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  I knew this conversation was difficult for him, but there was no way to avoid it. "Well, surely some members are bigger candidates than others?"

  He understood instantly. "You mean Ewan?"

  I nodded. "It was pretty clear from the outset that he didn't exactly approve of me. What did you say he called me? A liability? If those aren't the words of a man who wants me out of the picture, I don't know what are."

  His brow furrowed, and he let out a long breath. "I know he seems like the obvious candidate, but I just can't see it. Maybe he'd move against us, maybe, but even that's a stretch. And Charlie and Simon? I'd bet a million to one he'd never do that. They were his closest friends. They'd been in the group together for decades."

  "People can surprise us in the worst ways, sometimes," I said.

  I could see him trying to make the pieces fit in his head, but eventually he shook his head. "You didn't see his face, hear his anger when he heard about their deaths. Besides, why would he be upset with you for endangering the group if he was also working to destroy it?"

  He had a point. That didn't quite stack up. "So what about the others?"

  He stared desolately down at the table. "I don't know. I can't really believe it of any of them. The group is a brotherhood, Sophia. I've known them all for years. I can't see any of them just turning power hungry all of a sudden."

  "So that's what you think it's all about? Power?"

  "Maybe. None of it really adds up. Taking out a few council members, sure, I guess I can see that as part of a larger plan, but then why go after you? That part still puzzles me."

  I nodded. "Me too."

  The waitress arrived with our food, and we ate in thoughtful silence for a few minutes.

  "Let's try a different approach," I said eventually. "Who knew you were coming to my office last night?"

  His eyes widened a fraction as he realised my implication. "Of course. I missed that. Whoever it was must have known we'd be out late. Every other night we arrived separately, and at different times. It would have been a nightmare to coordinate."

  "Exactly. They saw an opportunity, and they jumped on it."

  His expression slipped. "The only person I told was Thomas," he said, a current of disbelief running through his voice. "I'm not exactly on friendly chatting terms with many people over there right now. But there's no way he'd... he's my closest friend." He closed his eyes momentarily, collecting his thoughts. "There were other people in the room at the time. We'd just finished a meeting. I didn't really pay attention to who might be listening in, but plenty of them could have overheard."

  "So it could be any of them," I said.

  He nodded. "That does limit it to the inner council only though. There was no one else in the room."

  "Well, that's something." I weighed our options. "So, we obviously can't go back to the house and, I take it from the way you threw away our phones, using the Alpha network at all is also off the cards?"

  "I'm afraid so. They'd find us in an instant."

  "So do we have any options at all? Or are we destined to discard our identities and live out of hotels forever?"

  "It's not quite that bleak," he replied. "There's a few things we can try. I've got pictures of the men from last night, as well as their weapons. I can send that info off to some of my contacts directly, without going through Alpha at all. Like I said before, I doubt the bad guys are sloppy enough to leave a trail, but it's worth a shot."

  I nodded. "Okay."

  "Also, Joe should be on his way back right now, and he might be able to help us."

  I raised an eyebrow. "I thought we weren't trusting the group right now."

  "Joe is a special case. I've known him for my entire adult life. He recruited me, for God's sake. I'm one hundred percent certain he's got nothing to do with this."

  The firmness of his tone left no room for argument and, the truth was, I trusted Joe too. "Fair enough," I said.

  "We might be able to use his Alpha connection to see if whoever broke into our house left any evidence. Theoretically there should be security footage and a thumbprint record. I expect it's been cleaned up, but you never know."

  "Okay," I said again. It seemed like a solid plan, given the circumstances. Then I had another idea. "Have you considered just announcing to the group that someone has gone rogue? Maybe you'll spook the spy and make him do something stupid."

  "I thought about it. It might work, but it also might also have the opposite effect. If everyone suspects everyone, all sense of order will break down, and the chaos might help our enemy instead of hurt them. That's not a risk I'm willing to take unless we have no choice. The group is in enough danger already."

  That made sense. "Alright."

  We finished our food in contemplative silence.

  "You know, a tiny part of me is regretting not taking those plane tickets right now," I said.

  He managed a tiny smile. "I'm not surprised. The offer's still open, you know. I got you a passport made up just in case."

  "Ooh, do I have a code name?"

  "From memory, you're Lucy Page."

  I made a face. "Makes me sound like a TV housewife from the fifties."

  He chuckled. "Sorry."

