Around me, the team was silent.
“Good,” Grayson said, pulling keys out of his pocket. “Let’s go.”
Part Four
Keep Calm
31
It was night when we arrived in London. We took the subway from the train station, and exited into a busy intersection. It was chillier than in Paris, and I stuffed my hands into the pockets of my hoodie.
The streets were crowded, and several people were holding weapons—a woman walked by with a baseball bat, some people wore helmets, and one man had two long sticks strapped to his back.
“Is this normal?” I asked as we stepped onto a crosswalk. “Or are we in a scrab-heavy area?”
“The whole city is a scrab-heavy area.” Grayson pointed to a convenience store. It had been demolished, glass and snacks spilling out onto the street. A dead scrab hung halfway out of the store. People barely glanced at it as they went by. A man was perched on a ledge in the middle of the mess, reading a magazine.
Grayson had secured us rooms in a hostel, which was mostly occupied by recruits. It was nestled between a Chinese restaurant and a bar with a patio packed full of people. Grayson waved at the patrons as he pulled open the door to the hostel, and several of them waved back. Recruits.
I spotted Julian in the middle of the hostel lobby, dressed in a black coat with a dramatic collar, arms crossed over his chest. He was rubbing a finger across his bottom lip, his eyebrows drawn together. He looked anxious.
A smile spread across his face when he caught me watching him. He darted around Patrick and Noah, grabbing me as soon as I was within arm’s reach and pulling me into a tight hug.
I tensed, very aware of the rest of team seven standing around us. I was pretty sure they all knew about our relationship, but it was still a little awkward to be hugging right in front of them.
“Are you OK?” he asked, holding me a little tighter. “They told me you were probably dead yesterday. I thought you were gone for . . . hours.”
Some of my awkwardness melted away, and I pressed my palms into his back as I hugged him. It must have been terrible for him to think I was dead, but, selfishly, it was kind of nice to have someone care about me that much. The team had worried, sure, but I didn’t think that anyone was more invested in my safe return than Julian.
“I’m OK,” I said as I pulled away. “Why weren’t you with the team?”
“I was in Paris, taking care of a few things. You heard about the recruits who ran a car into a restaurant? I just had to square some stuff away with the French police before I could leave.”
“Thank you for that,” Grayson said, appearing beside me. “I couldn’t get you a private room here, but I figured you’d probably rather stay in the hotel across the street anyway.”
“Yeah, I already grabbed a room,” Julian said.
I gave him a surprised look. He wasn’t staying with the team?
“I hate hostels,” he explained.
“Did you get in touch with your dad?” Grayson asked.
Julian sighed. “Yes, briefly. He’s coming here. Both my parents are.”
Grayson’s eyebrows shot up. “Here? To London?”
“Yes, unfortunately. They’ll be here tomorrow.”
He sounded tired. Julian still hadn’t told me much about his parents, but it certainly didn’t seem like their visit was welcome. I slipped my hand into his. He squeezed it.
“Grayson!” a voice yelled. It was a bearded recruit, standing at the door to the bar connected to the hostel. He walked across the lobby to Grayson. “Are you coming or what? We need to talk to you about your media strategy. MDG is making us look like idiots.” He pointed to where most of team seven was standing together. “Is it true a couple of those kids blew up a farm in France? Are you sure you should be letting them use explosives?”
“No, that’s not . . .” Grayson made an annoyed sound and steered the recruit back toward the bar, speaking quietly.
I looked up at Julian. “Why are your parents coming?”
“Just some business.” He tugged on my hand. “Come outside with me for a sec?”
I let him lead me out the doors and onto the street. A light rain had started to fall, and we huddled together beneath the awning of the restaurant next door.
He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me close. “I missed you,” he murmured, and then pressed a kiss to my lips.
“I missed you too.”
“I may have to spend time with my parents while they’re here, but I promise we’ll hang out just the two of us after they leave.”
“Is it coincidence that they have business here?” I asked. “Or did they come to see you?”
“They came to see me mostly.” He sighed.
“You don’t get along with them?” I couldn’t help but pry. Julian had said so little about his family.
“My dad is . . . a lot. And he doesn’t care about the teams, so he’ll expect me to be at his beck and call while he’s here.”
“Did he support you doing this?”
“Not really, no. Disorganized, naïve nonsense were his exact words.” His lips twitched in amusement. “He’s not totally wrong.”
My eyebrows shot up. “You’re not thinking of leaving the teams, are you?” I didn’t want him to leave. He was my best friend here and, besides Edan, the only person I’d ever really been honest with. This was supposed to be the beginning of my relationship with Julian, not the end.
“No, I didn’t mean that. You just have to admit that Grayson is still working out some kinks.”
I let out a relieved breath. “Good.”
He put both hands on my cheeks. “I would never leave you behind. You know that, right?”
My breath caught in my throat. I did not know that. We’d only been together for a few weeks; I didn’t think it was realistic to expect him to stick around if the teams
