Escaping Death

Chapter 13

Ace

By the time I make it to the bar and turn back around, Eli already has his hands on her. They smile and laugh together with ease, comfortably occupying one another's space like they've known each other for years.

An unfamiliar, weighted feeling creeps through my chest at the sight of them; her lifting to her toes to whisper something in his ear, the way he holds her to him like he has any right to wear her on his arm.

I should have let Dean stay home with her, I shouldn't have let her come. The only thing worse than watching her curves sway around in that dress, seducing every pair of eyes she crosses, would be her getting hurt – I'll pretend like it's just because her fathers have hired us to keep her safe and not because the pull towards her grows with every passing minute. The glass I'm holding cracks beneath my grip so I turn myself away from watching them and order another drink. I can't allow them to see me losing my control.

I survey the rest of the level I'm on. Tate has vanished and I know I won't see him again until the job is done. That's how it works, everyone has their role. Tate infiltrates. He also has a more vicious blood lust than any one of us, it's not just a job for him – it's sport.

Dean's the watcher, he picks up on the smallest details and can help people...see things our way. People mistake him for quiet and tame since he's so deceptively reserved, but that couldn't be further from the truth. It's his disciplined patience that makes him deadly in so many ways.

Eli is our wildcard. He can step into any role at any moment. He does his job like he lives his life; on the edge. What you see is what you get with Eli, he's spirited and adventurous. Seeing how he shows us his true personality makes knowing what he was like when we found him a bitter reminder of the damage love can do...the damage mates can do.

Knowing I'm only punishing myself by doing so, my wolf drives me to follow Eli and Sol around the yacht. They may as well be the only two people in the world right now they're so lost in conversation, he spins her around as they dance.

Hunter's words from earlier in the day echo through my mind and clash with the scene in front of my waking eyes. Here I don't see the angry, caged animal Hunter described. Here she's carefree and unguarded. Some of her light and warmth begins to shine through the armor she's built up around her.

She's radiant.

And apparently Eli has his own fucking death wish. His lips are on her bare shoulder, traveling seductively up her neck to her lips. Between the rage, and the residual constricting pressure on my chest, I take stock of her body – her arm and bare leg specifically. There's not a drop of ink on her skin. I didn't notice until now but her skin looks virginal, the beautiful artwork that decorated her before has been covered up, and covered up well.

I don't have time to wonder how she did it, nor do I have time to shatter another glass at the sight of them dancing because Tate messages the group that he's found our mark in a private, guarded cabin below deck.

I make myself comfortable on one of the deck sofas waiting for Solana to come join me while Eli does what Eli does best — adapt. His text that there's been a change of plans only proves that he's the man for the job.

My foot taps impatiently on the deck's floor while I continue to wait and search for Solana from my seat. Hopes that Dean and Hunter found her first are slashed as they casually amble over to the sectional I'm lounging on.

"Where is she?" I ask though I suspect they don't know either.

"Eli didn't send her over to you?" Hunter asks, his anger and possessiveness making its presence known.