  "In any case, I'm certainly not going to go lie on any tropical beaches while you're stuck here, battling evil. You could come with me, though. Star crossed lovers fleeing to a foreign land together. It's kind of romantic."

  He smiled wistfully. "I wish I could."

  I'd said it like I was joking, but I'd be lying if I said the thought hadn't crossed my mind. Maybe running off together was the best solution. Would it really be so bad, starting over from scratch? "Have you ever thought about leaving?"

  He didn't reply straight away. "I hadn't, but then I met you."

  Such a short sentence, but it resonated through me.

  "But it's daunting, you know?" he continued. "The group has been my life for so long. I don't know what I'd do without it."

  I nodded. I understood that particular fear all too well.

  "Anyway," he said, signalling for the cheque, "we should get back to the hotel. It will take a while for my contacts to get back to me, so the sooner we start, the sooner we might get some results."

  A few minutes later we were back in the room. While he was sending off the info to his contacts, I fired through an email to my boss using my new phone, explaining that I'd come down violently ill and needed a few days off. He replied almost instantly saying it was no trouble. I got the sense he was extremely pleased to have me back at all, so a few more days made little difference. I didn't know what I'd do if our exile stretched into weeks, or longer, but I figured I'd cross that bridge when I came to it.

  Once we'd both taken care of business, it was just a matter of waiting. I'd thought being penned up in the Alpha house was frustrating, but something about the cheap, cut and paste hotel decor made that room feel incredibly oppressive. We lay on the bed drinking wine from the mini-bar and watching daytime TV. I'd bought a few magazines on the way back, and I tried leafing through them, but I couldn't make myself focus. I was restless and frustrated at how powerless we were.

  At some point, Sebastian fell asleep. Apparently he really had been wiped out. I tried to join him, but my body wouldn't cooperate. Instead, I found myself turning the situation over and over in my mind. I wished I'd paid better attention to Sebastian's colleagues. There were only a few who I'd even really talked with and, of that group, nothing stood out - besides Ewan's blatant dislike. Trey seemed friendly and relatively harmless and besides, he wasn't a council member. Then there was Thomas who, while being a little intense at times, appeared to care about Sebastian. Some of the other men had certainly seemed a little cold towards us, but I put that down more to Ewan's influence than anything else. Whoever the mole was, they were doing an amazing job of blending in.

  At about six thirty, Sebastian woke up. "Sorry, I didn't mean to sleep."

  "It's fine, you looked like you needed it
."

  He nodded and flashed me a half smile. "I'll make it up to you by getting dinner. There's a Chinese place just downstairs that does takeaway."

  I glanced at the TV, feeling a tightness in my chest. The prospect of spending any more time here, stewing in the horror that had become our lives, was almost too much to bear. I already felt like I was losing my mind and, if I stayed here, all I'd be able to think about was how helpless we were. "What we should do is hit the town," I said.

  I'd mostly been joking, but the moment the words left my lips, the idea took root in my head. The gradually blooming smile on Sebastian's face said he felt the same way. "Maybe we should."

  I laughed. "Is that crazy?" It seemed ridiculous to consider going out on a date, given everything that was happening, but hell, if people were going to be constantly trying to kill me, I felt like maybe I should take advantage of the lulls in between. Besides, I could desperately use the distraction.

  "A little, maybe, but I can't see it being a problem as long as we keep it low key. If anybody had managed to follow us, they'd have made their move by now. A hotel is hardly going to provide much of an obstacle for one of my brothers. So we can assume they have no idea where we are. As far as they know, we could be anywhere in the city. Maybe anywhere in the country."

  It made sense. "Low key hey?" I said. "Like pizza and a movie?"

  "That sounds perfect."

  A few minutes later, we were walking out through the hotel's front door. The streets were emptier at night, but there was still a steady stream of office workers who were clocking off late or heading home after a few end of day drinks.

  It took us a while to find a pizza place, but when we did, we struck gold. A few blocks away from the main thoroughfare, we stumbled upon a tiny shop front with a giant neon pizza slice flickering above it. There was no other signage, not even a name, but it seemed to have what was important. It wasn't until we made our way inside that we realised what a gem we'd discovered.

  The scene before us looked like it had been ripped straight out of a nineties sitcom. Dimly lit booths with red and white plastic table cloths, walls plastered with yellowed band posters and old advertisements for beer and motor oil. There was even an ancient pinball machine in the corner, it's warbling, high-pitched cries for attention fighting vainly against the throbbing rock music being piped through the speakers.

