the background, I heard Grace mumbling, “I really hope they don't do this every time we travel.” Louder, she asked, “Do you three want me to go elsewhere?”
Axton didn't bother to look at her, but he answered her anyway, “You're fine.”
Kian grumbled, but let me go, keeping his hands on me until Axton had me fully secured.
Then, loudly, Kian griped, “Well, I guess I'll eat all by myself. Just me and my meal.” He walked towards the kitchen, still complaining. “All alone. You know how I get in trouble when I'm left alone.”
Axton stared into my eyes while he said, “Get Grace to babysit you. You can get in trouble with her.”
“That's not my job,” Grace piped in.
“What? That really hurts, Grace. I'm a good friend. I even finished moving you into your room. Made a welcome to the unit present. All of that.” Kian tsked once before we heard the sounds of him messing with his box.
Grace sighed, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw her stand. She'd come a long way since we'd first met her, though she continued to have moments when she pulled inside of herself. Still, the politeness remained, and she was far too easy to guilt into things.
Axton paid no attention to any of their antics, and instead, he chose to carry me towards the rear door. Once we were outside on the small strip of lawn positioned behind the unit, I loosened my grip around his waist. I slid down his body until I stood on my tiptoes.
His gaze dropped to my lips, and I licked them. He grinned, and his dimples appeared. I reached up and poked one with my finger.
“I like these,” I said quietly.
“So you've mentioned. I really like this,” he responded as he squeezed me tightly. “We've missed you. Weird, isn't it? We just finished our first rotation, and I'm already rather fond of this sector.”
I slapped at his chest lightly, more pretending than an actual blow. “Fond of the sector?”
“Of course. This is where you're at, after all.”
A thought hit me, and I couldn't believe I hadn't already asked. Things were too busy, and I had too much on my mind, but it wasn't a good excuse for forgetting.
“Oh, you never told me. Did Master Akai give you the favor he promised? Or did he wiggle his way out of it?”
When the trio had first arrived in this sector, Master Akai advised them he would grant them one favor in exchange for keeping me out of trouble. They really hadn't done a very good job. In fact, they'd been terrible at it, but we'd gotten away with almost all of it. I'd once asked Axton what he wanted to request, and he'd told me he wanted access to the files they had on Bevan's murder.
The brightness that I sensed in Axton dipped, but it surged back up a moment later. He shook his head slowly and said, “He asked what we wanted. Apparently, he understands how hard it is to keep you from doing anything you're not supposed to. He said, and I'm quoting here, that 'I'm surprised there weren't more incidents, and you three helped her with clearing the sentences, so I suppose that's probably the best I can hope for.'”
My eyes narrowed. “He did not say that.”
“Oh, yes, he did. Anyway, since we now have access to a ferrule, I asked him if he could keep our Groupings linked. If you were okay with it, of course, but he said that he already had planned on leaving things as they are until one of us asks for it to be terminated.” Axton shrugged, his gaze becoming unfocused. “None of us could think of anything else that we wanted, so he's holding the favor until one of us can come up with something.”
He'd asked to remain linked? Why?
“That's a terrible idea,” I blurted out.
He started, his eyes quickly finding mine. “What is? Having him hold it?”
I shook my head. “No. Leaving us linked. We can remain in the unit together without that. You can agree to take a contract with the OMIEB. Nothing would have changed except you wouldn't be tied to my record if I get in trouble again.”
“Oh,” he said, visibly relaxing. “Sure, we would. It seems that we've become partners in crime, so at least one of us would be around, anyway. No, I don't want to hear you say anything bad about yourself. If it makes you feel any better,