Page 27 of Zeus

"What did he give you?" I ask when he doesn't offer to explain.

Zayne looks down at the papers, confusion drawing a deep crease in his brow.

"Looks like a lot of the same shit I picked up at the rally," he says, turning on the living room light before sitting on the sofa. He drops the pamphlets on the table and begins sifting through them.

"Think there's a hint at something different?" I ask as he starts to comb through them individually.

"Maybe. Maybe not. You never know with these types of people."

I take a seat in the recliner and wait for him to sift through it all to decide. I could easily leave him to it, but I know there's no way I'll be able to go back to sleep. I'm not exactly a paranoid type of person, despite that being one of the key characteristics of the person I'm pretending to be right now, but getting woken up the way I was will make it impossible to go back to sleep anytime soon.

"I don't see anything different from the ones I got earlier, but I also don't know if this is their way of saying they have interests in these different groups," he mutters, tossing the last one on the pile in frustration.

"I can't believe they're organized enough to get shit printed to hand out," I say, placing my gun on the table before leaning back in the recliner.

I press my palms to my eyes, the threat of a headache building.

"This is going to take forever," I complain.

"We got a meeting," Zayne says. "That's what we needed."

"I'm surprised he wasn't armed," I say, dropping my palms and looking at my partner.

"There were two men across the street with assault rifles pointed at me. They were standing under the street light. They wanted me to know they were there," he says. "It's why my gun was at my side and not pointed at his forehead."

"Shit," I whisper.

"I think the one on the doorstep was the only one who could see you, though. The angle was off for the other two to see you."

"I knew these types of people were dangerous, but that's a little eye-opening."

"You can never drop your guard around them," he warns. "They're more than a little unpredictable at all times, but add in the drugs and risk of jail, and they're all like ticking time bombs. They'd sell their sister out to avoid prison time."

I nod my head in understanding.

"Gonna try and get some sleep," I mutter as I stand from the recliner, stretching my arms over my head.

It's not that I did it on purpose to draw his attention, but I might pause with my arms suspended over my head for a second longer than necessary.

His eyes rake down my chest, pausing on my abdomen before he stands and walks closer.

I drop my arms, stiffening because I have a million ideas swarming in my head about the things we could be doing, but I know that's not some shit we need to get involved in right now, or at any point really.

His eyes are soft when he steps within a foot of me.

I'm once again reminded of the height difference as his head angles slightly downward.

I swallow against the lump in my throat as he reaches his hand up and places it over my heart. The cool touch works its way through me, comforting rather than shocking my system.

"I didn't know that you didn't know," he whispers.

My first instinct is to lean into the compassion he's trying to show me, but instead, I take a step back, instant regret filling me at the sadness in his eyes.

"Thank you," I say, my tone flat, an attempt at trying to sound unbothered.

My hands are shaking by the time I close myself inside my bedroom.

Chapter 13