I stroked his inner thigh and felt him tense up as he hissed a breath out. “I don’t want to sleep.” I said petulantly.
“I wish I could have you right now,” he groaned in my ear, his voice sounding pained. “But you need your sleep right now.”
Troy pulled my feet into his lap and slid in closer to us.
I started to mumble another protest but the warm cocoon of Drake’s embrace, the blankets draped around me, Troy rubbing my feet, and the rain falling on the tarped roof, lulled me to sleep.
I woke up when I was being loaded into the vehicle. Troy slid over on the bench seat and helped me in the truck.
“Is everyone done?” I asked drowsily as I yawned and leaned into him.
Troy chuckled. “The last team came in two hours after we did.”
“What happened to the meeting?” I asked sitting up suddenly.
Jace turned from the front seat. “Will and Steven called a change on the play. Terrance’s team is picking up the kids. Dad and Steven are pulling all the tapes and bringing them to our house. Beth and Cora are meeting us there. We’re going to have Micah and Patrick mind the younger kids. Gavin and Jemmy are picking up Japanese. The meeting is moving to our house. After today’s events and some of the board members responses, we have to make sure our rescue mission goes off without a hitch.”
“Sushi?” I asked hopefully.
Remy chuckled from the front seat. “After all that, all you heard was food?”
I stuck my tongue out at him. “I heard everything, but I’m starving.”
“Don’t stick that out, unless you plan to use it,” Remy challenged me, raising an eyebrow at me from the review mirror.
“You know, I used a lot of my gifts today, so I may very well use it…later,” I said coyly.
There was a collective groan in the truck. “You’re going to kill us, Blake,” Troy muttered.
“Good,” I replied smugly. “Just want to keep you on your toes.”
I had time to take a hot shower when we got home. I came out of my bathroom and noticed a few sweatshirts, sweat pants, and t-shirts lying on my bed. I giggled. The guys had given me some of their favorite articles of clothing.
They always were sharp dressers. Especially when we were out in public. I felt like they almost had dual personalities like their clothing. They seemed formidable and untouchable when they were out in public. They wore their button up shirts, polos, and nice slacks. At home, they were more laid-back, relaxed, and their barriers were down. That’s when the ‘comfy’ clothes came out.
I slid on Jace’s black Knightstown sweatpants and rolled them up on my waist so I wasn’t stepping on them. I put on my own tank top and Drake’s junior Olympics hoodie. I snatched my hair up into a messy bun and didn’t bother putting on my makeup. I almost died twice in a 3-day period; I could do what I wanted, and right now, I wanted no makeup.
I was pleased to see that I wasn’t the last one to arrive. We were missing quite a few people, but at least the food was here. I did a little happy dance when I noticed they had gotten sushi.
“It was confirmed that Rose did tamper with the water,” Terrance stated as he slid next to me.
I looked up with a frown. “So, what does that mean?”
“Her team was disqualified from the race and will receive the lowest marks,” Terrance explained.
“Even though they came in second?” I frowned. She needed to be reprimanded, but I didn’t want her whole team to suffer. Even though I thought half of them were arrogant pricks.
Terrance nodded as he eyed a piece of tuna skeptically. “They knew the rules. Needless to say, she isn’t going to be popular for a while. She claimed that she was hormonal and affected by the empath. She said he made her do it.”
“Hmm,” I said thoughtfully as I placed a piece of a California roll and another cooked roll on his plate. “Try it. It’s cooked.” I giggled at his look of disgust. “Who was the empath? I wouldn’t put it past her, but you see how Ms. Bullock reacted. Something is going on. What if the empath amplified her hate for me.”
“It’s a possibility,” Jace startled me from behind. He slid behind me, so his chest was against my back. He slid a hand down my back and onto my hip, giving me a gentle squeeze. “That’s why Rachel is headed into the facility as we speak with Beth.”
“What is going to happen to the person responsible?” I asked as I leaned into his touch.
“If it’s the empath involved, we may have to go to extreme measures to figure out what his motive was. If it was Rose, then she will never be allowed to go on another assignment, ever again. It’s a necessity, working as a team. Sometimes we are obligated to collaborate with other teams. We need to know whoever has our back, has our back,” Jace explained. “Especially with the missions coming up.”
“Hope she has a backup plan, with the baby coming along,” Jemmy said tartly as she began grabbing some food. “‘Cause she ain’t bleeding my brother dry.”