Page 8 of 3013: Dreamer
Fenris started toward her, but she held up a hand to stop him and took a seat on the edge of the blanket. When Lina pulled a wine bottle out of a cooler and poured her a glass, Charm smiled in thanks before she gulped some down.
The Artanes hurried back over to the blankets, while Zenix stopped the swing from moving with his foot. Since she had everyone’s full attention, Charm quickly filled the group in on what had happened in the casino.
“Wexler Tech,” Razar growled. “Those bastards are always trying to fuck with us.”
“Unsuccessfully,” Nicolo pointed out. “We need to trace everywhere they’ve been since they arrived on Evo. I don’t believe they were just here to steal from the casino. They could have tried to sabotage the game or something else while they were here.”
Brielle huffed in irritation. “Why did you invite the Wexler brat to the beta testing?”
Magnus stroked his hand up and down her back. “We didn’t invite her personally. It was a standard courtesy invitation. We sent one to all the tech companies.”
Cuddling next to her, Brielle gently took Charm’s injured hand in hers. “Why didn’t you let Evo send for us?”
Charm tried to pull her hand away, but Brielle wouldn’t let go. Sighing, she just gave in and let her friend cling to her. “The situation was handled, and I knew I was going to see all of you here. Explaining the situation once is easier than doing it over and over again.”
“Makes sense. Will you allow us to study the device you confiscated?” Magnus asked.
Since she had been expecting that, she smiled. “I told the security team you would be picking it up tomorrow. But Evo already started analyzing it, so you should have the initial report soon.”
“What about the prisoners? You said they refused to answer any questions?” Zenix demanded.
“We’ll see if that changes after the four of them spend some time in our new magical cages,” Charm said, glancing over at Juliet. The last thing she wanted was to remind her sister of when she’d been held captive by a madman.
The delicate blonde scoffed. “Don’t worry. Mentioning the cages isn’t going to make me spiral. In this instance, I don’t mind one bit. It’s bad enough when someone tries to steal from us, but they fucking hurt you. I say lock them the hell up and throw away the keys.”
“You’re so adorable when you’re vicious,” Fenris praised before he kissed her forehead.
Charm fought the urge to roll her eyes. She was used to their public displays of affection, so she barely commented about it anymore, but she loved poking fun at Raek and Fenris since they were so awkward at flirting.
The sound of a loudboomstartled her.
From the gasps and shouts that rang out, she wasn’t the only one either. She had to grit her teeth as pain shot up her arm from jerking it in response to the explosion. The fireworks display hadbegun right on time. That was no surprise since they had been programmed into the system.
Rather than using real pyrotechnics, the fireworks were an illusion displayed on the shield surrounding the entire island. Different types of fireworks filled the sky in an impressive display of color and light. It made her feel a little sentimental since it reminded her of when her older brother used to sneak them out of the group home during celebrations back on Earth.
“You should have contacted us,” Raek growled close to her ear to make sure that she heard him.
Naturally, he wasn’t ready to drop the subject yet. He wanted to lecture her. She knew a big part of that came from worry since her brothers didn’t like seeing her injured. She would normally let him ramble on while she ignored him, but she didn’t have the patience for it tonight.
Regardless of their shared alpha status, it was difficult to overlook years of deferring to her older brother. But she didn’t like anyone questioning her judgement. She tried to calm her anger but couldn’t hold back a snarky response from escaping.
“Why? If you would have done something different, I don’t want to hear it. Feel free to handle it your way the next time you catch a thief in the casino.”
“What’s with the attitude?” Fenris asked, leaning over Juliet to glare at her.
She sighed. “I had a very full day, Fen. Not only was my arm sliced open while catching the thieves, I also conducted four interviews, sat through a mind-numbingly boring discussion about the allocation of funds for all of our different projects, and had a staff meeting with the management team. I’m tired and overworked and don’t feel the need to justify my decisions to you at the moment. Now, can you please shut up and let me enjoy the fireworks?”
For once in his life, Fenris seemed stunned silent.
“I warned you. Stop poking at her,” Juliet scolded.
“If she’s overworked, we just need to hire more staff,” Fenris stated, looking decidedly uncomfortable.
Raek shoved him. “Which is why she has been doing all those interviews. But it’s not just that. She’s been covering for us while we’ve been taking time off. Look at her. She’s not just tired. She’s fucking exhausted. We are supposed to be running this place together. That’s what we agreed to do. We can’t expect Charm to do most of the work.”
She felt her eyes sting as she stared up at the colorful explosions overhead. A boulder-sized weight felt like it had been lifted off her shoulders. She was glad that her brother had finally realized the burden she had been carrying without her having to point it out.
The fact that he acknowledged it finally calmed some of the low-key resentment she had been feeling. She loved her brothers dearly, but sometimes they were oblivious to everything but their mate and their own happiness. While that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, it wasn’t the way to run a business.