just sit here and wait."
Anya's expression was firm but compassionate. "The best thing you can do is keep faith. Fleur and Orion are fighters. If anyone can make it out of this, it's them."
"Out of where?" I asked.
"Sorry, man." She shook her head sadly. "I get it. My husband is an ex-SEAL, and even he doesn't know what I do most of the time, and he actually has security clearance."
I wiped my tears. "She's gonna come home, isn't she?"
"She is." Anya smiled weakly at me.
"You don't know, do you?"
"I gotta go. I have a takeoff time for my Cessna."
"Where did you come from?"
Anya chuckled. "Sorry, bud, can't tell you that either. Already said too much. My superiors find out, I'll be fucked."
"I don't know what's to find out," I deadpanned, "since you were never here."
"Atta boy."
We shook hands again, and as she was about to walk out of my office, I called out, "If you hear anything, anything at all, will you let me know?"
She paused. "I'll do my best."
After she left, I collapsed into my chair, the weight of her words pressing down on me. The bustling city outside my window seemed so distant, so irrelevant. Fleur was out there, somewhere, fighting for her life, and I was powerless to help.
"I love him…really, really love him. I forgive him. I've always loved him since the start."
Me too, Grian, me too. Since that first night, I've been yours, and you've been mine. I'm so sorry I was an idiot for so long and never told you, never gave you that truth.
Chapter 17
Fleur
"Jesus, it's good to see you." I hugged Orion hard. Behind him was Alpha One, and he was holding up Alpha Two who gave me a thumbs up sign.
"So, we're all alive." I was relieved.
"I'd rather be dead," Alpha Two remarked. "I fucking hate getting shot."
"Please, it's your thigh, and it's fucking soft tissue. Stop being a pussy," Orion mocked.
"How about you, Wraith?" Alpha One asked.
"Probable concussion," I admitted. "Everything gets fuzzy. Gash on my thigh. Shrapnel on my side. The right arm is broken, probably in lots of places—probably happened when I was thrown to the wall because of the explosion."
Orion cursed as he looked at my limp, swollen arm, which was all but hanging. "Evac has sent coordinates. We need to get there. Can you walk?"
"Legs are fine." I winked at him. "And I took some painkillers two hours ago."