Dead Drop (The Guild #2)(94)
“Understandable, but given everything, it might be worth filling her in? I know she’s not a merc anymore, but she was in our alpha-level training camp, and she’s the same age as us. Someone might come for her, too.” Sabine gave me a worried look, and I knew she was right. The odds were much lower—Jude wasn’t an orphan like us—but Blanchet could go after her just because he was pissed off.
“Good point,” I murmured, then checked the time. “Let’s call her?”
Sabine nodded, pulling out her phone. “It’s like three in the morning for her, you know?”
“Pfft, she’ll answer.” I finished my drink and put the glass down so I could scoot closer to Sabby. The call rang a couple of times, then Jude answered with a totally black screen.
“Sab, it’s the middle of the night,” she groaned. “I’m assuming this is urgent.”
Sabine and I exchanged a grin. “Uh, urgent is a matter of interpretation, Mackenzie,” I replied. “But you can totally nap on the job tomorrow instead.”
Jude gasped and flicked her bedside lamp on to illuminate her face. “DeLuna!” she exclaimed, blinking sleepily at the screen. “You’re alive!”
“Like there was ever any doubt,” I replied, rolling my eyes. “I was just… laying low. Did Leon pay you a visit recently?” He’d already told me that he had, but I was surprised Jude hadn’t messaged me about it.
She grimaced. “Yeah. But I figured he was just paranoid about your safety or whatever. No big deal. Hey, you’re in Shadow Grove? Isn’t this risking Sab’s cover?”
“See,” Sabine said to me, “worrying about everyone.”
Jude gave the camera her middle finger, and I laughed. “Oh, I miss you, Mackenzie,” I told her mournfully. This was the longest we’d really ever gone without speaking—outside of deep cover missions—and it was making me realize how much I valued her friendship.
“I miss you too, DeLuna,” she replied with a pout. “And you, Allard.”
Sabine responded with kissy faces, and Jude gave a sleepy laugh, flopping back into her pillows and taking her phone with her. “So, did you guys just call to make me jealous that you’re drinking together on Christmas Eve, or has something happened?”
I wrinkled my nose, then sighed. “Alright, here’s the abridged version.”
Jude was patient and quiet as I hit all the key points of what was going on and why I’d been ghosting anyone to do with the Guild recently. When I finished, it was to warn her that she needed to be extra careful, in case Blanchet targeted her too.
“Holy hell,” she whispered when I was done. “That’s a head fuck. But it also explains why I haven’t been able to get hold of a few friends. Damn.” She swiped a hand over her face, looking shocked and sad. She stayed in touch with a lot of mercenaries from our training groups, not just Sabby and I, so she had more friends to lose than we did.
“Are you taking a gun to work with you?” Sabine asked. “If not, please do. It’d be so easy for someone to attack you in those dusty old stacks.”
Jude gave a serious nod, then quirked a smile. “Maybe I should get one of those James Bond walking sticks with a sword inside.”
“Probably not a bad idea,” I agreed, yawning. “You could use it to threaten Franklin when he’s being an asshole.”
“Oh, he’s still pulling that bullshit on making you work overtime?” Sab asked, cringing. “He’s such a creep. I bet he just likes checking out your ass when you bend over.”
Jude chuckled. “Yeah, he’s the worst, but whatever. At least I like my job, even if my boss is totally insufferable. How come you look so sleepy, DeLuna? Isn’t it like barely dinner time there?”
Sabine shot me a wicked smile. “Yeah, DeLuna. Why are you so tired, hmm?”
Kai seemed to have the most impeccable timing in the entire freaking world, choosing that exact moment to return home loaded with grocery bags.
“I’m back!” he called out, and I gave a squeak of surprise. He dropped his bags into the kitchen while I frantically tried to think about how to explain Kai to Jude, but he took the decision straight out of my hands.
He leaned over the back of the couch that Sabine and I were sharing, grabbing me by the throat and kissing me like he’d been gone for a month rather than two hours. Oh fuck, I couldn’t think when his tongue was exploring my mouth like that.
He released me with a hungry sound, then kissed my nose. “I’m making dinner. Sabine, are you allergic to anything?”
My friend, staring at us with wide eyes and an open mouth, shook her head quickly. “Nope, I’ll eat anything!”
Kai looked between us and gave a satisfied nod. “Good.” Then he seemed to notice Jude on the camera screen clutched in Sabine’s hand. “Oh, hello there.”
“Hiiiiii,” Jude replied, her eyes bright with curiosity. “Who are you?”
Snapping out of my Kai-induced haze, I snatched the phone out of Sabine’s hand. “Oh shit, sorry, Mackenzie, looks like we’re breaking up. Bad reception. Talk later, byeee.”
My finger stabbed at the end call button, and Kai arched a brow at me in question.
“Fuck off,” I growled at him and Sabine who was red-faced and shaking with silent laughter. “I need a refill.” I snagged our empty glasses from the table and stalked through to the kitchen with Kai following close behind. I was so conscious of his proximity it was like my skin was tingling.