AFTER YEARS of coming to the Sanctuary to test out the security measures, help with building the houses and setting up the facilities, stocking the stores and building an arsenal big enough to take out an attack from literally any of the world’s biggest militaries, it’s something else to finally be here and know that it’s home.
With Oli here, it actually feels like it.
The house that North built for our Bond Group isn’t ready yet, so we’re in one of the smaller houses that was put aside for other council members’ families, though only three have chosen to join us. There’s only four bedrooms, so Gabe and Bassinger volunteer to share. Oli doesn’t get one to herself, which she says she’s fine with, but I know she’s already getting frustrated at not having her own space on the very first day.
She doesn’t breathe a word about it though, and I keep my mouth shut about what’s going on in her head to the others. She already has no privacy, no need to make it worse by airing out what’s going on in her head.
Two peaceful but busy days after we arrive here, I wake up with a very naked Bonded in my arms, still asleep and dreaming of nothing but warmth and comfort. She’d been reluctant to have sex in this house with us all sharing walls, and I’d only managed to persuade her by eating her out until my entire face was dripping with her cum. My shoulders were clawed up and her hand was bleeding from where she’d bitten it to stay quiet.
I don’t have the heart to tell her that all of her Bonds could feel her last night. Her climax at such close proximity? Every last one of them was squirming over it, and Gabe had taken an hour-long cold shower when she’d finally passed out.
Except Nox, who left the house the second I peeled her panties off and got wasted in North’s offices, where I assume he’s still sleeping it off.
“Why do you look so smug?” she murmurs, her voice still rough with sleep, and I want to go for another round instantly, my dick already hard and rubbing against her pert ass.
“A man can’t help it when he’s made his Bonded come eight times on his tongue. I’m thinking about doing it again.”
She blushes so prettily, but her eyes flick down to my mouth as she grins. “Don’t you have a meeting to go to this morning? You told North you’d be leaving here at seven, it’s already a quarter to. I don’t think you can make me come that quickly and still get out the door in time.”
I grab her chin and tilt her face up to meet my lips, kissing her deeply as my other hand slips down to her pussy and finds it still as wet as it was last night. “You’re assuming that I’m going to shower, but I’m going to smell like you all fucking day, Bonded. I’m going to sit in that stupid fucking meeting with your pussy all over my face, and it’ll be the only thing that gets me through the day.”
She blushes again, her hips moving to grind on my hand as her breath stutters in her chest. She’s so responsive, so ready to take what pleasure she wants from me and, fuck, if that isn’t perfect.
She was made for me.
I have her shuddering out her release on my fingers in under a minute, whispering filth in her ear about everything I’m going to do to her when I get her next until she’s writhing.
When she finally comes down from her high, I take her chin again, prying her mouth open and shoving my fingers into her mouth until she’s licked them clean again. When I pull them back out, I kiss her, chasing the taste that’s even better on her tongue.
I make it to the door with two minutes to spare, my boots laced up and my dick still hard as fucking nails at the sight of her spread out on my sheets. Her hair is a mess and there’s still dark circles under her eyes that shouldn’t be there.
I lean down before I leave to kiss her one last time, murmuring, “Go back to sleep. There’s nothing you need to do until after lunch, so just get some more sleep.”
She nods and lets her eyelids flutter shut, but her mind is already busy with shit to do today and I doubt she’ll actually manage to do it. I send a text to Gabe to get him to leave her alone until she comes out and he cusses me out in the reply.
I can’t help but feel even more smug about it.
North meets me at the front door, looking me over as his nostrils flare. He doesn’t say anything until we’re out of the house and pacing to his office in the next building over.
“You smell like her.”
I look him dead in the eye and smirk. “Good.”
He bristles, and I know that it’s got nothing to do with cleanliness or decorum or jealousy over my night with our little Bonded. He doesn’t want anyone else catching our Bonded’s most intimate scents because he’s a possessive bastard about her. He always has been, and while he’s perfectly fine sharing her with the rest of her Bonds, the idea of anyone else so much as smelling her on me?
