Page 178 of Marks of Rebellion

"Little bit."

She pats my face. "Aww. Aren't you cute."

"Glad I can amuse you."

Her blue eyes sear into mine. "I love it."

"Good." I kiss her. "I have something else to show you."

"What's that?"

I take her hand, lead her into the kitchen, and point to the blender. "Best machine you'll ever find for your frozen fruity drinks."

She claps. "Yay!"

"Let me give you a tour and then I'll make you one."

"Perfect."

I show her around the house. We open the windows as we go room to room, to air out the stale smell from the house.

No one has been here for months besides my caretaker.

Time to change that.

I lead her out to the deck. "Have a seat, and I'll make you a drink."

"If you spoil me, I might get used to it."

I place my arms on the armrests and bend over her. "Do I get anything else if I spoil you?"

"Extra treats."

"I liked the extra treats last time."

She wraps her hands around my head and kisses me.

"If you keep this up, you won't be getting your drink."

She releases me and pushes me away.

I chuckle. "Guess I know where I rate."

"Well, it was a long plane ride."

"Excuses, excuses. Okay, the sun should be setting soon. Let me make these drinks."

I go back inside and take out all the ingredients, glancing out at Vanessa from time to time.

She's doing so well.

In the last month, she worked with Sloane, and her panic attacks have gotten less severe and frequent. Sloane said they could do virtual meetings to continue therapy, too.

We still haven't had any contact from the guys, and Axel isn't picking up his phone. So Andre, Blaise, and I aren't sure where they are, but we hope they are alive.

After many discussions, we decided that Vanessa and I were safe to come to Australia. We flew in a private plane and used our fake passports to be extra cautious. But we're able to stay connected via technology to Andre, Blaise, and Naomi.

Interpol wanted me to come back and join another team until Andre and the rest of our squad are back together, but I told them no. Now that I have Vanessa, I'm not sure if I'll ever go back. I'm definitely not leaving her while the Global Leaders are still out there and the rest of the guys are missing.