“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I’m sure you don’t.” She gives my hair another tug, her expression contemplative. “We’ve been working hard. What do you say we go have some fun?”
I’m already shaking my head, which only makes her hold on my hair more apparent. “That’s not sanctioned.”
“Fuck sanctioned.” She releases my hair and stalks to her desk, sweeping up her blazer and heading for the door. “I need a drink. You need one, too.” I open my mouth to argue, but she never gives me the chance to interrupt. “Don’t bother to lie and say you don’t drink. I saw you and that fearsome brunette with beer the other night.”
I’d like to say Iris isn’t fearsome, but there’s a reason she’s one of Maddox and Cohen’s top picks when they put together small teams for dangerous tasks. I sigh and follow Monroe out of the office, waiting while she locks up behind her. I didn’t plant another listening device today. I don’t have the full details about Abel’s plans, but he was very clear on the schedule for hiding bugs in Monroe’s office. I suspect it’s so, eventually, she’ll become complacent and stop scanning the space.
I’m not sure Monroe and complacent have ever been used in the same sentence, but Abel seems to know what he’s doing. Especially since he’s got his two Brides in line and they’re all working together. It’s made a huge difference in our welcome in the Raider faction.
All good things.
None of it helps make Monroe easier to deal with.
She strides down the hallway, forcing me to rush to keep up with her. It doesn’t seem to matter that my legs are longer than hers. The woman is a menace.
We take the elevators down to the main floor and head out to the street. I keep waiting for it to be easier to move through the Amazon faction, but even though my childhood home was far from the city center, there’s something about the people here that are innately familiar. It doesn’t matter their gender, their race, their age; they all feel like Amazons to me. I hate that familiarity. I wish I could scrub it from my brain, could divorce myself from that identity with the same violence I divorced myself from this city the first time.
It won’t happen. If it was that easy to purge the secret demons from myself, I would have done it long ago.
The Raider truck is waiting for us at the curb, just like it is every day. I ignore the little stab of disappointment when I see Maddox behind the wheel instead of Broderick. Of course, it wouldn’t be Broderick. He hasn’t been our driver even once in the last two weeks. He’d rather cut off his arm than spend thirty minutes in an enclosed space with his Bride.
Even if I’m there, too.
At least Maddox is one of the few people Monroe doesn’t mess with. It’s fascinating, because she has no problem poking at Cohen, who’s easily the scariest motherfucker in the entire compound, but Maddox, his best-friend-sometimes-lover is where she draws the line. The big blond man is handsome and charming, and I don’t understand what he did to accomplish putting her on her best behavior when he’s around.
I’d love to be able to replicate it.
She climbs up into the truck and slides to the center of the bench seat, leaving me to follow. I yank the door shut and nod at Maddox. “Any trouble?”
“No.” He puts the truck into gear and pulls smoothly from the curb.
Monroe slouches against the seat and lays her head on my shoulder. Her shampoo teases my tenses. It took me days to identify the scent, to diagnose the maddening combination of apple, vanilla, cedar, and chrysanthemum. I should push her away, but giving her a reaction will only encourage her.
And… Maybe part of me likes the weight of her body against mine. A very, very small part.
She’s playing with my hair again, braiding several strands together in an absentminded kind of way. “Maddox, would you agree that Shiloh does a good job?”
He doesn’t look over. “I want no part of whatever you’re trying to get at, Amazon.”
“Yes, yes, I’m the very worst. We can all agree on that.” She finishes the braid and starts on another. “But it’s been three weeks since Lammas, and Shiloh has been at my side nearly every moment of it. I want to take her out for a drink to say thank you.”
Maddox glances at me, his gaze lingering on Monroe’s fingers in my hair. His handsome features look chiseled in stone in the fading light of day. “That’s not a good idea.”
“Please. If I wanted to cause trouble, I would stage an ambush on one of the trips across the river.” She smiles sweetly. “Not that I would, of course.”
“Of course not,” I murmur. “Not when your sister and uncle are still in the compound.” Quite the brilliant little hostage situation the Paine brothers have put together. We’re still sitting on a ticking time bomb with all the powerful, dangerous people living under the same roof, but they’ve managed to ensure mostly good behavior up to this point.
“Exactly.” She tilts her head to look at me. It’s only then that I realize how close we really are. It would take no effort at all to lean down and kiss her, to see if she tastes as sharp as the words she deals. Monroe’s gaze drops to my mouth. “We’ll just have a few drinks in Old Town. You can come along and ensure our good behavior. Or assign another
