Page 35 of This Life of Mine

Fuck. EJ is awake. Well, sort of. His eyes are half-open. The lights are on, but nobody’s really home.

He’s staring directly at me. Or, maybe slightly to my left. Hard to tell.

I say nothing. I only stand there facing him, arms crossed, waiting for the alarm to set in.

EJ squints. “Am I dreaming?”

I catch my reflection in the mirror leaning against the wall to my right.

Black tactical gear. Body armor. Gloves. Hood and Mask. Any normal person would be terrified.

“Yeah, asshole. You’re dreaming.” The voice adapter wraps my words in a low, sinister distortion that raises the hairs on the back of most people’s necks.

“Your voice is wicked, man.” He chuckles.

My head instinctively tilts.What the fuck?

This idiot must be really fucking high.

A long silence passes. Then he points at me.

“Dude.”

I wait.

“Your mask is fucking scary.”

A laugh escapes me involuntarily. The voice adapter turns it into something straight out of a horror movie, and it echoes through the room.

EJ’s eyes widen. “Whoa.”

“Higher than a kite,” I mutter.

“Yeah, man.” He chuckles.

“Go back to sleep, dipshit,” I command.

He squints and then closes his eyes. “Alright,” he says.

The idiot drops his head back onto the couch, and three seconds later he’s snoring again. Just like that.

I scowl. I’ve infiltrated cartel compounds that required more effort than this.

I make my way to the door. Before stepping outside, I glance back one last time.

The protein bar remains on EJ’s bare chest while drool runs down the side of his face.

I sigh. Lina has terrible taste in men.

Chapter eleven

Lina

By the time the last lights are dimmed and the doors are locked, the day catches up with me.

After locking everything up with the team, I head home, exhaustion settling deep into my bones.

More than anything, I’m craving a shower—scalding hot water that washes the day off my skin and quiets my thoughts.