Unacceptable.
I already knew it. He’s assuming I’ll let anyone close enough to me to get a whiff of her. I already know what my scheduling looks like and if I put a savage enough scowl on my face, everyone will steer clear of me. I’ll get to wallow in her all day, and that might just get me through until she’s back in my bed, soaking my sheets and coming like a good girl for me.
When we arrive at the offices and one of the office workers approaches, North steps in front of me like a buffer. I snort at him, enjoying the fuck out of watching him have a little petty fit over this. The fact that Oli misses out on seeing this side of him half the time doesn’t elude me, and I seriously consider sending her the image of it, except when I check in with her, I find that she has actually gone back to sleep. I’m not waking her for this.
I’ll save it for later.
When the worker finally moves away, North snaps at me, “I’m glad you’re enjoying this.”
I shrug. “It’s been too quiet around here. I need something to keep me amused.”
“Well, go build something with Gabe. Lay some carpets. There’s tiling in Oleander’s bathroom that needs ripping up, that’ll keep you busy.”
The tiling. He’s being a fusspot about the colors of tiles. It’s going to drive us all mad. I swipe my card after he’s done with his to get us both in the elevator and headed into his office. The security here is the best money can pay for. Aside from housing North’s offices, there’s also a bomb shelter panic room in the basement with concrete walls that are six feet thick on every side. It could withstand Unser going off.
We know. We’ve tested it.
North waits until the elevator closes behind us before he starts his usual debrief, starting with the Bonded Group. “Bassinger is on his way over. He went for a run this morning and has already volunteered to help Gabe with the housing over in the third quarter. Obviously because Oleander will be there as well, but it’s a good sign.”
I nod and then broach my least favorite topic. “Is Nox still here? Do you need me to step in, or are we just going to… continue to let him spiral?”
North’s eyes flash over to me. I’m his biggest, and only, ally when it comes to his brother and all of his issues. Our friendship had started the day North brought Nox home, and because of that, I know pretty much everything there is to know about the brothers. Every twisted, fucked-up thing.
And so long as it doesn’t hurt my Bonded, I’ll keep helping to manage the situation.
“He’s back to drinking and training. The camp cleanup was good for him. We’ll need to send him on some more missions with you to keep him level. I’m taking him leaving the house last night as a good sign. He’s getting better at spotting his triggers and leaving before it becomes a problem. Just… leave him to me for now.”
“If he goes after her again—”
He cuts me off, probably because he doesn’t want to think about it either. “He won’t. I’ve spoken to him.”
I shake my head slowly as the doors open in front of us again and we find Nox passed out on the small couch in the corner of North’s office. One of his shadows is resting over his chest and two more are lying on the floor in front of him, but they stay put as we walk over to North’s desk. They watch us though, obsessively. They’re waiting for the moment we dare to step towards their sleeping master.
The moment anyone dares.
“Did we bring a psych with us as well? Did you find the guy Sage was seeing?”
North cringes and starts his computer up, plugging in his laptop and getting all four of the screens on the desk set up. “I found him, and he’s already left the country. His family decided on an extended stay in Singapore, not that I blame them.”
The elevator dings again and then Bassinger steps out, his cheeks still pink from the run, and his hands shoved into his pockets as he comes over to slump in the chair beside me.
North ignores us both for his emails for a second, scowling and muttering under his breath in a furious tone, and I take the moment to look Bassinger over. His leg is bouncing under the desk, a sign of agitation that he’s struggling to hide.
I pitch my tone to be something friendly enough, which is something that he doesn’t always take kindly to, and I ask, “How are you doing? The run doesn’t seem to have helped.”
He stares at me for a second and then says, “It’s still hard for me to talk to you guys about it. I’m not used to… this sort of Bond Group dynamic. It messes with my head sometimes.”
