by Angel Lawson
“He’s here?” she asks. Here. With Demetria. Their enemy.
“I don’t understand. He’s working for Demetria?”
“No. He worked with Atticus. Atticus, and whoever Demetria’s mentor was, set this up.”
“Demetria’s mentor?” Of course, she had a mentor. Where are they now? Who are they?
“The mentor was gone before I got here,” he says. “And trust me, it’s not a topic you want to bring up with Demetria. It sets off a particular trigger. I think it may be part of what has made her so unbalanced.”
Astrid looks at the screen. “Draco, this is crazy.”
“One of Demetria’s staff takes care of him. They’ve had no interaction and he works on Elite projects all the time.”
“Can I see him?” she asks.
“Soon. He’s not fully aware of his situation, we’re going to have to ease him back into society—back with us.”
“Where has he been? Why has he been offline?”
“I used to think he was just in there playing games—messing around with his programs. But he’s not. Demetria installed a full workshop for him when he arrived. This is how he and Atticus developed your suits—where the tools and equipment comes from.”
“He designs it in there?”
“Designs and creates. He’s a genius, Astrid. The quirky kind. He does better on his own with a wall between him and reality.”
“Sort of like me and my mask.”
He smiles. “Yes, a little like that.”
“When can I see him?”
“Soon. I think we can ease into it.”
Which means she’ll be spending time here. With Draco.
“I have to ask you something else.”
“Sure.”
“Is Demetria your lover?”
The corners of his eyes wrinkle. “No.”
“Never.”
“No, Astrid. That’s not what our relationship is about, and I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but she lives like a ten-year old.”
“Point taken.”
He doesn’t ask why she said it, but he’s not dumb. None of them are. It’s what makes all of this so hard to navigate.
She looks between the screen and the man next to her, unsure of everything unfolding. “How do I know you’re telling the truth about everything?”
He offers his hand, palm up. He wants her to read him, but she’s done it before and didn’t get any of this. Then again, she certainly wasn’t looking.
Slowly she walks toward him and peels off her glove. Draco’s eyes follow her. They’re clear—genuine. She doesn’t get the slightest scent of corruption off of him. He’s better than her—better than all of them, and it terrifies the hell out of her.
“Test me,” he says. “Read me. I have nothing to hide.”
She inhales and takes his large hand in both of hers and braces herself for the truth.
His hand is large, warm, and steady. The echo she gets off of him is emotionless, even. He’s not a robot—he’s just…good. Deceit doesn’t cloud his feelings, neither do any of the other sins; greed, ego, lust…Astrid likes touching him. It calms her, but this isn’t about her. It’s about who they are and where this is going.
And is Draco coming with them?
“Why are you like this?” she asks him. “Are you masking your emotions? Can you shield yourself?”
The hairs on her arms prickle from his touch and she still finds it hard to look directly at this face. His jaw, cheekbones, eyes, and lips are all things that should be immortalized in a museum. It’s why she calls him Mr. Perfect.
“No.” He holds out his palm to her, revealing himself. “Like you, I was born this way. Happy and content. But I also have a deep moral compass. I not only know right from wrong—I have a compulsion to do it right. Everything right. I’m your ally, Astrid. I’m loyal.”
Astrid eyes his defined bicep and broad chest. “And incredibly strong.”
“If you’re going to fight for justice, then you need a little power to be successful.”
Huh. She’d never thought of it that way.
“Well, Mr. Perfect, tell me what happens now? Demetria is in the hospital. Kincade is locked up. Blaze is dead. My friend has started a task force looking for anyone with special powers and is using a team that I trained to find us.” She glances at the live feed. “Oh and I just found out one of the members of my group is a willing recluse and we’re going to have to help him back into society.”
“None of those things should change your motivation, Astrid.” He’s still holding her hand and she’s making zero effort to pull away. That has never happened before. Not even with Quinn or Owen before they took the drug. Not because they made her feel bad, but particularly because Draco makes her feel good. “Why were you going out there in the first place?”
“There are two reasons, actually.” She looks up at him. “The first is to help people. I want to use this power for good and not let the negativity of it all take over. I don’t want to be like Blaze.”
“And the second?”
“To find out who killed my parents and Atticus.”
“Then there’s nothing stopping you. If anything, you have more time and resources to do that. You have a full team to back you up, and with Kincade and Demetria accounted for, less distractions.”
True, she thinks, watching the man carefully. But there’s a whole other layer of complications in Astrid’s life that she hasn’t tossed on the table. Training a new team for Jensen begins in the next week. A group of people she may be preparing to become her enemy. She’s in relationships now—two—and they work and live together. She has Casper to attend to, which means she’ll be dealing with Draco more and more.
And Mr. Perfect alone has the possibility of being incredibly distracting.
Removing her hand from his, she nods. “You’re right. We all just need to get back to work.”
He smiles. “You let me know if you need anything, okay?”
Oh yeah, she’ll be in contact. No doubt about that.
Thank you for reading Sentinels: Supers of Project 12. Book 3, Rogues, is currently on Pre-Order! You can order your copy Today!
Author Note!
Readers,
Thank you for taking this journey with me. I’ve wanted to write a story like this for a long time. Thank god for Reverse Harem—it’s opened a world of opportunites for me to get all this stuff out of my head. I never like the game of “who do you love the best?” I LOVE THEM ALL. DON’T MAKE ME CHOOSE! I feel this way about Quinn, Owen and Draco (in my head I’m already falling hard for Draco) and don’t discount Casper. There’s so much more going on there.
Quick thanks to my editor Vanessa, my beta reader Jennifer, my supporters Lisa, Ava and Alicia. My epic cover designer and friend, AngstyG. Thanks to the book community and reverse harem community and thank you ladies (and a few men) of Angel’s Antics. You guys help me more than you will know.
See you in a few weeks!
Angel
Angel Lawson Books
(Reverse Harem)
Raven Queen’s Harem:
Raven’s Mark (Part 1)
Ebony Rising (Part 2)
Black Magic (Part 3)
Obsidian Fire (Part 4)
Onyx Eclipse (Part 5)
Midnight’s End (Part 6)
*Raven’s Gift (Holiday Novella)
*
Huntress: Trial of Gods
*
The Elites: Supers of Project 12
Sentinels: Supers of Project 12 (Book 2)
The Death Fields: A Post Apocalyptic Thriller
The Girl Who Shot First
The Girl Who Punched Back
The Girl Who Kicked Ass
The Girl Who Kissed the Sun
The Girl Who Broke Free
The Girl Who Saved the World
Creature of Habit Series (Paranormal Romance)
Creature of Habit (Book 1)
Creature of Habit (Book2)
/> Creature of Habit (Book 3)
A Vampire’s Seduction (Ryan’s Story Book 4)
A Vampire’s Fate (Sebastian’s Story Book 5)
The Wraith Series (YA Paranormal Romance)
Wraith
Shadow Bound
Grave Possession
Urban Fantasy
The Lost Queen
Vigilant
Contemporary Romance:
FanGirl-A Girl Who Shot First Companion Novel
For the Win