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ZANE
“I need to head back,” I state firmly, my tone brooking no argument. “There’s something I need to check before the rally.” My gun is exactly where it should be, but the others don’t need to know that. I need a plausible excuse to follow Aria without raising suspicion.
“Bro,” Dash whines from the backseat. “How the fuck? That’s something I’d do. Not you.”
“Please don’t remind me,” I mutter, maintaining the lie. “Malachi, let me out here. I’ll walk back.”
“We need you today,” Malachi says, his voice calm but firm. He pulls over to the side of the road, his authoritative presence filling the car. “I need all teams for this political rally. Protestors camped out last night. I got a call this morning from the mayor. Shit’s hitting the fan because this idiot wants to roll back omega protections for Puritan City.” He takes a deep breath, visibly frustrated but still composed. “And with the recent tensions, we can’t afford to be shorthanded. You know how volatile these situations can get.”
“You think I won’t be back?” I raise a brow in challenge. Honestly, it depends on what I discover when I make it back. He also doesn’t need me. “I’ll be quick. I just need to handle something important first.”
Malachi blinks at me like I’m insane. I might be. We are only a mile down the road. “I need you to interview Logan.”
“Just hire him.” I shrug, attempting to appear nonchalant. “See how he does under pressure.”
“I haven’t gotten the background check in yet,” Malachi counters, his eyes narrowing slightly.
That is a problem.
“Tell him the job is the interview. Call him up right now.” I point at the dash and decide to take over by swiping through his contacts and calling Logan.
“Hello?” comes the questioning answer.
“Logan Pierce?” I ask, much to Malachi’s dismay. “Puritan City Alpha Security. We are short a body for the rally. Your interview is to see how well you do under pressure. You don’t get a gun until the security check comes through.”
“Wait, really?” He sounds excited by the prospect.
“Yeah, really,” I confirm. “We need all hands on deck for this one. Meet us at the rally point in twenty minutes, and get ready for a shit show.”
There is always some idiot who tries to start a fight at these.
“I’ll be there!” Logan says eagerly before hanging up.
Malachi gives me a skeptical look. “You sure about this, Zane? We don’t know much about this guy yet.”
“He’s green, but he has potential,” I argue, hoping for the best. I’m also a little distracted. I need to know what Aria is hiding, and it will consume me until I figure this out. “Besides, we’re desperate right now. We’ll keep a close eye on him. It’s better than being down a man when things get heated.”
Dash chimes in, his tone lighter. “I don’t like it either, but Zane’s right—we need the extra manpower today.”
Malachi sighs heavily, clearly torn. “Fine, but if anything goes sideways with him, it’s on you, Zane.”
“Noted,” I reply curtly. “Now drop me off so I can grab my gun and get my ass to the rally.”
“Go,” Malachi mutters, unhappy with me.
I hop out of the car and slam the door shut, taking off down the road without a backward glance. Wearing black fatigues and a black skull cap, I look like I’m up to no good.
I am.
Last night solidified something for me. Well, yesterday in general did. When we got to the hotel room, Quinn literally smoked us out and stripped all the sheets. He also called housekeeping and asked for new everything.
Why?
He’s protecting Aria for some reason, and I need to know why. There were also the onions…
The moment I saw them on the floor, it reminded me of how Aria smelled on Wednesday when we sparred.
She smelled like extreme body odor, like a sandwich shop, and then there were onions on the floor.
