Amy turned around and pointed at each of us.
“Make sure Xia’s drinking, eating, taking her meds, and no high altitudes. If she has to, use a stabilizer spell like Ace had placed on her before arriving here. Let her start training, but go slow if possible, and I suggest you guys work in pairs or groups. Don’t go to places by yourselves until this is all sorted.”
“How about Dante?” Silas asked.
“He’s a security guard. If he can’t take care of himself, what good is he?” Amy questioned. Xander and Silas shook their heads.
“That totally contradicts what you said,” Xander mumbled.
Amy shrugged. “Oh well. My work here is done. Silas, I’ve received all the information you sent me about the serum. It’ll take me a few days to go through it, but I should have some answers to what effects this serum can have, and why these groups are rather desperate to obtain it.”
“All right. You have NPO’s support. Already told Boss about it, and he wants us to make sure Xia’s safe. If they’re willing to attack and use her as bait, imagine them finding out she’s living with the serum running through her,” Silas explained.
“Xia being a Reaper is a big advantage to them to begin with,” I pointed out. “Imagine being the first to survive a serum that is potentially supposed to provide all these enhanced powers and make others stronger through pleasure. The perfect supplement to encourage rape for power,” I elaborated.
My outspoken thoughts angered me. I didn’t want anyone thinking it was okay to inject random women with this serum and rape them to obtain power.
It would make Japan deadlier, and if it spread to other countries, the crime rates would skyrocket.
“It won’t happen, and Xia won’t be anyone’s bait,” Xander replied with confidence.
Silas smirked, his eyes flickering with power.
“I think we’re going to have to step it up until we figure out everything. Ace? You think you can work with Xia this week? Training in the forest site? I’m gonna do some background checks. If we can find those who were trying to target us, we can take them all out and capture their leader. Boss said he'll give us the resources we need."
"Cool with me. Xia is probably antsy to get back to her training schedule. As a Reaper, I can imagine she must have trained daily or had enough missions within the month to stay active," I mused.
The others nodded and Xander crossed his arms, appearing deep in thought.
"What are you thinking about, Xander?" Amy asked
"How quickly do you think these people are going to try and seek us out? It's not usual for them to try and attack agents who have neutrality with the government. It's risky and can cause a huge showdown," Xander replied.
"Well, it comes down to how badly they need this serum. If they were okay with risking a scene at the mall, they must have put a big bid on retrieving the serum or for the deal to go through with no problems. Seeing as next week will mark two months since the incident, they could be playing with borrowed time," Silas reasoned.
"I don't think we have much time then," I concluded.
"Let's take Xia home. Ace, you watch her tonight. Silas, let’s go do some digging. Amy, well… you do your thing," Xander directed. Amy had a smirk on her face and turned around.
"Sounds like a plan. If you need me, call my cell. Also, it would be smart to get both sets of twins involved. Minso and Minsu are Reapers, after all. They can gather information, especially when it's dealing with Xia who's like a sister to them. Isaiah and Elijah are good at tracking and predictions. They'll be our best bet to figure out if something is wrong or if something is being plotted against any of you guys. If this group of men want to get dirty with a peacekeeping organization, they'll realize real fast they shouldn't play with fire."
We all watched Amy as she waved and walked out of the room, leaving us in silence.
We turned our attention to Xia, watching as she mumbled something and rolled over to sleep on her left side.
"Guess we should take Xia home," Silas suggested.
Xander was about to reply but a vibrating sound hit the air and he grimaced.
Dante's ringtone.
Silas reached out to put his hand on Xander's shoulder, stopping him from pulling his phone out. "Are you in the right mindset to talk to him right now?"
Xander was quiet as the vibration of his phone continued. With a sigh I walked to them, reaching Xander's side and pulling his phone out of his pocket. I picked up, noticing Silas’ and Xander's wide-eyed expressions.
I kept my cool as I spoke. "Xander's not here," I announced.
"Ace? Why do you have Xander's phone?"
"He left it behind."
"He normally doesn't leave his phone behind," Dante argued.
"Well, he was a bit distraught after finding out Xia almost got mobbed by a bunch of guys who wanted to use her as bait. Guess his worry outweighed the benefit of carrying a phone."
"Wait, what?" Dante sounded shocked and nervous. "I… wait… shit..."
I bit my lip, needing a second to calculate my response and not answer with anger, which I was rather tempted to do. I wasn't liking his responses, but I'd play the safe card.
"You forgot you had to pick Xia up, didn't you?"
"I..." He was silent, and I frowned, sensing his intent.
Guess I'll get to the point.
"I don't care what's going on between you and Xander. I never cared when it came to Arrow, and I still don't," I announced. "However, things have changed. If you don't want to be a part of this relationship thing with Xia, say so. Don't be shady and tag along. I already know your real intentions, but I won't tell the others what I think. You want to be with Xander, tell him. Stop beating around the bush and doing what will please him. If you can't handle him dating Xia and you being a second option, say it. I'm tired of you two acting like children who don't know how to communicate."
Xander gave me a look and I rolled my eyes, ignoring him.
"I don't need to be lectured by you, Ace."
