The Vows We Make (The Six Series Book 4)

by Sonya Loveday

  “Grant and Nadia kept this team from interacting with the other agents in case there was ever a flip,” Oliver answered.

  “Yeah, but we work for the same agency. It’s hard to keep everyone from interacting with each other, so why even bother?” Eli asked, sliding out the chair next to me and sitting down.

  “You’d have to ask Grant and Nadia that question. All I know is what they want me to know. I do as they say, just like you do. My thought is they wanted to keep you separate to protect you, even from the agents within. There aren’t many of us who know who you are. Now I’m not so sure,” Oliver replied, lifting his cup up and emptying it in four large swallows, despite the steamy heat of its contents.

  “Meaning?” Mark asked, hands tightening on my shoulders as if bracing for an answer he didn’t want to hear.

  “Meaning that if Evan is our leak, it’s possible he’s turned all the information on us over to someone else. Until we know for sure, though, we have to go off the assumption it was in fact him, then find out who he worked for and what they’re planning on doing with the information,” Ace answered.

  “So, what?” I asked. “We’re supposed to just wait it out here until someone finds this Evan guy?”

  It got really quiet for a minute. A disturbing kind of quiet that spoke louder than any sound could make. We weren’t just in danger; we could potentially become hunted. And all because of Jared’s parents.

  “Aiden and I have orders to report back to headquarters. Eli will be staying here with you, along with Josh, Riley, Airen, and Jared. Murphy and Oliver will be heading out to Colorado with Ella. We’ll find him—no matter what it takes. Okay?” Ace said, looking between Mark and me.

  Beside Ace, Jared clenched his fists and sucked in a sharp breath, but he didn’t say anything. My stomach rolled because Jared never kept his mouth shut. Especially when something rubbed him the wrong way. I could tell he wasn’t happy about Murphy going off without him, while he was being left behind to wait it out.

  “How does that keep us safe, Ace? There was a gunman outside not even two hours ago! Whoever sent him knows we’re here too. Who’s to say that’s not what they wanted, huh? For you to leave us here, and then start picking us off one at a time?” Mark questioned with blunt rudeness.

  “This might be the only safe place left right now. Yes, someone got by security, but only because they were practically walked through it with detailed instructions. I’ve just spent the last half hour resetting everything from cameras to trip wires around the property. The only person who knows where they are now is me,” Oliver said, rising from his seat.

  “What about the other agents? Have you told them of the changes?” Eli asked, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

  “No. And I don’t plan on telling them either, but I did warn them that leaving their posts could become a hazard to their well-being, unless they call me first,” Oliver replied, carrying his cup to the sink.

  “What exactly do you mean by that, Oliver?” I asked, watching his face smooth into a blank mask.

  “If you hear a loud bang outside, don’t rush out of the house. Call me, and I’ll take care of it from my end,” he answered, skirting around the other side of the table. He gestured for Ella to open the door. Murphy stood on her tiptoes, kissing Jared before he could say anything, and then followed Ella out the door.

  “I’ll be in touch. Don’t go wandering about the property. I don’t care how bored you get,” Oliver said, slipping out of the house before I could ask him just what the hell he’d meant by that comment.

  As soon as the door closed, Jared had his phone out, storming off.

  “He’s taking this better than I thought he would,” Riley said, pinching the bridge of her nose with a groan.

  Mark shook his head and then leaned down to kiss me, saying, "I don't think I can handle one of his explosions right now. I'll be upstairs."

  I nodded, watching him go as Jared’s muffled voice came from somewhere on the other side of the house. He plainly was not taking it well at all.

  “He’s gonna be a complete asshole to be around while she’s gone,” Josh piped up.

  He’d been quiet while everyone talked, as if trying to take it all in. It worried me, seeing the pale, haunted look on his face. The only life that came to his eyes was when Ella walked in and he’d noticed her. That spark was gone, replaced with a mask of something I couldn’t put my finger on.

