Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 103027 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103027 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Miranda and Wren shared a look.
“I have to admit,” Wren said, “you going out on your own wasn’t on any of our bingo cards. Good thing Emmett was tracking you.”
I let my eyes slide closed for a second. They weren’t wrong. I hadn’t felt like I had a choice, though explaining my actions would use more words than my throat could handle. I settled for, “Sorry. Bad judgment.”
“It happens,” Miranda said easily. “Just keep in mind,” she raised one red eyebrow, “if you’re pissed at Eli, that doesn’t mean you should go out without backup. We’re here too.”
I struggled to push myself a little more upright as Miranda’s words filtered through my brain. “What?” I asked, not sure what she meant.
“We’re here,” Wren said. “Backup. You didn’t have to go out there by yourself. I get you were angry with Eli. He was being a dumbass. Sometimes his need-to-know bullshit is a little too intense. But you could have tagged in someone else.”
“Not that you can’t take care of yourself,” Miranda added. “But considering you’re on the bomber’s hit list, maybe don’t go out alone until we get him locked down.”
I liked that they got why I’d been upset with Eli.
“Is Maddox still looking?” I asked. “Someone said he was okay, but I thought I saw him at the hospital.”
“You did,” Wren said cheerfully. “His head’s too hard to get damaged. He made it out just before the second bomb blew. Went after the bomber, but dude was fast. Mad said he was long gone. Instead of going after him, Mad called for the ambulance. He was digging you two out of the stairwell when the emergency crew got there. He got a little bruised up, a few cuts, small burns. Nothing serious.”
“He’s fine,” Miranda said. “Back on duty.”
I was afraid to ask the other thing I needed to know. Where was Eli?
The memory of telling Eli I loved him was cemented in my brain. I’d been about to die. I wasn’t going to go out without telling him. He hadn’t said it back—hadn’t said anything in response. I wasn’t even a hundred percent sure he heard me.
And it didn’t matter. I had to know. “Where’s Eli?” My voice ground to a halt, hot shards of pain spiking in my throat from too much talking. I reached for the mug of tea.
Miranda got there first, lifting it, carrying it almost all the way to my mouth before she let me take it. She shot another look at Wren, then said, “Eli is…” She rolled her eyes. “Eli’s on a mission.”
I raised an eyebrow, wanting to demand more information, but pretty sure I couldn’t force out another word.
“He bullied the doctor into releasing you both from the hospital and made us swear we wouldn’t leave your side. Then he took off.”
Where? I mouthed, the sound not coming out.
“Who the fuck knows,” Wren said. “He’s after the bomber.”
“But—” My voice wasn’t cooperating, so I raised my hand to my aching head, then pressed my hand across my throat.
Miranda nodded. “We’re aware. Cooper’s aware. Eli has been informed that he’s a fucking idiot and he should be in bed or in the hospital. Anywhere but out on the street trying to track this guy down.”
“Eli’s not much better off than you,” Wren said. “His throat’s a little bit better. Maybe. And his brain’s not broken, but he has a concussion.”
“Maddox is with him,” Miranda added. “Mostly trying to make sure he doesn’t get himself killed.”
“Why?” I rasped, wincing at the pain. I wanted to tell them to make him stop. If he wasn’t much better than me, how was he even on his feet, much less running around the city looking for the man who’d almost killed us?
Miranda gave me a long look, then shared a quick one with Wren, who shrugged and said, “Penance.”
I raised my eyebrows, needing more of an explanation.
Miranda filled in the gaps. “Knowing Eli, he feels responsible. He wasn’t honest with you. He played a game, thinking he could only tell you what he wanted you to know. If he hadn’t lied to you, you never would have been out there on your own. You only left without backup because you didn’t think you could trust any of us once you found out Eli was lying to you. Right?”
I didn’t want to, but I slowly nodded, because she understood exactly. Eli’s secrecy had made me doubt all of them. They were a team. I was on the outside. It had never occurred to me that I could tag one of them in, as Wren had put it. If I couldn’t trust Eli, how could I trust any of them?
But still… “It’s not his fault,” I forced out. “He didn’t strap a bomb to my chest and tase me.”
Relief flashed in Miranda’s eyes. “Well, you know that,” she said. “And we know that. It’s going to take Eli a little longer.”