Another quirk of Cohen’s, and one that’s saved us more times than I care to admit. Ever since the fire, he can’t rest until he patrols the entire premises of wherever we’re staying. I lean against the counter. It’s not like him to pussyfoot around. “What did you see that you think is going to piss me off?”
He lowers his brows. “Your boy was having a late night meeting on one of the balconies on the north side of the building. I just happened to see him, but if I’d been even a few minutes off either way, I would have missed the meeting entirely. It was that woman, the one heading up security when we got here. Marie.”
Something cold sinks its roots into my chest, but I ignore it. Either I trust Eli, or I don’t. “Did you hear what was said?”
“No. I was too far away. Light’s not great there, either, which is probably why they chose that place to meet.” He hesitates. “The conversation looked tense.”
“I see.” Hard to say one way or another what that means, but no matter how fucked up my trust is right now, I trust my instincts. Eli wasn’t lying last night when he asked Harlow’s forgiveness, and he wasn’t lying this morning when we talked about the future. I don’t know what the hell was going on last night on that balcony, but I refuse to believe he betrayed us and then crawled into bed with us. There’s no fucking way.
“I followed her.”
Of course he did. I bite down a sigh. “I don’t suppose you took backup.”
“I can handle myself.” He doesn’t have the grace to look apologetic for the fact he endangered his life. Again. “Besides, she didn’t see me. Some fucking security person she is; she didn’t even circle around before she went back to her little hidey-hole.”
I make a winding motion with my hand. “And the rest.”
His amber eyes go hard. “They’re all there, Abel. At least a dozen people and a cache of enough weapons to level a small town. He’s got them set up to take this faction back.”
No.
I take a drink of my scalding coffee to avoid voicing the instinctive denial. No matter how much my brothers trust me, they know I have something of a soft spot for Eli. They’ll focus on that instead of on my instincts saying this isn’t what it looks like. “I’ll take care of it.”
Cohen gives me a long look. “You sure? You don’t exactly see clearly when Eli’s involved in a situation.”
That’s exactly why I can’t claim this is all one big misunderstanding without evidence. I know Eli didn’t betray us. I just do. But that doesn’t mean the woman and her people aren’t dangerous. Will Eli be willing to turn them over to prove his loyalty? That, I don’t know. Still, I can’t fix any of this shit right now, and I need Cohen to stop looking at me like he’s about to crack my head open and check to see if I have any brains left. “I have it under control.”
“The more you say it, the less I believe you.” Cohen shakes his head. “I know you won’t put off the meet with Old Town, but you will let me handle security. It’ll be subtle, but now isn’t the time to be reckless.”
“No.”
“Abel.”
I shake my head. “No, for two reasons. I won’t go into Old Town with excess security today for the same reason I wouldn’t two days ago. It reeks of weakness and insecurity, and they’ll see it as a sign that I’m afraid of them and react accordingly.” I pause meaningfully. “And we flat-out don’t have enough people to both defend the compound and put together that kind of security. I’m not going to leave this place and all of you defenseless.”
He curses. “Fine, but you’ll take me and the same two as last time.”
“Agreed, as long as you understand you can’t shoot first and ask questions later. Not in Old Town. We can’t strike first, even if you see Eli’s people.”
He glares but finally nods. “If you get shot, don’t come crying to me.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” With that out of the way, I can’t help needling him a little. “How are things going with your Bride?”
“It’s best we stay the fuck away from each other.”
Surprise stops me short. Cohen isn’t exactly the most expressive of my brothers, but he sounds almost concerned. “What happened?”
“Nothing.” He gives a long sigh. “Nothing important. She’s just…soft. I know I’m a monster, but she really makes me feel like one.” Something must show on my face, because he holds up a single hand. “She’s not doing anything. We’ve just spent our lives around a certain sort, and I don’t understand how a fucking Amazon princess is so goddamned soft and sweet. It’s a head trip. Better for both of us that I stay away and Maddox handles things.”