  Everyone dealt with things differently though. Maybe it was easier for him to just sit back and watch it unfold. I’d wait until everything calmed down and try talking to him later. I didn’t want him to think no one cared he was struggling with coming to terms with all the craziness that had taken over our lives.

  “Jared will get over it. Besides, he can’t go out right now, not with everything that’s happened. He’s probably the most targeted one of all of us,” Ace replied, speaking above the profanity rolling through the air like a storm cloud hell-bent on breaking over our heads.

  “He can shout the damn walls down, but they’re not gonna give. He knows that,” Aiden said, his shoulder coming up in a half shrug.

  “Doesn’t mean he won’t fight them on it,” Ace answered, pulling Riley up against his side. “The only thing he’s focused on right now is the fact Murphy will be out in the field where he can’t protect her.”

  Eli rolled his eyes. “She’s taken care of herself for a long time now. He should know better. Besides, Murphy’s marksmanship is way better than his. Even on a bad day.”

  “Un-fucking-believable!” Jared said as he stormed back into the kitchen.

  “They’ll be back soon. Besides, they’re not getting into any fieldwork. They’re just going to be cross-referencing some of the personnel files to see if there are any connections between Evan and any other agents. This leak has to be shut down fast, and Nadia knows how good Murphy is. Especially with cross-referencing intel files,” Riley said.

  Unlike the rest of us, Riley was one of the few who could calm Jared down enough for him to listen and work things out, instead of going into a full rage.

  “I don’t like it, Riley. None of us should be separated. Especially right now,” Jared fumed, eyes squinting as if gauging if we understood the danger.

  “We can’t stop them if we don’t know who they are. Don’t worry about Murphy, Jared. She’s safe with Oliver and Ella,” Ace told him as he gripped his shoulder.

  “I still don’t think it’s a smart move to split everyone up like this. They brought us together to keep us safe. There was a reason for that,” Jared answered, shrugging Ace’s hand away.

  “You know as well as I do that we have to find out what happened to Evan. He could be the key to figuring out what information got leaked and to whom. I know you don’t like this, Jared. Hell, none of us like it right now, but we have to do whatever we can to stop everyone’s information from leaking even further,” Aiden added.

  “And if he handed it all over?” Jared asked, brow hiking up his forehead.

  “Then we’ll do whatever we have to do to handle the situation,” Aiden answered.

  Ace walked over to Riley and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear, smiling as he did so. Her hand came up to rest on top of his, flashing a rainbow of colors into my eyes when the light caught the diamond ring on her finger.

  I gasped, processing if I wanted to be happy with them or upset as I asked, “You’re married?”

  “Married?” Aiden echoed in astonishment.

  Riley beamed a smile at me. “Yes, we are.”

  Not a single bit of remorse came from those three words. There was no apology, or even an explanation, as Riley turned back to Ace, rose on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on his upturned lips, and then said, “Come back soon. Okay?”

  He pulled her hand up and kissed her knuckles just under her ring and winked at her. “You know I will. I’ll call you later and fill you in on what’s going on in Chicago.”

  Seconds later, Ace and Aiden were headed out
the door without a backward glance.

  “You’re married. You never even said a word about it. Not even when we were talking about weddings earlier. When… how?” I asked, holding her to an answer with squinted eyes and a firm grip on her hand.

  “The basement of Cole Enterprise, a few months back. I didn’t invite anyone because I didn’t know about the wedding until I was standing in front of Jake and repeating the vows.” She chuckled, cheeks blushing with what I could only assume to be happiness at the memory before she continued. “Even if it was a complete surprise, I damn sure wasn’t going to say no. Especially after I thought I’d lost him. Besides, weddings should be more about the bride and groom, not the pomp and circumstance of the event. I would have married him no matter what. That’s the beauty of love though, right? To be completely selfish of each other and to hell with everything else.” Again, her voice held no apology for keeping me out of the loop. The happiness on her face made it difficult to be mad at her. Stars practically danced in her eyes, twinkling in merriment of whatever it was that played through her thoughts.

