as though she were ready to bolt. She gave me a weak smile and nodded.
“She’ll be fine. Now go and train. Owen! Stone! With me!”
His beta and his third stopped what they were doing and moved our way. “Well, go on.” He smiled and gently kissed my forehead before giving me a little push towards Rawson and Lionel who were sparring on the mats.
Charlie gaped, her brows damn near reaching her hairline. You and him? she mouthed.
I shrugged and winked before sauntering away, very aware of the work I needed to do to survive the death fights that loomed ever closer. I was a good fighter, better than I’d revealed, but I was willing to learn from anyone in order to survive with my wolf intact.
Stone walked by me. I stared at the bruises covering his face and neck. He didn’t meet my gaze as he passed. It was so unlike him, my heart skipped a beat. I deliberately didn’t look back. No way was I going to make a big deal of his injuries, but I doubted that anyone other than Connor, or perhaps Owen, could leave Stone looking such a mess. Either way, it was obvious he’d had his arse kicked. Connor didn’t need to defend me, but at the same time a weight lifted off my shoulders knowing I wouldn’t have to watch my back with Stone. I smiled, my heart warming at the thought that Connor’s protective instincts had reared up and he’d seen through his brother’s intentions.
Chapter 19
Connor
* * *
The corridor outside the laundry room was busy, but I still needed a reason to linger. “Lean against the wall.” The guard at the far end of the walkway turned and sauntered back towards us just as the bitter scent of fear hit my nostrils. “I’m not going to hurt you, girl. I need your help. Just don’t run from me, or my wolf will be compelled to hunt you down.” It was a necessary warning and very true. I was a predator through and through, and if someone ran from me, I would chase them down to get what I wanted.
Her gulp was audible, but she did as I instructed. I leaned against her, dropping my head like I was nuzzling her ear, trying my best to ignore her anxiety at being this close to me. “Keep your eyes on that guard and tell me when his back is to us.”
“Okay,” she whispered. A few seconds of silence passed. “Now.”
Checking that the other guards weren’t paying too much attention, I ushered her into the blind spot.
“Who’s this?” Drake looked Charlie over from her short, messy hair to her standard issue sneakers.
I had to admit, Charlie appeared very young. I inhaled and Ember’s smokey scent wafted up my nostrils, stirring my blood. I narrowed my eyes. The leather jacket Charlie had on had been Ember’s.
“This is Charlie, she’s your hacker.”
Drake eyed her skeptically. “Her? She can get into a top level security system?”
“No idea.” I looked right at her, and she seemed to shrink in on herself. “Can you?”
Her spine straightened as if insulted we’d questioned her abilities. She briefly met my eyes and nodded.
“You trust her with this?” Drake asked carefully, inhaling the scent of her fear. He was as much a predator as I was, and his eyes zoned in on her, sensing her need to run.
I shrugged. “Sure. Because if she breathes a word of this to anyone, she’ll only do it once.” I let my threat hang in the air, but hit her with a wave of power, enough to make her stagger—just to make my point.
She leaned a gloved palm on the wall, her breathing quick and heavy as she fought to stay on her feet. “Hey, don’t judge a book by it's cover. I hacked the SBI databases once.” But her voice trembled. She’d understood me. Good. I couldn’t afford for my plans to leak out.
“Really? That why you’re locked in here?” Drake asked.
She attempted a cocky grin clearly proud of the achievement despite the outcome. “Yep.”
I had to admit, it was an achievement, but also pretty stupid; she was lucky not to be dead.
“Okay, it’s all yours, sunshine. I’ve got into the laptop but can’t break through to the maintenance and repairs system.”
Charlie asked no questions about what they needed to get into the systems for. She just sat down next to Drake and cracked her knuckles.
“Maintenance?” She blew out a breath, her face scrunched in concentration.