"Then start acting like an adult. I have better things to do, like making sure Xia's safe and not purposely ‘forgetting’ my role, like a certain someone who was supposed to pick her up. Instead, that irresponsible individual led to an outsider having to butt in and assist in protecting Xia. Which, by the way, none of us know who the fuck he is. Now we ‘owe’ this person, especially if they work in a different division. Smarten up and get your shit together because we don't have much time until we have to deal with bigger problems, and WE as a team need your ass there ready to do your duties. I'll let Xander know you called. And Dante?"
"Yes?"
"Don't test me. The others deal with your bullshit. I don't deal with anyone's shit but my own. Got it?"
"Got it."
"Good," I replied, and without a goodbye, I hung up the phone.
After sliding it back into Xander's pocket, I looked up at the both of them, noting their dumbfounded expressions and shrugged.
"Let's take Xia home. It's going to be a long night."
~XIA~
* * *
"I'm so out of shape!" I huffed out as I halted to catch my breath. "I'm never taking a break again. I'll fucking work my ass off, even if I'm unconscious."
The sweat dripped off of my face and onto the leafy ground while I stared at my pink and black running shoes. Ruby walked up to my feet, looking up at me with a hopeful expression.
"Meow!" She jumped in place, and a drop of my sweat hit her nose.
She blinked and shook her head before leaning up to try and catch another droplet, and I giggled at her antics.
"Ruby, I don't think you want my sweat." I reached out and pet her head soothingly.
I heard approaching steps and when I looked up, I was graced with the sight of Ace's bare chest.
My eyes lowered to take in his hard six pack, and I wished his grey sweatpants were a bit lower so I could see if he had an eight-pack as I'd expected.
Or just his V-lin
es. Can't go wrong with those… or his cock, but that’s really pushing it.
"Don't think you can train when you're unconscious, but feel free to test out that theory." Ace looked as sexy as ever with sweat dripping from his gorgeous strands, making him appear as if he'd just come out of the shower.
I didn't care that the water was pure sweat from the hours of training we'd been doing today. He looked like a model coming out of the shower and it was such a turn on.
Not to forget that Ace looks fucking badass when he trains. I bet he'd stop his enemies from his looks alone. I guarantee men and women struggle.
Ace offered me his black water bottle, and I took it graciously, twisting open the chilled ice water and gulping the entire thing in one go.
When it was done, I frowned and stared at the empty bottle.
"Aww," I mumbled to myself. Ruby began to hop up and down, intrigued by the water bottle.
I closed it and lowered the bottle to the ground so she could enjoy inspecting it, while I stood up and stared at Ace, who looked a tad worried.
"How much water have you drank today?"
"Um… I lost count after the sixth bottle?" I admitted. "That's only like 12 cups of water."
"How much do you normally drink as a Reaper?"
"Does wine count?" I elaborated.
He smirked, and I couldn't help but join in the smiling.
"No."
"Eight cups? The average… I don't think drinking an extra four cups is a big deal," I noted, remembering Amy's advice.
Ace stared at me, and I groaned.
"I'm fine. We've been training since morning," I defended.
"Meow."
We lowered our gazes and watched Ruby tackle the bottle. I grinned and crouched down to pick her up. "Ruby, aren't you tired? You've been following us all day.”
"Meow." She began to purr, snuggling her head against my cheek.
I'm gonna have to give her a bath. I need one anyways with all this training.
I turned my attention back to Ace who continued to exude his calmness, but I could detect a hint of amusement in his eyes.
"You think you'll survive a few more sprints? The sun will be setting soon."
"I can train all night if I have to!" I huffed, ready to take on the challenge.
"You hate losing."
"I hate failure," I corrected as I made my way up to him. I let my Reaper mentality slip through as I stared directly into his eyes.
"Failure means sacrifice, and I don't plan on failing again. I've lost one person I cared about. I won't lose any more."
With that, I secured Ruby to my chest and began to run, leaving Ace behind.
I'd woken up the moment Ace had lowered me into my bed yesterday. After the whole mall incident, Amy had done a check on me and determined that the nosebleed was triggered by the sudden switch in altitude.
For now, I'd have to be careful. I'd become utterly useless yesterday because of that simple reaction, and I wasn't going to be anyone's burden.
Ace was in charge of getting me back into shape. Today was Tuesday and I was going to go hard for the rest of the week.
It sucked that we were spending our "date" training, but it looked like Ace was enjoying having me around, and he was a good competitor for combat training.
Xander and Silas were both working; Xander had said he needed to make some phone calls and meet his boss.
Silas had some hacking job to do and would be concentrating on that all day. As for Dante, he hadn't come home yesterday. I didn't know how I felt about him.
I hadn't spoken with the others about how much I'd gathered from my own observations before the serum mission, but I figured Dante not coming to pick me up was a sign of defiance.
It was possible that he was still head over heels for Xander and felt as if I was interfering with their relationship. I couldn't put all the blame on Dante since Xander could have been leading him on. I'd be able to focus on figuring all that out later.
For now, my goal was to get stronger until we figured out what ingredients this serum consisted of and what benefits it would manifest inside me.