  “Congratulations,” I said, squeezing her fingers as I beamed back at her.

  “What the hell are we supposed to do while we wait?” Josh asked, slumping in his chair with an explosive sigh.

  “We plan a wedding,” Airen chimed in, shrugging when everyone turned to look at her as if she’d lost her mind. “Away wi’ya. We dinna have anything else to do, aye?”

  ELI CAUGHT ME JUST OUTSIDE THE kitchen, jerking his head for me to follow him into the living room.

  “Ever feel like you’re living inside an episode of the Twilight Zone?” he asked, pushing back the heavy drapes covering the big picture window as he sighed.

  “Is it a good idea to stand in front of the window like that?” I asked.

  Eli wrapped his knuckles against the glass. “Bulletproof.”

  “Well, in that case…” I said, wandering over to stand beside him and stare into the darkness.

  “All that’s missing is a spaceship full of aliens,” Eli said. A small chuckle bubbled out as he smirked at me.

  “Didn’t peg you for a sci-fi kind of guy, Eli.”

  “I’m not. Not really. I wasn’t a Bond kinda guy either, but here we are… mystery, bad guys, and guns.”

  “Hot women. You forgot those. Bond always has a hot chick,” I shot back at him, moving to lean against the window frame.

  He snorted, rolling his eyes at me as he crossed his arms.

  “What?”

  “Got a room full of them,” he answered, jerking his chin toward the kitchen. “And they’re all off limits.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “Need your own Bond girl, Eli?”

  “Thought I had one,” he said, almost whispering.

  “Where? In Haiti?” I prodded, hoping he’d keep talking to me. It was obvious he needed to talk to someone.

  He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter now. She’s a world away and with all of this going on, I’ll probably never see her again.”

  “Was it serious between you two?” I asked.

  “It was different in Haiti,” he began, shifting closer to the window as he stared out at something I couldn’t see. “The people. The country. We take so much for granted here. We have so much more right at our fingertips… When I first got to Haiti, I was placed as an assistant to a translator. We’d go out and talk with the people. Find out what they needed. Mainly, it was water or even bags of rice.

  “Then, after a few weeks, I had to fill in for another team member who had to go home for a funeral. I found myself inside the big tent, wishing to be back out in the blazing sun. Anything but watching the faces of kids so sick they just lay there, staring off at nothing.

  “They’d taken one hell of beating after the Tsunami went through, but after the earthquakes? Hell is the only comparable place I can think of to explain where they are forced to live. But it’s home, right? So, I forced myself to put aside whatever ‘issues’ I had, and dove into doing what needed to be done. Besides, that’s what I was there for.”

  He drew in a deep breath, pausing for a brief moment before continuing. “I met her there. Inside that tent.” He stopped, shook his head, and then gave a sort of snort. “Actually, she ran right smack into me trying to get outside.”

  “Like two worlds colliding, I bet,” I said, smiling as his story rolled like a movie through my head.

  “Not quite. We spent the next thirty minutes cleaning up vomit,” he answered, turning to look at me.

  “Vomit?”

  “She was a medical student. Super smart. Got through high school in no time and was taking online classes. She had the kind of brain that just absorbed everything. Show her something once and she had it down. But learning stuff in books and actually doing procedures are two different things. Hands on isn’t as… clean,” he answered.

  “Ah, I think I understand.”

  “She’d assisted in a pretty intense surgery and kept it together until it was over. Once it was done, she bailed, ran smack into me, and puked,” he said.

  “Good first impression,” I answered. Pushing off the windowsill, I brought my arms up to stretch. It had been a hell of a long day and as much as I loved catching up with Eli, I could barely keep myself from yawing.

  “It broke the ice. I think I’m gonna call it a night. See ya in the morning,” he said, giving me a half wave over his shoulder as he bounded up the stairs.

