SAX
Ishifted in the chair I’d squeezed into; the creaking blaring around me in the van. Atticus wouldn’t let me or Nicco enter the Masked Kingpin, too afraid our emotions would cloud our judgment, but I’d refused to not be part of it. So, we’d been relegated to the van on monitor duty with Pixel. It sucked, and I was this close to throwing open the doors and storming the place.
Okay, maybe Atticus had a point, but I didn’t have to like it.
“Looks like Stocke wasn’t lying,” Nicco said, pointing at the screen. We watched as they stepped through a hidden door, pulling the black caps on their heads down further to cover their faces. They wore Delgado security uniforms, hoping to blend right in with the enemy.
“Presto, bango,” Pixel cheered, hitting a button. The screen showed a looped video, but when I looked at our screen, I could see our guys moving, giving them video cover.
“Nice going, kid,” I grunted. I’d finally pieced together the joke she’d played on me by calling me Oscar the Grouch, so now I made it my life’s mission to remind her how young she was. It was juvenile, but I had fun doing it. She stuck out her tongue, not caring, and I wondered if maybe I was the one being suckered here.
“Do you think he’s here?” I whispered to Nicco, the fear this was all a waste of time rising up.
He shrugged, his eyes glued to the screen. “It makes the most sense. The only other place would be the mansion, and we know every inch of it, so it would be harder for him to hide someone there. I’m hopeful.”
“How do you do it?” I asked, curious. “Sometimes it feels like the world is crashing around us, and you just smile more.”
Nicco turned, looking at me this time. “I never had to be scared because you and Mas were always watching over me. It made me believe that you guys could conquer anything. I don’t doubt you two. You allowed me to live a life of relative safety, shielding me from a lot of the horrors. I knew as long as you two were around, then it would work out somehow.” He shrugged, and I sat back, struck dumb by his words. It almost felt like he’d hit me with them; the meaning was so profound.
I cleared my throat, shaking my head a little. “Wow, um, I never realized you saw me that way.”
“You never asked.” He shrugged his shoulder, turning back in the chair, but stopped, looking back. “For what it’s worth, you gave me the freedom to hope, and I know that came at a sacrifice to you, so thank you. But you’re not alone in carrying the burdens of this family anymore. In fact, we’ve kind of grown, so it’s okay to let yourself feel some joy and not be scared of things going well for us.”
I blinked, seeing Nicco in a whole new light. I’d almost forgotten we weren’t alone until Pixel dramatically sighed, leaning on her hands.
“That was so beautiful. Like, I have a tear.” She smiled between us, and Nicco smirked at her, looking back at the screen. I was still so flabbergasted by what he’d said I didn’t even have a retort in me.
Clearing my throat, I thought about what he said and wanted to believe I could relax at some point and not fear happiness. “Thanks,” I whispered, not wanting the Nosey Nelly in the van to hear me. “It means a lot to hear that.”
He nodded, but I caught his smile as he scanned through some screens. When he sat up suddenly, looking closer to the monitor, I moved with him. “What is it?” I asked.
“I think they might be in trouble.” I tensed at his words, scanning the small screens, trying to figure out what he was seeing. Fuck, I really was too old for this shit.
“Where? They’re all too small.”
Pixel leaned between us, hitting a button, and the view enlarged with Malek and Beau. They were outside a room, picking the lock, but I saw what he meant. There was a patrol coming upon them. “Shit.” I cursed. I wanted to warn them, but it might be more distracting to do that at this point. Within seconds of being discovered, they slipped through the door and shut it.
The guard stepped up to the alcove they’d been in, looking at the door, almost like he’d heard something. He walked over to it, jiggling the handle to ensure it was locked. The three of us sighed in relief when it appeared to be. From this point, we were blind as we hadn’t been able to hack into the feed in the room. It was why Malek had said to try there first, believing it was a containment room. Taking a breath, I decided to trust him that he was right.
“Um, guys, we have a problem,” Pixel said, typing so fast I couldn’t track her fingers.
“What now?” I asked, sighing and rubbing the back of my neck. The tension had been sitting there for days.
“Incoming.” She immediately jumped up, pulled her hair down, and shook it. She pushed up her boobs in her shirt and threw off the flannel she’d been wearing. I found myself staring, not because she was now half-naked, but I never would’ve expected her to be wearing something like that underneath the oversized shirt.
“Damn,” Nicco whistled. “Good luck.” He high-fived her before I realized she was exiting the van.
“Wait. Where are you going? What are you doing?”
She paused as she stepped out of the back, giving me an incredulous look. “I’m saving our bacon, Pops.” Pixel blew a kiss, shutting the door, and I watched on the camera as she ran over to the front to intercept a car.
“She’s going to get herself killed,” I moaned, beginning to strap my gun on. Once Nicco had said how much Mas and I’d done to always protect everyone, it had set in, and I felt it. I was tired of this life.
“Not so fast,” Nicco said, slapping my chest to stop me. “She’s a Siren. I think she’s capable of handling herself. Give her a chance at least.”
“She’s your cousin,” I said, raising my eyebrow to indicate he was responsible for her.
“Even more reason to let her try.” He gave me a look, and I dropped it, anxious to see how Beau was doing.