North nods from behind the desk but doesn’t add anything, so I try instead. “This is the way that we keep Oli safe. Even when we don’t like it, we talk about shit and we’re honest. If something happens to her because we’re acting like dickheads with each other, we only have ourselves to blame.”
His jaw flexes a little but he nods. “I’m just still… surprised that my father would be involved in the killing of children, but that’s probably just me being naive. It’s fucking with my head, but I’m dealing with it. It’s not going to be a problem.”
Truth.
Solid truth, and I’ll respect the hell out of that sort of honesty any day of the week.
North’s eyebrows inch up just a little at the admission but he nods again, taking a second before he murmurs, “It’s hard to see people crossing lines that we assume would be unfathomable to ever consider, especially someone we think we know so well. Don’t be too hard on yourself.”
This feels like progress.
It has to be, right?
An hour later, Bassinger and I step into the elevator together, ready to be transported back to the council offices to finish up after the raid and dismantling of the Resistance camp we took out. We’ve already had an influx of intel thanks to the chatter in the aftermath, and Bassinger has been pivotal in recovering it. There’s always the chance that he’s a deep cell spy, someone sent in to us to sacrifice his own family just to get to Oli and take us all out, but I’m starting to really believe the kid.
There’s something about his single-minded devotion to her at the expense of everything else in his life that is very convincing to everyone except Nox, but he’s not exactly known for being reasonable about anything Bond related.
Bassinger is quiet for a moment while the elevator doors close, but once it starts moving, he clears his throat, his voice coming out steady enough. “I don’t want to see my sister. I know you’re probably going to try to convince me, and I get it, it makes sense to have me in there to get her talking and thinking shit but… that’s my line. If it’s not about Oli’s safety, I’m not doing it.”
I look at him and shrug. “It might come down to that. I’ll talk to her and see what I can get, but if I need help with it—”
He cuts me off. “If you need it, I’ll do it. If Oli needs it, I’ll always do it, but not unless it comes to that.”
I can respect that.
I can respect a lot of what he’s said actually. If it weren’t for his last name, his parents, his entire upbringing, he’d absolutely be climbing his way up to my inner circle of people I trust.
I can’t do that though, not right now, and not with so much at stake.
I nod at him right as the doors open to reveal Black and Rockelle waiting there for us, both of them in full Tac gear. Heading out of the Sanctuary means needing at least three fully trained operatives per group, and there’s no one I trust more than these two.
Even if they are the mouthiest assholes on my damn team.
“So we’re not taking the harbinger of death this time?”
I already know Rockelle is attempting to stir shit about Oli, but I’m not going to let him. “North is dealing with the council bullshit as remotely as possible these days, so he’ll be here. Or did you mean Nox? He’s sleeping off a hangover.”
He grins at me and shrugs it off, easy and friendly as always. “Sure, those two Death Dealers were the ones I was talking about. I’ve already been warned.”
Bassinger stares him down. “Obviously it didn’t sink in.”
Black and I share a look. Bassinger is never going to make friends with the blunt and cutthroat treatment he gives everyone when Oli isn’t with him, but I’m also starting to figure out that he doesn’t really give a fuck either. He doesn’t want friends. The weird companionship he’s found himself in with Gabe seems like the only concession he’s been willing to make… that and the truce he just declared with North.
Anyone outside of our Bond Group is fair game to his acid tongue.
I motion for him to step in closer to the other two so that we can get this job over and done with. Rockelle is grinning at him with an edge to it like he’s itching for a fight. They’re as bad as each other, and I’ll need to remember to keep them apart in the future.
As we get within touching distance of each other, Black cocks his head at me before shaking it, clapping his hand onto my shoulder to transport me a little more forcefully than usual. “New cologne?”
My eyes narrow. “Don’t breathe a word. I have enough shit on you to bury you.”
He just smirks at me and motions like he’s zipping his lips shut, which is the biggest fucking lie because the asshole just thinks everything he would say, which is just as effective.
