Page 10 of Flint's Arrow
“He didn’t even ask my name,” Flint whispered.
“He knows it now.” Cyrus’s expression darkened. “And he’s going to have to live with that. But right now, there are kids in danger. Kids who need someone with your specific talents to save them.”
The words hit home. Flint had been one of those kids once - not trafficked, but abandoned. Left to fend for himself because he was too small, too weak, not worth keeping around. He’d built himself into something dangerous specifically so no one could dismiss him like that again.
Except Arrow had anyway.
“Private plane?” Flint asked quietly. “I’m going to want my own weapons for this one.”
“Wheels up in four hours. You’ll be back in two days, three at the most.” Cyrus pulled out a burner phone and set it on the counter. “Everything you need is in the file. Contact information, safe house location, and exit strategy. Python already arranged the flight.”
Flint picked up the phone, turning it over in his hands. Three days away from Montana. Three days where he could focus on something more useful than wondering if the wolf shifter was suffering the same mate-pull pain that had Flint waking up hard and aching every morning.
“Arrow’s been in touch, by the way,” Cyrus added as if he could read Flint’s thoughts.
Flint’s head snapped up. “What? When?”
“He texted me a few days ago and asked how to apologize to you properly.” Cyrus’s mouth quirked. “I told him to figure it out for himself.”
“Oh.” Flint wasn’t sure what he’d expected. Part of him had assumed Arrow would just move on, find someone else to warm his bed. Wolves were possessive about mates, but they were also proud, too proud to grovel.
“You know what wolves are like,” Cyrus continued, pouring himself coffee from the second cup. “Pride’s everything to them. The fact that he reached out at all? That’s significant.”
“He slapped my ass and told me to cook his dinner.”
“I know. And I’m not saying you should forgive him.” Cyrus took a sip of coffee. “I’m just saying...by the time you get back in three days, he’ll probably be begging for a chance to kiss yourfeet. The mating pull gets worse the longer you’re apart. If he’s feeling even a fraction of what you’re dealing with, he’s going to be desperate.”
Flint wasn’t sure how he felt about Arrow suffering. The mating pull was hellishly strong, but Flint wasn’t sure he wanted to be with a mate who was essentially forced to be with him. Just thinking about that made the ache in his chest worse.
“What if he apologizes and I still can’t forgive him?”
“Then that’s your choice.” Cyrus set down his coffee and met Flint’s eyes directly. “The bond doesn’t mean you owe him anything. It doesn’t mean you have to accept shitty treatment. Are you going to be in pain for the rest of your life if you refuse him? Yes. You know that. But you’ve handled pain before, and that’s never a good reason to accept less than you deserve. You deserve someone who sees you for who you are - a skilled, dangerous, and incredible person. If Arrow can’t do that, then he doesn’t deserve you.”
The words settled into Flint’s bones, warming something that had gone cold. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. Just go do what you do best.” Cyrus pushed the bacon bun toward him. “And eat something before you get on that plane. I don’t care how upset you are, you’re not going to work on an empty stomach.”
Flint picked up the bun. His appetite was still nonexistent, but Cyrus was right. He needed fuel and he needed to focus. Most of all, especially seeing as he was going on a job, he needed to remember that he was more than what one wolf shifter thought of him.
“The target.” Flint reached across the table and tapped the tablet, studying the vampire’s face. “Any complications I should know about?”
“He’s got a day-walker working for him. Human-passing, but fast. She’ll be the one doing his daytime errands.” Cyrus swiped through the photos. “This leads us to assume he’s only a young vampire, given the sun still makes him feel uncomfortable, although that’s not been verified. You’ll need to time your shot for when he’s alone. The window’s between six and eight p.m. London time. He sends her out to pick up dinner, giving you a two-hour gap.”
“Will there be wards on the building?”
“Python’s contact in London will handle those. They’ll be down for exactly fifteen minutes. You’ll have one shot.”
One shot. That’s all Flint ever needed, especially with the specialty bullets only available to agency assassins. Vampires typically required decapitation to kill them, but there were exceptions, and it looked like this was one of them.
Pushing all thoughts of Arrow aside, Flint felt something shift inside him - his professional self - sliding over his skin like a well-fitted suit. His work made sense to him. All he had to do was point, breathe, squeeze the trigger, and then treat himself to a steaming hot chocolate afterward. There was no emotion involved, and since starting with the agency, Flint knew there would be no complications either. The agency never sent anyone out on a job unless it had been firmly vetted, and all conditions and variables had been considered.I can do this.
“I’ll do it,” he said out loud.
Cyrus’s expression softened with what looked like relief. “I’m glad. Expect Python to swing by and pick you up. He’s offered to take you to the airport.”
“I can drive myself.” Flint always preferred having his own transport.
“I know you can. But this way you don’t have to leave your truck at the airport for three days.” Cyrus finished his coffee and started gathering the bags. “Besides, Python hasn’t been able to drive anyone for two days because I’ve been busy at the workshop. You’d be doing me a favor, getting him out of my hair for five minutes.”
