Page 20 of Solar Shadows

“None of your business,” Jake stepped in.

I went inside the small space, gathering my stuff as quickly as possible, shoving things into a sports bag, grabbing my stack of horror paperbacks.

“Shut your fucking face,” Jake’s elevated voice sounded in the doorway.

“Why should I? You don’t get to swan in here and bark orders at me.” Dirk’s loud, teeth-clenching tone made me wince.

Man, I hated his voice.

Flinging the bag over my shoulder, I hurried out of the blue-and-white striped room back into the corridor.

Dirk squared up to Jake, puffing his chest out. Taller than him, his friends lined up behind him.

Agent Jake cocked his head. “You really want to throw down with me?”

“I ain’t scared of you, pussy.”

“No? Shame.”

“What’s going on?” I asked.

Dirk snarled at me. “Men’s business, stay out of it.”

Deep breaths. “What shit are you talking now?”

He smacked his lips, shooting me a withering look. “Running away, are you?”

“None of your business,” Jake retorted, arms folded tightly across his chest.

Dirk ignored him. “Heard you’re getting special treatment. No barracks for you. Not surprised, really seeing as you’re a special ickle bitch.”

Don’t rise to this.“How am I special?”

Because Ben kissed me first, by any chance?

Here came another vile smirk, reminding me ofthe time Ben told me he’d seen harder cream cheese than my dick in front of this fool.

“We’re leaving,” Jake interjected. “Come?—”

“Thinks because he lives in a fancy mansion he gets to have special treatment,” Dirk boomed, cutting Jake off. “Oh, look at me! My shit don’t stink!”

His friends laughed, the doors of the other rooms opening. Great, he’d gathered an audience.

“And getting all close with the Aurora brothers,” he threw in. “Only just graduates from the academy and look at him. Thrown into the good action while the rest of us do the grunt work.”

Jealously brought out the worst in everyone. And there was a lot of bad in Dirk to draw to the surface.

“Leave it out,” I said.

“What? The truth?” He shook his head, a couple of the others echoing him. “You had a whole job created for you. Assistant Liaison? Fuck off.” He turned his head and spat at the floor. “You make me sick.”

Every inch of me tensed, my jaw clenched. I didn’t have a comeback for him that wouldn’t trigger a riot. Because I’m sure theyallthought the same, hating me for being handed a position a lot of them would’ve loved. Especially those who’d been here the longest. I understood it might be a slap in the face, but at the same time, I had been living with Riley and Isaac. Helping them out in the spell rooms, keeping the house running, being in the thick of it. Who else would be better than me to serve under Jake?

And there you are, making similar judgments about The Sun…

I ignored my brain making a good point.

I’d beaten Dirk to Ben, and I beaten him to a promotion. Well, it wasn’t really a promotion. I was still on the same new recruit salary as him.