He knows how to send me information, has for years, and it’s been useful in our line of work, so I find him thinking in my direction. I’d call you a degenerate but… I guess you’re Bonded and it’s to be expected.
I answer out loud, “You shouldn’t call me anything as your superior and definitely not in Councilman Draven’s hearing.”
He has been friends with North almost as long as I have been, and I don’t have to say anything else for him to get what I’m saying, loud and clear. He snorts and shakes his head again. “They’re both as jealous as each other, and yet neither of them have figured it out yet. Fucking hilarious.”
Bassinger doesn’t like any of this conversation, and the smirk he gives Black is all sorts of venomous. “How’s your Bond Group treating you?”
Black has gone toe-to-toe with Nox for decades; Bassinger’s shitty attitude is nothing to him. “Well, there isn’t a Resistance snake in mine, so better than others for sure.”
Bassinger just raises an eyebrow at him and snarks back, “Are you so sure about that?”
No one here wants to think about the Riley and Giovanna mess we’re still attempting to untangle for Sage, or what doing so is going to cost us.
Black grimaces and transports us without another word, the pop loud enough to ring in my eardrums and scramble my head for a second once our feet hit solid ground again. He’s brought us to the underground parking space of the offices, right in front of the elevator to the basement. There’s no one else around us, nothing to say that anything is happening here that we’d need to worry about, and a pit of unease starts in my gut.
It always does when things go smoothly.
I don’t trust that shit at all.
As per protocol, no one else speaks or moves until I’ve cast my gift out to check for other Gifted around us. There’s no one in the parking lot or the first three upper levels of the building. The raid has made sure of that, and when I push my gift to its limits, I only find the prisoners and other Gifted we have held down in the cells.
“We’re clear. Let’s get this over with.”
Black nods and takes point, letting Rockelle fall behind and cover our backs. Bassigner watches their movements with keen eyes but keeps his mouth shut, following along with the rules and guidelines he’s been told about coming along today.
Nox had railed hard about having him here, still so sure that he’s a spy, but North and I had agreed. Whatever we need to do to get the upper hand on the Resistance, as long as it’s not sacrificing innocents, then we’re doing it.
Anything to get Oli clear of Silas fucking Davies.
When we make it to the lower levels and the doors of the elevator opens, Black and I both watch as Bassinger steps out and gets a good look at the cells. It feels a little like deja vu, like I’m back to a few weeks ago when Oli had been here for the first time and Carlin Meadows had gotten an eyeful of her.
Render.
Fuck, when I’d heard her spit that word at my Bonded, I didn’t believe it. Not until Oli had immediately freaked the fuck out and run away like she was being chased by the devil. Every pore of her being was terrified.
Of me.
Me hearing it, me rejecting her, me telling the others and them all turning on her. My head had felt as though it was about to split from everything screaming out of my Bonded, and every protective instinct in me kicked in. I wanted her safe and secure in my arms, a million miles away from this place, and I’d barely made it through watching the interrogations without dragging her out.
Bassigner walks slowly down the hallway, oblivious to the memories of Oli assaulting me. The Gifted inside the cells are all thin, haggard-looking men and women with blank sort of eyes. They are all fed and taken care of, but most go on hunger strikes to attempt to kill themselves.
I usually end up here forcing them to eat with my gift.
I get my head back into the game. “Any you recognize?”
Bassinger is slow and methodical as he checks them over slowly. He’s taking this seriously, and I’ll give him credit for that too.
He points between two of the cells. “Him. And that woman. They’re both familiar, but that’s it. I’d have to look through the footage to pinpoint it exactly. Well, them, and I know Carlin, but you already know that. You should kill her for what she did to Oli.”
She does deserve it, she deserves a lot more than we’ve done to her so far, but she’s still being processed for now.
One day she’ll face North’s nightmares, and I’ll enjoy nothing more than watching her being consumed into nothingness.
