RIPTIDE (Shadows book 1.1)

BONUS : AZIL

'Tomorrow is not guaranteed. So, love a little deeper, smile a little brighter and laugh a little more when you still can.' ~ Ira Junaid Mirza.

 Azil felt his lips curve into an involuntary smile as he gazed at her sleeping form. The smile disappeared when his gaze landed on the bandages on her side. No matter how hard he tried, he wasn't capable of keeping her away from harm. Then his mind wandered off to the conversation he had with her on the rooftop. And once again, he was questioning everything he thought he knew about this cryptic family he had come to be a part of. Then his mind wandered off to the person in the meeting room down the hallway. His conversations with Sawyer and Viren can wait for a little more. For now, he was going to deal with his brother.

Junaid tossed and turned in the bed. He was assigned a guest bedroom they had in the base once the second meeting concluded. He felt his lips curve into a amused smile when he thought of the little girl that commanded some of the most powerful men on this planet, left a smoking trail of chaos in her wake and then clung to her bodyguard like a little koala. His smile disappeared as his thoughts drifted to his brother and once again he tossed around in his bed.

The door opened and the person stepped in. The sounds and swish of clothes and the rustling of sheets were heard before the person slipped under the covers. 

Junaid's body relaxed involuntarily as a muscled arm coiled around his midriff, pulling him to his own personal heater. He turned around and the man turned with him. He draped one arm around his body and laid his head on the man's chest, calming his anxiety grounding the chaos that his mind has become.

The man wrapped a protective arm around him as he snuggled deeper into his warmth.

"Revan" he whispered into the still room. And then he could practically hear the smile as the man spoke.

"There you go again, calling me strange names." the man grumbled. Junaid pinched his side.

"Shut up Sterling." he groaned as he concentrated on his heartbeat. A comfortable silence settled into the atmosphere for a few minutes before Sterling spoke.

"Talk to me." Sterling whispered. Junaid grunted in response as he wandered back to Rayan(Azil). 

"Can we talk?" Junaid stiffened at the sound of his voice. The voice he wished he had forgotten with time. 

Time heals all wounds. He wanted to laugh at the irony of the thought. Whoever said it clearly had no idea how time only makes the wounds worse as it passes.

"Sure, we can talk." It scared him, how steady and confident his voice came out when his insides were quivering with barely restrained rage and grief.

He stood up and followed his older brother like he had done so many times in the past. Only this time, there was no trust, no excitement. There was only resentment and love. The worst combination. To resent a person just as much as you love them. It kills you from the inside. It turns your heart a little gray everyday. Everything is a reminder of the betrayed trust and the broken bond.

They stood on the rooftop a few minutes later. The air was charged with tension. 

An all consuming rage filled his veins. It demanded he hurt the person responsible for it. It choked him till all he could see was red. He turned and delivered a sucker punch to Azil's abdomen.

He watched with a cold smile as Azil bent over gasping for air.

"I deserved that." he wheezed, trying to catch his breath.