I sighed. I really didn’t know how to behave, but I wasn’t going to admit that now. I was careful to not even think it. A slight smile on Kait’s face said I hadn’t hid the thought quite enough. I twirled my braid as I thought about everything that could go wrong.
Kait surprised me by pulling me in for a kiss. I stiffened for a second before relaxing against him. He leaned his forehead against mine. “I’m sure you will do fine, but you will essentially be on your own out there. The boys, and my soldiers, will be watching, but they can’t be right there with you, or it will give it away. You have to be ready for anything.”
A note in his voice had me pulling back to look him in the eyes. Kait stared back at me, unabashed at the fear swirling in his eyes. It took my breath away.
“You really don’t think I can do it, do you?” I laughed a little as I said it, attempting to ease some of the tension in the room.
“I believe in you. But, the logistics of the situation terrify me. If something, anything, goes wrong, it could be catastrophic.”
I blinked at him. He was sharing so much more with me recently. Narrowing my eyes, I said, “What’s going on, Kait? Why are you suddenly being so open and honest with me?”
He forced as smile. “I realized after you basically rescued all of us that I’ve been discounting you, and not allowing you to work to your full potential. I can’t keep swaddling you and expect you to stay hidden away safely. That’s not you, and honestly, that’s not me. I would never see you. If we want to have a chance at a normal home life, you are going to have to be able to take risks and be in the thick of things. I wish you could ease into it, but that’s not what life is throwing at us.” He paused to clear his throat. “It’s not easy, though. My instincts are to keep you safe, so I am constantly fighting myself. If I tell you all the risks, maybe you will choose, on your own, to sit out some of the harder fights.”
I didn’t know what to do with that information, so I just laid my head on his chest. He rubbed my back as I listened to his steady heartbeat. Eventually, I tilted my head up and kissed him lightly on the lips.
“I will not sit out all the battles. Like you said, that’s just not my personality. However, I promise, I will sit out some of the battles. But not the one tomorrow.”
He laughed as his arms tightened around me. “I know, Princess. You are instrumental to tomorrow’s fight. I wouldn’t let you sit it out if you wanted too.”
He kissed me softly again, then smacked my butt. I gasped. “Go to bed. You’ll have an early morning with the hairdresser tomorrow. I will put your dress and shoes in your room tomorrow morning.”
“Damn you, Kait! That hurt!” He was laughing as I headed to bed. When I arrived at my closed door, I could hear quiet voices in the room beyond. I leaned in a little to see if I could make out what they were saying. I could recognize Travis and David’s voices, but that was about all. My name was mentioned once, but I couldn’t hear the rest of the sentence. My head bounced off the door as I lost my balance and fell forward into it.
The door opened as I was rubbing my head. David arched an eyebrow at me and gestured into the room. He kissed me on the head where I was rubbing, then closed the door behind himself as he left without saying a word to me.
I crossed my arms over my chest and looked at Travis. He shrugged. “I have never been able to tell what goes on in that boy’s head, and I’m not going to try now. Wanna join me in bed?” I shook my head as I stared at him.
“What were you talking about? I heard my name.”
“David was telling me to stay close to you tomorrow. He isn’t going to be able to watch you because of his assignment. He wanted me to know that, and to make sure to watch you.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“We know you can.” He held out his arms. I sighed and went over to him as he continued, “It just never hurts to have back up.”
Chapter 19
I cuddled into his arms as I thought about what he said. While what he said is true, I also felt like it was an excuse. For whatever reason, they still felt like they needed to protect me. His arms tightened around me.
“I may not be telepathic like David, but the bond allows me to know what you’re feeling. You think we are trying to keep you from fighting just to keep you safe, but we aren’t. Kait’s plan has you front and center. You will have to fight. We just want to be available if you need backup.”
I nodded against his chest, then looked up into his eyes. “I get it, I do. But, do you all discuss how to keep each other safe the way you discuss me? Do you make plans behind David’s back? Or Kait’s?”
He looked away. “Actually, we do. At least in David’s case. Kait wants me to watch him tomorrow. I have been tasked with making sure that he doesn’t go rogue the way he did during training.”
Fear shot through me. It was weird. In a way, I
