Fire & Ice | Soulmate AU 1 |

chapter twenty

The looks on the faces of the team replay in my head the entire trip down to mission headquarters. Could they really be that disgusted over someone non-League getting into the tower? I don't think so. There has to be something else.

"I'm sure there's an explanation for all of this," Rowan says at my side as if he can read my thoughts. Wendy knocked on Rowan's door to tell him that she was taking Bella to daycare earlier this morning. We're lucky she didn't actually open the door since she probably would've gotten an eyeful.

Actually. I don't even know if we're together.

"Row?" I say quietly.

"Hm?" he hums back.

"Are we...together?" I mutter.

He snorts.

"Yeah, of course," he replies. "Why?"

"I just wasn't sure," I say with a light shrug.

"Well, you're it for me, Lake," he says. "We're together."

The elevator doors slide open just as I'm pressing a kiss to his cheek. We make our way to conference room eight where Wendy told Rowan the entire team would be meeting. I'm sure one of them looked for me, as well, but couldn't find me. If I go off of their reactions from yesterday, though, they probably didn't look too hard.

The entire team is already sitting around the cherry wood conference table when Rowan and I get into the room. They all look up when we come in and my heart pounds in my ears as I struggle to find a seat to sit down in without passing out. I've never liked being the center of attention so this is like my worst nightmare.

"I already told Moon that she was here. Footage shows her teleporting right into the elevator. He put her ID number into the system for blocked entry, but, you know the Blackwells," Max says, speaking as if they were already in the middle of a discussion. They probably were. A pang of betrayal flashes through my chest. They didn't even wait for me to start.

"What about Lake?" JD says, his typical cheer unusually absent.

"I already contacted D.C. about Christin and the situation with Lake. Lake, you're suspended from active duty until further notice."

"I'm what?" I exclaim, bursting out of the fog of confusion just in time to be outraged. Putting aside the fact that they're calling my mother by her first name, why the hell should I be suspended?

"Listen, Lake," Max says, sighing and running a hand down his face before actually making eye contact with me, "this situation is very complicated. D.C. isn't taking any chances with this. They've taken you off the roster as they do always do when there's any chance of corruption."

"Corruption?"

"This doesn't look good, Lake," Flint pipes up from a few seats down. "They think you're working with her."

"Working with her? As far as I knew 24 hours ago, she was six feet under. Based on yesterday's display of affection, I'm sure all of you can come to the conclusion that I'd have preferred if she stayed that way!" I shout. My hands start to shake against the table so I clasp them together and squeeze before dragging them under the table to hide them. Embarrassing.

"Well, given her history, we never know what to expect," Max tries to reason.

"Her history?" I say lowly, glaring down at my lap. I look up at them again with my face set and blank. "Okay. Now I really don't know what's going on anymore. Christin died five years ago in a car accident. Before that she worked some shitty nine to five that she always bitched about while she beat the shit out of me. I have no idea what kind of connection to the League she could possibly have, so please, enlighten me."