Raiden (The Kent Brothers #2) - A.M. Hargrove Page 0,63

as though she understood. “I’ve lost before, not as much as you, but enough to make me want to win every time.”

I didn’t press her for details. “Raiden is so strong. I admire him because of that. But he’s never lost anything either.”

“For a time, he thought he lost his brother, but that didn’t make him weak.”

“They got him back. It’s different when you feel the absence of a deep loss, one that can’t be replaced. When I told him my story, he was at a loss.”

“I’m sure. You must truly love him, Scottie, if you shared your story with him. I understand why you told us. It was out of necessity. But telling Raiden was something else. He didn’t take your leaving well. He pestered the hell out of Drex until he finally told him what was going on.”

“How is he?”

“He’s fine. Anxious about you, though.”

My gut fluttered with a million butterflies as I thought of him. All I wanted was to be with him. Paris should excite me. I’d been to some amazing places, but Raiden was the only person on my mind.

“How long before we can go back?”

She shrugged. “I’ve asked Drex, and he said he would check into it. After what happened in New Zealand, I think we’d be just as safe back at home.”

“One thing I don’t want is to draw attention to Raiden and his family.”

“Um, that train has left the station. Every one of us has a target on our backs. If we didn’t, Raiden’s house wouldn’t have been bombed and yours wouldn’t have either.”

Gem was right. We were all on Aiden’s radar. The situation at the Auckland airport proved that.

“How much of a risk then would it be for us to go home?”

“A huge one.”

As I sipped my wine, an argument at the door of the bistro broke out that grabbed our attention. We noticed two men in dark clothing attempting to push their way past the entrance.

“We need to get out of here, fast.” Gem said.

I laid some euros on the table and we ran toward the back of the restaurant where the kitchen was. We searched for a back exit and we found it, but it led us to a dark alley.

“Yeah, not so good back here,” I said.

“Come on.” Gem took off in a run and had I not been so worried, I would’ve laughed at the image she made in that wig and chubby suit.

We made it to a lit street, which wasn’t a great option either.

“Cut through there,” I said, pointing to another narrow alley.

She took off in a sprint, with me following. We were heading toward the hotel, and I prayed we’d make it without being followed.

I heard shouting in the distance and as we came to a street, a taxi rolled by. I tried to stop it, but it kept on moving. We zigzagged our way through the streets until we saw our hotel in the distance. Gemini was smart and went around the rear. We tucked into a dark space until we were sure it was safe to go inside.

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“Do you see anyone?”

We stayed silent for a few more minutes and then entered the hotel from a side door, using a key card.

When we got to our room, we looked at each other and cackled. Our wigs were practically sideways and my pregnant bump had dislodged with all the running so it was resting near my hip.

“Oh, God. Let’s take some pics of us. This will go down in history,” I said, laughing my ass off.

“God, I needed that,” Gem said as she ripped off her rubber suit. “This thing is like wearing a furnace.”

She stripped down and then announced she was calling her husband. “We need an alternative plan because this one clearly isn’t working.”

Drex didn’t answer, and she kept trying. Eventually, she gave up and called Acer in a panic. He assured her he’d find him and that everything was fine.

Finally, Drex called back and Gem’s explanation of what happened was almost comical. Except Drex’s reaction wasn’t. I heard him shouting on the other end. Gem did an outstanding job of calming him down, but it was clear he understood we couldn’t stay here any longer.

“We’ve been made. Even these ridiculous disguises we wear aren’t working anymore. I don’t know how they’re finding us, but they are.”

They spoke for a while longer, and then the call ended.

“Well?” I asked.

“He’ll be sending the information in a few minutes on