Total pages in book: 156
Estimated words: 160192 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 801(@200wpm)___ 641(@250wpm)___ 534(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 160192 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 801(@200wpm)___ 641(@250wpm)___ 534(@300wpm)
She quickly swiped up the knife and held it out toward him, tucking it under his chin. “Yeah? You and whose army?”
Okay, so it was just a butter knife and blunt as heck. There was no way she could stab him with it, but it wasn’t like she actually wanted to stab him.
She just wanted to get her point across.
Coffee was important. And no one would get between her and her precious, precious brew.
“Oh, someone is choosing violence today,” North said.
Jared’s eyes narrowed as he stared down at her sternly. He didn’t seem at all perturbed by the knife.
“Why are you holding a butter knife to Jared’s chin?” North asked as he took a bite of scrambled eggs.
Darn it. Her eggs were getting cold and she loved scrambled eggs.
“I’m threatening him.” She’d thought that was pretty clear.
“With a butter knife? If you’re going to threaten someone you should do it with a knife like this.” North brought a knife out of somewhere. Where had he even been keeping it?
She didn’t know, but the darn thing was scary as heck. It looked deadly sharp, thin and nasty.
“I . . . I wouldn’t even want to touch a knife like that. I’d be too scared of hurting myself.”
North frowned. “Do you know how to stab someone?”
“No idea.”
He shook his head. “Your education is sadly lacking.”
“What kind of education teaches you how to use a knife like that?” she asked.
“A thorough one,” he told her. “I’ll teach you how to use a knife.”
“You will? Really?”
“Yes. We will do it after breakfast. Unless you want to take care of her punishment first?” he asked Jared.
“Hmm. That can wait.”
“Punishment? What punishment?” she asked.
“For pulling a knife on me,” Jared told her, plucking the knife out of her hand.
“But it’s blunt and it can’t really cause any damage. North said so.”
“I don’t believe I said that. With enough force anything can cause damage.”
“I wasn’t going to use it on you, though,” she said to Jared.
“Never pull a weapon on someone unless you plan to use it,” North told her sternly.
“It was a joke.”
“And it’s not funny to threaten someone,” North added.
Dear Lord.
“Now, eat, you’re going to need some energy.”
“Can’t wait. I’ve always wanted to know how to stab someone.”
At the moment, “someone” was him.
39
She wasn’t coming.
Hmm. That surprised him. North didn’t think she would chicken out. Jared stepped into the gym and North raised an eyebrow at him.
“Came to watch,” Jared explained.
“Want some pointers now that you’re getting older?” North asked.
Jared was ten years older than him. Twelve years older than Angie.
Not that that mattered.
North had lived a thousand lifetimes in his twenty-eight years. He no longer considered himself young.
“I think I’m good,” Jared said.
Jared had grown up with a violent, powerful narcissist for a father. He’d never wanted for anything material, like food or clothes or a place to sleep.
But he’d also never been safe.
North had to fight for everything he had. Sure, he’d been pulled out of an orphanage by The Collective and set up in a foster home where he’d been fed and clothed.
But nothing had been his unless he took it.
His life had never been normal or easy. But neither had Jared’s.
He wondered if that was why they were drawn to each other.
“Where is she?” Jared asked, leaning back against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.
“I don’t know. I guess she must have decided against coming. Probably smart. She could get hurt.”
“You wouldn’t let her get hurt.”
Hmm. Sometimes he wondered why Jared had so much confidence in him.
North twirled one of his knives. He didn’t usually play with them. But he had a surge of restless energy.
Strange.
It had to be all the issues he was facing right now.
Like how to keep Jared safe from The Collective. From the person who was paying to have him killed. The only way to figure that out was to talk to his handler. V.
V hadn’t replied to North’s message, but when he did North had to be prepared to do what needed to be done.
Even if it went against all his training.
Suddenly, the door slammed open and Angie rushed in. She was wearing a pair of shorts and a workout T-shirt.
Yes, he’d bought her all sorts of clothing.
Her face was red and she looked grouchy and cute.
No! Not cute.
Since when did he think someone was cute?
“You’re late,” he told her in a voice that said he could care less.
The truth was something else that he didn’t want to examine too closely.
“You guys are the ones that gave me bad directions,” she grumbled, walking over to grab a water from the small fridge.
North glanced at Jared. What was she talking about?
“We didn’t give you bad directions,” Jared told her.
“Yes, you did. I’ve been running around trying to find this room. Do you think it’s funny to trick me?”