Page 47 of These White Lies

It doesn’t work. Brady frowns, and I swear I see the skin near his eye twitching. He closes his eyes briefly, almost as though he is in pain himself, and then shrugs. “Suit yourself.”

Across the room, a figure appears from one of the doorways, a young woman with a sleek, chestnut ponytail and an absolutely killer body. There’s a pulling sensation in my stomach that has nothing to do with my stitches as I watch her stare at Brady.

I’m not normally an insecure person, and in this scenario it’s even more ridiculous to feel that way. But I’m overly conscious of the fact I smell like a hospital and am dressed in someone else’s slightly-too-small clothes. While she, on the other hand, is stunning, even dressed in a high-necked, black T-shirt and fitted cargo pants. The militaristic gear is striking on her hourglass frame. Even the spiderweb of pink scars winding along her jaw and disappearing into the collar of her shirt doesn’t take away from her beauty. In a way, it enhances it, making her look like a badass.

“Sera,” Brady says warmly, and my smile slips. There is a depth of caring in that one word that makes me so jealous I want to scream.

Jealous?What are you talking about? That’s the pain meds talking.

Crossing the room, she throws her arms around Brady, hugging him with a ferocity that makes something pinch in my chest.

Crap, I’m definitely jealous.

When Sera pulls back, her gaze flicks to me, and her expression cools.

“Sera, this is Elizabeth,” Brady smiles. “Elizabeth, my sister.”

Sister.

I know my smile is a little too wide, but I can’t help it. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Sera gives me a curt nod, but her focus is on her brother. “Vincent said he’s still waiting for the debrief. He wants the details of the ambush.” Her eyes flash to me, and her lip curls so slightly I would have missed it if I hadn’t been staring at her.

She knows the ambush was my fault.

Brady clears his throat, picking up on his sister’s animosity. “Once I get Elizabeth settled, I’ll get him up to speed.” Turning his attention back to me, he says, “Come on, I want to show you something.”

“This is our cyber room.” He gestures into the room after opening one of the wood doors.

The explanation is unnecessary. An array of monitors lines the wall, with more sitting on top of two different workstations. A man is sitting in a red and black gaming chair in front of the center console.

He glances briefly at us before returning to his screens, but it’s enough that I see he’s younger than me—twenties maybe, with dark hair and eyes. Black square-framed glasses reflect the blue and green lights, and his muscular shoulders are encased in the same style black T-shirt and tactical pants that Sera wears. Is it a uniform?

I watch as his tattooed hands race across the keyboard.

“This is Finn,” Brady says. “This room is his domain.”

Finn doesn’t turn around. “No update yet.”

Brady leans a shoulder against the doorframe. “Didn’t ask.”

“You were going to. Sera put the report on your desk.” His gaze goes briefly to me, before looking away.

I raise my brows at Brady, and he chuckles. “He’s better with computers than with people.”

I decide the politic thing to do is stay silent.

Brady leads me over to the sitting area and gestures to one of the recliners before disappearing into the kitchen. He returns with two bottles of water and hands me one, before pulling my pill bottle from his pocket.

“It’s almost time for your next dose.”

“I don’t need them yet,” I protest.

It’s true all the walking has taken more out of me than I would have expected, but the pain is manageable.

“You don’t want to get behind the curve with it. Suffering isn’t a virtue,” He says flatly before shaking out two pills and handing them to me. “Sit.”

I lower myself gingerly onto the recliner, trying not to wince as the stitches pull.