Into the Lair (Falcon Mercenary Group #2)(22)

Braden cocked his head forward to look at Ian. “What’s that?”

“If I ever try to go after you, you have to swear to take me out.”

Chapter Eleven

Eli probably thought they’d all lost their minds. Tyana leaned back against the bar, a joint in one hand, a drink in the other, and watched in amusement as Mad Dog and Jonah sparred in the middle of the game room.

If anyone thought the two men were merely joking around, they obviously hadn’t been witness to past practice sessions. Before it was over, there would be blood, cuts and bruises, and both would, of course, claim victory.

To Tyana’s side, Damiano stood and watched with a grin on his face. He was on his fourth drink and had even rolled one of Mad Dog’s joints. He wasn’t as brooding or distant tonight, and that gave Tyana more hope than she’d had in a long time.

He caught her gaze and smiled warmly. He turned and set his drink down then ambled over to stand beside her. One arm looped around her shoulders as they watched Mad Dog and Jonah trade punches.

“How long you think it’ll be before they get tired of pounding on each other and invite Eli to join in so they have fresh meat?” D asked with dark amusement.

Tyana turned to stare at Eli who was across the room sprawled in a chair holding a beer while he looked on with a bored expression.

“I don’t think he likes our entertainment,” she said.

D shrugged. “He’d probably be having a lot better time if Ian and Braden had checked in. It’s been several days since we heard from them.”

Tyana frowned. It was hard for her to put herself in Eli’s position because the people most important to her were right here. But D was right. Eli was a fish out of water in this environment. He was the new guy playing by new rules not set by him, and his team was on a mission without him.

“How are you feeling tonight?” she asked D. She didn’t really want to get into an analysis of all that Eli was giving up. For her. Because then she’d wonder why the hell he bothered with a woman who’d gone to Jonah in an effort to get him out of her hair for a few days.

“I’m good,” D said. “Stop worrying so much, Ty.” He glanced at her with reproach in his eyes. “You and I have no control over what happens to me. What will be will be.”

She ground her teeth in frustration. She wanted to scream at him and then shake him senseless. No, she wanted to kick his ass and tell him to stop spouting philosophical nonsense. Fate was what you made it, not the other way around.

She took another long drag of the joint to steady her rage and exhaled in a long, steady plume. Across the room, Eli’s eyebrow went up as he watched her. She wasn’t entirely sure he approved of her new brand of poison, but he’d never said anything. He knew better than to think she’d give it up just because he didn’t like it.

D straightened and leaned against the bar, his elbows propped behind him. “Do you remember the tiger?”

It was a general question, one that would confuse many people in its simplicity, but she knew immediately what he was talking about. When they were much younger, alone on the streets of Prague, they’d freed a tiger from a street vendor. The result had been chaos, but to two children dreaming of their own brand of freedom, it had been symbolic.

“I remember,” she said softly.

“I dream of him often,” D said.

She cocked her head sideways to stare at her brother. “Why?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I feel a kinship with him, I suppose. And maybe I’m waiting for someone to come and free me.”

She turned, awkward as her cast bumped into D’s leg. He was quick to help her, but she pushed him away.

“Don’t wait, D,” she said. “Don’t wait for someone to come along and save you. You have to save yourself. Do you understand me?”

“Relax, little sister, I’m not throwing in the towel. I meant it more in a metaphorical sense than anything. I forget how black and white you are,” he said in a teasing tone.

“I am when it comes to you.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m going to be fine, Ty. Believe that, okay?”

She reached down and caught his hand, squeezing it tight. “I won’t allow you to be anything else, D.”

Mad Dog and Jonah had evidently had enough. Jonah shoved at Mad Dog before heading over to the bar. He poured a generous amount of liquor into a glass while Mad Dog forewent the cup and reached for the bottle.

They performed a mock toast and downed the liquid.

“Your boyfriend looks bored,” Mad Dog said in Ty’s direction. “Shouldn’t you be keeping him company?”

Tyana glanced over at Eli, irked by Mad Dog’s statement. “Give me a push,” she muttered.

D smiled but helped her forward while Mad Dog shoved her crutches at her. She’d just gotten them under her arms when the door opened and one of the Falcon secondary stuck his head in. He looked first at Eli and then Jonah.

Eli sat up, his bored look gone. Jonah also started forward, ignoring the annoyed scowl that flickered across Eli’s face.

“Must be Ian and Braden checking in,” D murmured.

Tyana itched to go after them, but hell, by the time she made it the conversation would be over. Still, it rankled that she was relegated to the sidelines while the action went on around her.