“You haven’t spent as much time with her as I have.” Alex had to tread carefully. Thomas hated it when he thought Alex was trying to finesse him. “She’s hurting. This would help.”
Thomas shook his head and tapped a finger on the desk in front of him. “There’s more at stake here than her pain and you know it. So you’re going to have to put your dalliance behind you—”
Alex narrowed his eyes and met Thomas’s hard gaze with one of his own.
“—until it’s time for us to use it, and focus.”
“There’s nothing wrong with my focus. And we’re not using what happened between me and Lena. Period.”
Thomas arched a brow and smiled, though the expression seemed on the sad side to Alex. Perhaps his friend wasn’t as comfortable with his own decisions as he seemed.
“Unless she turns up pregnant.”
Alex shook his head. “That’s not a possibility.”
“Alex. It’s always a—”
“Not with Lena. She’s got her reproductive system on lockdown.” At Thomas’s expression, Alex laughed. “I don’t know why either of us would be remotely surprised. She’s not one to be pushed around by fate or circumstances. Of course she’s using her abilities to maintain her own health, with everything that implies.”
“Well, that’s damned inconvenient.”
“Inconvenient? It’s her life.”
“It’s our future. I was never going to force anyone on her, Alex, but we need this. We need the children she could produce. We need her—”
“Happy. We need her happy, Thom. And she’s damn well earned it.”
Thomas leaned forward and steepled his hands in front of him. He met Alex’s gaze and took a careful breath. “She is happy. Happier than she has been. You could convince her—”
“No. That’s not going to happen. Leave it be.”
Thomas shook his head. “This isn’t about feelings.”
“I said leave it. It’s not negotiable. I’ll deal with Danny, and all the repercussions that will bring when she finds out. I’ll take all of that. But you will let this go, Thom.” Alex willed his friend to feel how deadly serious he was about this. He wouldn’t have her, have any of them, used like that. Not ever. “Not just for Lena. For all of them. Whatever will happen with the future, with children…leave it be. Let it happen naturally. Or we’re no better than the Council, and we have no right to keep going.”
Thomas tilted his head back and looked up at the ceiling. When he turned back to Alex, it was clear he’d made a decision. “Fine. But she stays in the dark. And so does Danny. Until it’s a done deal, mission accomplished, risk averted, and you’re all heading home, neither of them will know the other’s role.”
Alex nodded. It wasn’t the answer he’d hoped for. It wasn’t what she needed. But it bought her a larger freedom. He hoped it would be enough.
***
Alex’s hand paused above the lock plate. He shouldn’t be here. He didn’t know why he’d told Jackson that morning that he would conduct Lena’s daily check-in himself. Yes, he had to share the chef’s critique of her progress with her, but he’d already written his comments and planned to hand them off to Jackson to take to her.
He had no reason to be hovering outside the safe house door, except for the itch that had been keeping him up, distracting him every day, pricking at his awareness. He’d planned to stay away. It wasn’t only logistically smart, but it was emotionally best, too, especially after his deal with Thomas. He didn’t want to deal with the soft, wounded sound of her voice if she asked for her brother again.
He’d managed to hold out four days before he mentally slapped himself for being so obtuse. You didn’t get rid of an itch by ignoring it. There was only one way to settle it down.
You scratched it, good and hard.
He keyed the lock and went in. Even here in the foyer, the layered spicy and savory aromas of what was cooking made his mouth water. And the chef claimed she couldn’t cook?
When he turned around, Lena was framed in the light from the sunny living room, eyes wide.
“Alex? What are you doing here? Is everything okay?”
Her feet were bare, and she had on a summer dress for relief against the heat in the little house. The dress billowed light as a breeze around her small body, two thin straps all that held it on her shoulders. A riot of blues and greens swirled together across it. Flour dusted her chin and nose, and coated both hands, and her face was puzzled.
The night he’d left her here, he’d told her she wouldn’t see him again until they were on the caravan and it was her time to take out the Councilor.
He came down the hall. The pressure inside eased at the sight of her, even as his heart rate increased. This was a bad idea. He smiled anyway. “Chef Domenico had some issues with his latest evaluation of your skills. I thought I should come over and talk them out with you.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Chef Domenico is a pompous ass.” She turned and went back into the kitchen.