  After Eli left, I picked the closest chair to me and lowered myself into it. The chatter coming from the kitchen lulled me into something like a catatonic state. The feeling of stepping back in time was there, but some of the voices were wrong, one in particular with her soft, lilting Scottish accent. No, not wrong. Different. More, I thought. So much more. Our group was expanding, like the house around us.

  It made me wonder what Jared’s parents had thought when he’d trotted all of us into his house to raid his refrigerator for the first time. Had they resented us? If they did, they never showed it. If anything, they welcomed us in and made us feel like one of their own.

  It had to have been hard for them to accept six more people to worry about. Why had they? They could have easily pulled Jared from us by moving him away, but they never did.

  Maybe they wanted him to have a normal upbringing. Or maybe they just didn’t know how to tell him no. Whatever the reason, we had all been accepted in, and Nadia and Grant went above and beyond for us.

  “There you are. I thought you'd gone upstairs.” Paige’s voice washed over me.

  When I opened my eyes, she stood only a few feet away. “Sorry, I was talking with Eli.”

  She looked around the room.

  “He went to bed,” I answered before she could ask.

  “Is he okay?”

  “Yeah, he’s just tired,” I answered, forcing myself to stand.

  Paige closed the distance between us and wrapped her arms around me. Her head sought shelter just under my chin. She sighed, nuzzling in a little closer. “I know the feeling.”

  Paige could run on autopilot. Her shifts at the hospital were wonky at best, then take those long hours and blend them with the days she had classes, and she was practically a zombie. Red eyes, staggering walk, and all. She never complained once. So to hear her say she was tired meant she’d had her fill of the day and was ready to get vertical and commence the free fall into dreamland.

  She never had a problem sleeping. I envied that about her. I’d lay awake at night with so many things on my mind that it took hours to shut it all off. Paige claimed it was my artistic brain that kept my mind so busy. That a true artist was always dreaming even while awake. She did have a valid point though, because most of my really good ideas came just before sleep swept me up and carried me off.

  The days had sort of blurred together since we’d left New York. In less than a week, our entire lives had been turned upside down and inside out. Life had taken a hard left turn, and we were no longer in control of the
wheel. Hell, we hardly had enough time to hold on tight enough so as not to be thrown.

  We weren’t the only two suffering though. Eli held his disappointment in check, only giving me a peek at it earlier before tucking back behind whatever defense he’d slapped together to keep it contained. Josh seemed lost. Like he wasn’t even sure what to do with himself, let alone the situation. What the hell had happened to him while we were apart?

  After we went to bed, lying next to Paige seemed like the only thing keeping me grounded in our new reality. Her deep, even breathing anchored me in my drifting thoughts. I turned over on my side and propped my head on my hand. Her face was outlined in the soft lighting of the moon coming in past the sheer curtains. Her face turned toward the soft light as if welcoming its secrets.

  Her eyes were open, staring out into the night.

  “I thought you were asleep,” I whispered, trailing my fingers along her shoulder.

  She rolled over onto her side, facing me. “I want to. I just can’t get this,” she tapped her finger against her temple, “to shut off.”

  “Wanna talk about it?” I asked, catching her fingers up in my hand. Her skin was soft under the pad of my thumb.

  “No. I just want to close my eyes and hope when I open them, we’ll be back in our apartment and this was just a very odd dream.”

  “Might take more than that, I’m afraid. If you want, I can hunt you up a pair of ruby slippers and see if that helps,” I said, letting go of her hand and sitting up a little to pull her against my chest.

  She came willingly, head resting on my shoulder as she groaned. “What do you think… have we been sucked up in a tornado or fallen down a very peculiar hole?”

  I pulled back a little to look down at her. “Both?”

  She chuckled. The vibration of it against my chest lightened my heart a little. If we could find a way to laugh about it, maybe it wasn’t so bad after all.

  “I think this is my fault,” she said.

  “How so?” Paige blaming herself made no sense.

  “Have you ever just put something out there? To the universe, I mean?” she asked.