Or flaws...
Ace had caught up to me and I snuck a peek at his facial expression. His pink eyes were bright, and I could see how much he was enjoying this.
When he noticed my gaze, his eyes locked onto mine. A grin formed on his lips, claiming my attention long enough for him to wink and dash off, leaving me behind.
"Meow?" My legs came to a stop as I caught my breath.
My cheeks grew hot and I let out a huff.
"DISTRACTOR!" I called out, and I swore he laughed. Literally laughed!
Taking a glance at the sky that was beginning to darken and flood with cool colors, I prayed that Minju was all right wherever she was. I lowered my gaze to study Ace who looked tiny from where I stood.
As I took a calming breath, a broad grin formed on my lips.
I won't fail. I'll keep training. I'll get stronger. For Minju, I'll survive whatever comes our way and be victorious.
* * *
"There's a dock here?" I asked.
"Meow!" Ruby jumped out from my hold and ran onto the wooden platform, dashing straight to the edge.
"Ruby. No night swimming please!" I called out. Ruby came to a stop and looked back at me. She sat down, her tail swishing back and forth excitingly as she waited for Ace and me to make our way to her.
"It's nice to be here during the sunset," Ace admitted.
He strolled onto the dock, and I followed him, both of us reaching where Ruby was now curled up and staring at the calm water that reflected the last hints of sunlight.
"I bet it would be nice to meditate here," I mused.
"I do sometimes," Ace whispered. "It's calming. No one comes around here. Nature itself is rather protective around these parts. You can't fight here."
"You can't fight?" I repeated.
"You can't have hand-to-hand combat. You can do long range, but you'll need to have an accurate aim, or at least know your target."
"Know as in relation or just a one-time contact?" I clarified, intrigued by this new information.
"One-time contact is enough. As long as they've seen your energy once or twice, it's easy," Ace explained.
"That sounds dangerous," I mumbled. He turned to face me and met my curious gaze.
"True, but I heard you like danger."
"That I do." I smirked.
"Meow!"
We both glanced down at Ruby who stood between our feet. Ace lowered to pick her up. "You love attention."
"Meow," Ruby replied, looking proud to be the little attention seeker she was.
I smirked and stroked my hand over her fur. She yawned and reached out to my chest. I took her from Ace's hold and slipped her into the top front pocket of my light pink jacket.
I'd brought the jacket along knowing it would be chilled in the evening and that wearing black leggings and a sports bra wouldn't do much.
Ace had cloaked those gorgeous muscles in a black t-shirt, which was a bit disappointing, but I hoped I'd get a closer inspection of his body one day.
Ruby yawned and poked her little head out from the pocket as she closed her eyes.
"Guess she's tired."
"She has stamina. Didn't think she'd follow us all day long," Ace admitted.
"I'm glad she did. She must have been bored staying at home." I knew Ruby had stayed at our place and not the safe house during my recovery time, and even after I'd gotten back, she wouldn't go outside unless I would.
Her loyalty was refreshing, and I wondered if all familiars or even pets were like this.
Wouldn't her previous owner care?
"You're thinking about something sad."
I looked at Ace whose eyes were focused on me. "Huh?"
"What are you thinking about?"
"I was wondering if Ruby's previous owner even cared. She's not an average kitty, or that's what I think. Just… a bit sad that they could discard
her so easily," I admitted.
Ace was quiet, and he looked to his right, outward to the calm lake.
"Not every living thing is wanted. Doesn't matter how strong, beautiful, or promising your future can be. If someone doesn't want you, they'll discard you for what they think is better."
I swallowed hard, his words resonating with me. "To be used, abused, and dumped for the next best thing. I get it," I whispered.
I didn't know anything about Ace's past, but his words held weight, a heaviness I understood well. I could relate to them, and even though they tugged at old memories, I didn't cry.
It was something we'd both accepted that came with life, but it was comforting to have someone who understood the same pain.
I reached out and held his hand, and those pink eyes filled with multiple emotions locked onto mine.
"There's so much I don't know about this world. It's sometimes scary and makes me wonder if there will ever be a balance between good and evil. With that in mind, it's nice to be around people who want better for me. Who don't need me to lurk in the shadows and obtain items they're too weak to retrieve. Life is hard… but it's nice to be around people who help make it a little easier."
Ace stared into my eyes and his free hand lifted to caress my cheek lightly.
Those fingertips ran through my loose black strands, uncaring of their cool wetness from all the activities we'd done today.
His eyes lowered to my lips, and his calculative gaze darkened. I stood my ground, unsure if he'd close the distance between us.
My magic trickled through me, brushing along my skin as it reached out for Ace. He didn't move, but I could feel the energy that began to seep from his body and wrap around me.
It was a moment of trial, our magical essence doing their own investigation of whether we truly matched.
The pull between us was palpable, almost making it hard to breathe, but at the same time, I loved it. The yearning for another hadn't been this strong for me before, to desperately crave someone who stood so close but felt so far.
My blood boiled with longing, and my soul seemed to want to break the barrier that wrapped around Ace's.
One Thousand and Two Lies (Reapers of Beauty Book 2) Page 12