Tension stretches in the brief pause.
Akara peels off his gloves. “Most of them are nearing breaking points. It’s not a secret.”
Chairs creak as men lean back or shift.
I cross my arms, my jaw hardened. Bodyguards—we’re used to the grind. Being snowed-in for almost three-weeks with little communication back home is more or less a cakewalk, but it’s not as easy for these families.
Being useless to the people we protect, especially as they unravel—that’s a hundred times harder than splitting a bowl of oatmeal eight ways.
Which we did this morning.
“We have to priority-rank them,” Akara says. “High is critical, medium is urgent, and low is fine to stay. I want an evaluation of your client and a rank. We’ll go around the table, and if anyone has information about the client being discussed, you need to share.”
Going counter-clockwise, we start with O’Malley. Beckett’s bodyguard.
“His hands are raw,” O’Malley tells us. “He’s been washing them too many times a day. He needs to go back to PA more than anything.”
“It’s not an option,” Akara reminds him. “How would you rank him?”
“Critical.”
Everyone is nodding.
Quinn scoots forward, elbows on the table. He brushes a knuckle over the scar under his eye. “Okay, so Luna has been pretty emotional…” He stops himself short. “I’d say she’s critical.” He’s being tight-lipped on his client’s behalf.
He picked this shit up from Farrow. Who gives half-answers and vague responses during debriefings. The bare minimum.
Flat-out, it’s annoying.
Akara gives him a look. “How does that make her critical?”
“She’s been crying.” Quinn tries to clarify.
Oscar pulls on a Yale sweatshirt. “Is she homesick?”
“No, that’s not really it.”
My eyes narrow on Quinn. I understand it’s uncomfortable to unleash private information about the clients we’re closest to—but Akara needs this intel in order to make a call.
I glance at the Omega lead. “She’s the one who ran out of birth control.” This might be affecting her hormones on some level.
Quinn shoots me a glare. “What if Luna didn’t want everyone to know?”
“We’re fucking past that, Quinn,” I say seriously.
Akara nods. “We could be here for another three months, guys. This isn’t the time to censor any shit. You know something, say it.”
Donnelly smacks a pack of cigarettes on his palm. “She’s been having bad cramps too.”
“There’s no more pain meds,” Farrow reminds everyone.
“She’s critical,” Akara agrees with Quinn, and we move on.
To me.
But at this meeting with Epsilon, I’m Banks Moretti. Which means that my client is Maximoff Hale, shared with Farrow.
So I turn to him beside me. “You go ahead.”
Farrow balances back on his chair legs. “Maximoff isn’t sleeping. He’s probably clocked in two hours in three days, and that’s being extremely fucking generous.”
“Is he taking Ripped Fuel?” O’Malley asks, actually being cordial.
“No.” Farrow shakes his head. “He’s just stubborn as fuck, and he feels responsible to help get everyone home.”
Akara nods. “Where would you rank him?”
“Urgent, but he’s going to place himself as fine.”
Maximoff won’t take up a spot that his cousin or sister could fill.
We continue, jumping over Donnelly who has no client here.
Oscar sounds deadly serious as he says, “Charlie can’t be here. I’ve never seen him locked in one place for this long. He can’t handle it, and I’ll tell you right now, he’s critical and he’s number one on the priority list.”
Akara nods. “And Joana?”
“Other than being pissed she missed her fight, she’s fine.” Oscar shifts forward. “But she’s attached to me, so if you send me with the four clients, Jo has to be one of them. I love most of you motherfuckers and I trust you all, but I’m not leaving her.”
“Can she stay with Quinn?” Akara asks.
“No.” Oscar looks to his brother. “Sorry, little bro.”
“She’s my sister too,” Quinn retorts.
“I’m ten years older than you and twelve years older than her—so let’s not fucking start this. Okay?”
Quinn nods tensely.
We have two clients left to discuss. Jane is last. I wait in anticipation, my chest tightening, and Akara brings up his girl.
“Sulli is homesick.” Akara rubs his chilled hands. “She can’t call her dad or mom here, and it’s been getting to her.”
He’s my closest friend, and I hate that he hasn’t talked to me about this. I can see that Sulli’s pain is tearing at him.
“She’s urgent.” Akara ranks her.
“What about the Rooster?” Donnelly asks. “Won’t he wanna be with his girlfriend if she leaves?”
Akara restrains an eye roll at the mention of Will Rochester. “He can’t go. If he wants to complain, he can complain to the nearest wall.”
Farrow and Oscar are grinning.
Yeah, Akara sounds jealous. But he nods to Tony, keeping the show on the fucking road, and my senses sharpen as her name reaches the air.
“Jane is fine,” Tony says easily. “She’s just been keeping to herself.”
I swallow a rock. I want to say how last night she almost had a panic attack. How I held her in my arms and I practically rocked her to sleep while she cried in my chest.
But I can’t.
They can’t know that I spent the night in her bedroom. Or that we’ve run out of condoms days ago and have resorted to going down on each other, hand jobs, and fingering. We’re both too sexually frustrated, and that’s on top of the power flickering out randomly. Sporadically. At the worst possible times.
But that’s not what has built her emotions to a cliff.
Luckily, I can say what has out loud. “She’s been missing her cats.”
Tony zones in on me. “How can you tell?”
“She’s told me. Not being able to call home and know they’re safe is hard on her. She’s used to being sent videos and pictures when she’s traveling.”
“She’s urgent?” Akara asks me.
“I just said she’s fine,” Tony cuts in.
Oscar gives him a look. “It’s not a knock on you, bro. Banks spends time with Jane off-duty. He knows her personally.”
When Tony calms down, I confirm, “She’s urgent, but she won’t want to go.”
I can already picture my girlfriend prioritizing Sulli and Joana over herself.
With all the intel on the table, Akara has a hard choice. Oscar should be going if Charlie is going. He’s one of the only men capable of keeping Charlie safe.
But that means Joana is onboard over Sulli.
He makes a decision. “The clients going are Charlie, Luna, Beckett, and Sulli. As for the two bodyguards, I have to stay here.” He’s the lead and needs to be with the core group. “So I’m sending Farrow and Banks.”