SAFFRON
I was numb.Certainly too numb to speak or to understand what the hell was going on.
He. Didn't. Remember. Me.
How could he not remember? It was three months ago, a stupid one-night stand.
No, it wasn't stupid. It was reckless, yes, but it was hot.
No, I refused to think about how hot it was because he was currently in one of the Rogues bungalows. Which meant he was a Rogue. I didn't have a lot of rules about my personal life, just one or two. But they were necessary. Top of that list, no Rogues.
Also dating a Rogue was forbidden so agents could plug in to any scenario with no entanglements.
I loved my brother. God, I really did. But with mum and dad gone, he'd taken the whole I'm your big brother thing to heart. Adopted or not, Gabe saw himself as my only remaining family, and he was determined to see me protected. Over protected, actually.
When Hector led me into the hallway to Gabe's office, he slid me a glance. “You okay?"
“Yeah, I'm fine. Totally fine. A hundred percent."
He laughed. “If you weren't fine, what would you say?"
I wrinkled my nose up at him. Hector Alvarez. I like to call him the Mountain Man. He looked like he belonged on a mountain with his beard and muscles that looked like they were really ideal for chopping wood. He'd been one of the Rogues guards since right before mum and dad died, so at least two years now.
Like most of the Rogues, he was ex-military. He wanted to do something more. He'd been injured fighting for Queen and country.
But now he worked here. His specialty was security tech. They'd installed new cameras I didn't know about. Which meant sneaking out was going to become even more difficult.
We paused at Gabe's door, and Hector gave me a warm smile. "He loves you. He's just looking out for you."
"By being my prison warden?"
Hector smiled grimly. "After what happened to your parents, you know he’s going to keep a tighter watch."
"Right."
I wanted to scream. I understood why he was like this. I understood all the reasons why Gabe thought he had to protect me. I understood that he felt responsible for not being there. I understood that to him my parents had saved his life. It just felt like I was suffocating.
And there was no making him see sense.
I didn't bother knocking. I just opened the door because it was nearly midnight and I wanted to get this over with as quickly as humanly possible.
I found Gabe sitting on the corner of his desk, scowling at Tabs.
She was scowling right back. I was surprised there was no furniture overturned. No blood anywhere. "Everyone okay?"
Tabs glanced up at me. "Oh my God, you're okay."
“Yeah, of course I'm okay. Why wouldn't I be?"
Tabs snorted. "According to your brother, your life was in danger."
I laughed. “From the trainee? I put him down easily."
Gabe winced at that. "No, your life was at risk because you tried to sneak out."
I winced at that. “Gabe, why is Tabs here?"
“Because whenever you break a rule, it's either her doing or as a direct result of something she did."