Page 84 of Redemption

“Ready to head out?” She asks me.

Standing up, I take a deep breath.

“Yep, let’s do this,” I reply.

I am really glad that I was already thinking that something wasn’t making sense about Liam’s behavior, that we all were. It makes it easier to deal with and easier to believe.

I am going to remain cautious. I think I would be stupid not to.

It's going to take me some time to want to talk to Liam about this. Alaric is clearly all in He believes him, and honestly, it really isn’t that hard to. I have the memories to back up his words, and Alaric has seen the footage. I definitely do not like that, but it’s happened, and there is nothing I can do about it. Alaric said that he has destroyed it and that he was the only one to see it, that’s the best-case scenario.

So I’m going to let that part of this situation go.

The fact that Alaric has told me about what he’s found out about Liam now and not waited until later shows how well he knows me. It’s a big emotional thing, and I don’t deal with big emotional things in the usual healthy way, which means I now need an outlet. The job is the perfect outlet for me.

Whether it's healthy or not, I’m going to be putting it out of my mind.

I know it’s not.

Ever opens the door to the room after one last check-in with me, where I hope I give her a reassuring smile. I have to admit, boobs did really help. They’re magic.

My smile widens as I see all of the guys waiting out in the hallway, all of them with concerned expressions until they see my smile.

“You good?” Jensen asks simply, but his eyes are studying me for any sign that I’m not.

I nod. “I will be. Ever flashed me, that helped.”

“Good. Boobs are magic,” Trick replies, echoing my thoughts and making Ever snort. He tries not to smile as he ignores her and says, “Let’s go, we need to get in position.”

He doesn’t ask me any questions about what’s been said, he knows that I don’t want to talk about it now, and he’s probably guessed that I would much rather focus on the job instead.

“I need a snack before we head out,” Jensen says with a smirk.

“Dude, we literally need to leave right now,” Riot points out.

“I know. That’s why I said snack,” Jensen says, like Riot is the one who doesn’t make sense right now. He continues, “I’m not making a full meal. I just want to grab some cheese.”

“Cheese?” I ask with my eyebrow raised. Of all the snacks he could have said, cheese was not on the list.

We all start to head back down the hallway and to the main living area of the safe house where the kitchen is.

Jensen looks offended as he says, “Yes, cheese. Cheese is a perfectly acceptable snack.”

“Is it?” Rage asks.

Jensen’s eyebrows hit his hairline as he opens the fridge, cuts himself a chunk of cheese, and then places the rest of it back in the fridge.

He points at us all with his cheese. “I do not need this kind of negativity in my life.”

“Cheese is definitely a snack,” Ever says. Earning a grin and a piece of cheese as a reward.

“I agree that cheese is a snack, but it should be served with crackers, fresh-baked bread, chutneys, and wine, not by itself,” Rafe adds, kind of in agreement.

“Dude, that is not a snack,” Luc points out. “That’s a whole damn meal.”

Rafe shrugs. “Not really, but I will agree that it's bigger than a snack.”

“Are you guys seriously talking about cheese right now?” Zemi asks as she walks into the room, looking highly amused.