Page 84 of Ready or Not
“It must be terribly annoying to finally have someone see through your charade.” Ranger smiles a dangerous grin that makes me very sure the others haven’t been exaggerating about him. “Unfortunately for you, you’re now firmly in my sights.”
“I don’t know why it’s any of your business to begin with,” she hisses, bypassing him and taking a seat right in Hargrove’s lap.
Ranger gives her a bored look. “You’ve kept vital information from the people working to keep you safe, stonewalling us at every turn.”
“Don’t be too hard on her,” Merryweather says. “She’s scared, too, and rightfully so.”
“Mercy and Holt are almost back, and they have some news too.” Bishop drops his phone on the arm of the couch. “We should probably wait for them.”
Tension fills the room, and it could be why I’m back to feeling so awful. I’m not sure, but no matter how comfortable the couch is, it doesn’t seem to help.
I finally take Kate’s lead, climbing right into Bishop’s lap. Cooper stays on the far cushion, but he looks over, studying me.
I give him a tight smile.
I’m okay.
I just don’t feel great.
“You do realize how creepy it is that you used to watch her sleep, right?” Kate asks.
Bishop scoffs. “I came across Vale through a mission. I don’t troll those types of sites for fun. I found my omega, then I spent the next two years earning her trust.”
“The jury is still out on if you’re worthy of it,” Kate says.
“Don’t disrespect your friend’s chosen alpha,” Ranger growls.
“Keep talking to me like that, and I’ll shank you while you sleep,” Kate hisses.
Ranger chuckles. “You remind me of my little sister. Unlike you, she was loyal to a fault, making it easy to overlook her bad attitude. However, your demeanor leaves a lot to be desired.”
“For the love of God,” Merryweather whispers.
“What are you doing?” Hargrove asks.
Kate turns in his hold, putting her back to his front. “I’ll sit facing the room. That way, I can see that psycho coming.”
I ignore them and bury my nose back in Bishop’s neck as my lower back throbs.
“Are you doing okay?” Cooper asks, leaning over to brush his fingers down my back.
“I might need a bathroom break,” I confess. “I’m not sure.”
Mercy and Holt come in as I’m contemplating whether it’s worth it to get up.
“We have some information.” Mercy comes to stand behind Bishop. He leans down, brushing his lips over my cheek. “I’m not sure it’s safe to share it in front of her.”
“I can vouch for Kate,” Ranger says. “She walked all over the agents you assigned her, but I’m taking custody of her, for the time being, for reasons you’ll understand once she explains who she is.”
“Merrick and Steele…” Mercy’s head shakes.
Holt tosses himself down on the cushion between Bishop and Cooper. “They found Keeley. Alive.”
All hell breaks loose.
“What?” Bishop growls, startling the hell out of me.
I know who Merrick and Steele are from the day they were here with Ranger. Also, Merrick has been handling the tech stuff since the beginning, but I have no idea who Keeley is.