“Oh shit,” Facet mumbled under his breath next to me.
Before any of us could prepare, Reya came over acting as if she was bringing Phoenix more food. She pretended to trip, and I could see what was about to happen as if it was a movie in my head. Before she spilled a pan full of bacon with sizzling grease down Cookie’s arm, Facet and I both jumped up and intercepted the accident about to happen.
“Oh! I’m so sorry! How clumsy of me,” Reya said with a surprised expression that I didn’t buy for a second. Neither did my brothers, because Raptor stood and gave her a glare.
“Go clean up,” he told her in a tone that brooked no argument.
Her jaw ticked, and her ridiculously fake green eyes flashed, but she did as she was told. Laila had worn colored contacts that looked real; Reya’s were damn near emerald green. Still, I preferred Laila’s natural blue.
“So, who are you, doll?” Cookie asked Laila, and I wanted to grab Laila and run. God deliver me from the cattiness of women.
“Laila,” she replied as she rested a possessive hand on my forearm that made my chest swell a little. “And you are?”
“Cookie,” she replied with a smile that was blindingly bright as she reached a hand out to shake Laila’s.
For a moment, Laila stared at her outstretched hand. When it was on the verge of being uncomfortable, she lifted hers from my arm and gripped Cookie’s. “Is your last name Monster?” Laila asked.
Cookie let loose a boisterous laugh and slapped the table. “Holy shit. I never thought I’d see the day,” she said when she got her mirth under control.
“The day for what?” Laila asked with a cocked brow and pursed lips. Sass and attitude dripped from her pores.
“It’s not important,” Cookie said with a surprised grin.
In the background, Reya slammed the refrigerator, then dropped pans in the sink.
“I can get the dishes,” Willow quietly offered.
“Good. At least you’ll be useful for something,” Reya sneered and stomped out of the kitchen. Her footsteps going up the stairs could be heard, followed by the slam of a door.
“I’m talking to Venom about her ass,” Raptor said. We all agreed.
Laila got up from the table and brought her dishes to the sink. She said something softly to Willow and began cleaning up with her.
“Raptor, Ghost, Facet—a word,” we heard from the doorway. We looked over to our pres. Laila glanced over her shoulder, and I gave her a look asking if she’d be okay. She nodded.
Facet, Raptor, and I followed Venom to his office. He dropped to his chair as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders.
“I got a phone call this morning. Khatri said they received word that we were protecting the hacker that breached their organization.”
“Do they know she’s here?” I asked as my heart jolted.
“I don’t think so, but I’m not sure they’d tell us if they did,” Venom replied.
“I’m telling you, they aren’t what they are trying to make out,” Facet inserted.
“That may be, but do you have proof?” Venom asked as he stroked his close-cropped beard. The man looked tired. With a new baby at home, I imagined he wasn’t getting great sleep at night.
“Just that they hired someone else to find Laila too. I also found a multitude of sketchy wire transfers that I’m still tracking. They also have several offshore accounts. I should have something soon,” Facet replied in a tone heavy with resignation. He hated it when something eluded him.
“Okay, well that doesn’t say anything other than they really wanted to make sure the hacker was found.”
“Yeah, but it’s who they hired. They hired the Triple X Syndicate. That’s who chased and shot you.”
“Shit,” Raptor muttered.
“So?” I asked, not completely understanding the significance of that.
“So they are brutal and bloodthirsty sociopaths,” Facet clarified.