Hostile Ground (The Arsenal #7) - Cara Carnes Page 0,102
Beast said. “They’re sharp enough to read between the lines.”
Kristof hoped so. The Arsenal crew were an important part of Addy’s life, and he had no intention of wreaking havoc. She’d survived enough chaos and destruction as it was.
“We’re supposed to leave with Olaf in twenty-four hours. Are you going to be ready?”
“I’m going to try,” Kristof said. “There are a lot of things still in the air.”
“Then let us know what we can do to help,” Thunder said. “It’s better than us sitting around waiting to get home and start the next phase of this mission.”
“Let me check in with Maksim and see where we stand.” Kristof shoved away from the wall. “Thank you. For this. And for always having Addy’s back.”
“We didn’t always have it,” Beast admitted. He looked down, then back up. Regret filled his eyes. “Peter did shit we’ll likely never know. I’m hoping if you mean to her what we think you do that she’ll read you in on that. She can’t carry that shit alone.”
No. She couldn’t. Kristof fisted his hands. He’d unearth the monsters she’d buried.
Beast stood and moved toward Kristof. “To be clear, I don’t trust you. Not yet.”
“Fair enough.”
“You’ve done shit I won’t ever understand,” Beast added.
“I don’t expect you to. I’d do it all over again without hesitation.” Kristof stared at Addy’s second-in-command. “I’ve never pretended to be a good man.”
“You’ve shot straight with us since we arrived. I respect that, even if I don’t trust you.”
It was a start. Perhaps not the best one, but Kristof had worked with less. He didn’t give a damn what the men thought of him, but they were important to Addy, so he’d try.
For her.
23
“Wakey, wakey.”
Addy blinked and peered at Zoey as she entered the bedroom. A light flicked on across the room. Zoey’s wide, expressive gaze moved from Addy to the crumpled sheets.
“So…” The woman rocked back on her heels.
“Ugh. I can’t do this right now.” Addy flopped back onto her pillow and stared up at the ceiling.
Kristof had been amazing. No. Was there a word beyond that?
She ran her hand along the cold side of the bed. “Where is he?”
“Welp, he and your guys had a powwow of some kind in the living room a while ago.” Addy tightened. “But there was no bloodshed. He went off with Maksim, then came back and got your crew. They headed out a few minutes ago.”
“You should’ve woken me.”
“Yeah, about that.” Zoey winced. “Kristof kind of told me to let you sleep, said you needed the rest more than you needed to help sort his shit.”
“What shit?”
“Gage heard them talking about Gavriil.”
“Son of a bitch.” Addy rolled from the bed. Heat crept up her cheeks when she remembered she was naked. She grabbed a shirt and pulled it on. “Sorry.”
“No worries. What’s a little nudity among friends?” Zoey rocked back and forth on her heels. “So, you and Kristof.”
Addy tightened. She wasn’t the girly powwow kind. She’d been through enough of these moments to recognize a woman sharing fest. “Are you going to have a problem with that? I know you aren’t his biggest fan. None of you are.”
“Gage has talked me around.”
Addy froze. Shock rolled through her as she looked at Zoey. “Gage?”
“Yeah. He’s sort of switched to Team Kristof.” Zoey shrugged. “I’m thinking he’s not the only one.”
Gage had always had Addy’s back. “You’ve got a good man.”
“Yeah.” Zoey smirked. “I’m thinking yours is pretty interesting, too.”
“Don’t.” Addy dragged her pants on and looked down at Kristof’s shirt as it hung loosely around her frame. She picked up her bra, then put it on with her back to Zoey. “Not sure where Kristof and I stand. We don’t need you and everyone else prying.”
“I get it.” Zoey approached. “You know we’re here for you. Right? You aren’t alone.”
“I know.” Addy touched her friend’s shoulder. “Thank you.”
“You’ve got the hard-ass exterior the guys do and the kick ass and take names later spirit we women do,” Zoey said. “You’ve got Gage’s stand-offishness in spades. The Mason protectiveness. You know, where the only thing that matters is everyone around them. Heaven forbid they need some help of their own.”
“Z.”
“What? It’s all true. You’re like the epitome of everything the others went through all rolled into one seriously confused mess.” Zoey crossed her arms. “But we love you. One way or another, we’re going to roll your troubles out and iron every problem away because that’s what friends do. That’s what family does.”