  The place was relatively full, but the smiling, old, Italian-looking waiter didn't seem fazed, guiding us through the tables to an open booth, tucked to one side. Sebastian and I grinned at one another as we sat down. I could already feel some of my tension ebbing away, and I could tell he felt the same way.

  We ordered a few pizzas to share, as well as a couple of the foaming mugs of unnamed beer that seemed to be the drink of choice.

  "We might have another Mi Casa on our hands," Sebastian said to me once the waiter disappeared.

  "We just might," I agreed. "It's almost enough to make you forget..." I trailed off, realising I was only going to kill the mood, but it was too late. His expression wilted.

  "I didn't really ask before, but are you coping okay?" he said. "Yesterday... well, it was pretty rough."

  Memories of the previous night appeared, unbidden, in my mind. The weight of the gun, the violent kick of it in my hands, the way the man's eyes grew wide as his legs collapsed under him. Not now! I pushed it all to the side. "That's one way to put it," I said, keeping my voice level. "But yeah, I think I'm doing okay."

  He didn't look like he believed me, but he nodded. "I know the apologies are probably getting old, but I can't tell you how sorry I am that I put you in that position. I should have listened to you when you questioned my colleagues."

  "You should have," I said, managing a small smile, "but, like I said, I stopped blaming you for all of this weeks ago. You can't shoulder the burden of everything that happens to the people you know, Sebastian. Proximity doesn't equal fault. I've forgiven you, but our relationship will never work unless you forgive yourself too."

  Some of the tension drained out of his face. "You're right. The thought of you being in danger just tears me up, that's all. If I lost you..." he shook his head.

  I reached out and weaved my fingers through his. "You won't. The odds may be bad, but so far, we've survived everything they've thrown at us. We'll get through this, we just need to focus." I wasn't quite as confident as all that, but I knew that he needed to hear it. If, by some miracle, we were to beat this thing, we needed to keep our eyes on the prize.

  It seemed to work. After a few seconds, his jaw tightened and he nodded. "That sounds like a plan."

  "But not tonight," I continued. "We can't do anything until we hear back from everyone, so tonight, let's forget all about this and just be a couple, out on a date. I want to remember what it's like to feel normal again, even if it's just for one night."

  His lips gradually curled upwards. "I can do that."

  And so we did. For the next two hours, we talked about everything but the lurking danger. He seemed to enjoy hearing about my antics with the girls and, thankfully, Ruth provided enough material to base an entire sitcom on. Pretty soon we were both in hysterics, our stomachs aching from laughter.

  The pizza was spectacular. Thinly cut and dripping with cheese, it tasted as delicious as it did unhealthy, and it was exactly the kind of comfort food I needed.

  When we'd had our fill, we caught a cab a few minutes north to the nearest cinema. Out on the street, I found myself glancing over my shoulder a few times, but nobody was paying any attention to us. It appeared Sebastian had been right. We were off the grid.

  None of the films playing really looked interesting, but I didn't care. It was more the act of going to the movies than the movie itself. Something about going on such a mundane date with Sebastian pleased me immensely. It felt like the kind of date I'd have gone on with a university boyfriend. There was no fanciness to it, no expectations or desire to impress. It was just the two of us hanging out and enjoying one another's company.

  We settled on some big budget sci-fi title that seemed like it might at least look impressive on the big screen. It was a relatively quiet session, with only fifteen or so other people in the cinema. We took up residence somewhere towards the back.

  Within about ten minutes, I was bored. It did look spectacular, but the script sounded like it had been written by an internet chatroom bot, and every member of the cast seemed to be too busy practising Blue Steel to actually display any other facial expressions.

  Apparently, Sebastian felt the same way. "Is this what counts for cinema these days?" he whispered. "It's been a while since I've been to the movies, so I'm a little out of touch."

  I shook my head. "I don't go much either, but this is definitely scraping the bottom of the barrel. I'm not sure I can take another hour and a half."

  His eyes took on a wicked glint. "Perhaps I can find a way to make that time a little more bearable." Lifting the armrest so there was nothing between us, he slipped closer, burying his face against my head and breathing in deeply. "I wouldn't want you to be bored," he said, in a soft throaty voice, and before I knew it, his hand was skimming gently up my leg.

  I laughed at his audacity and then glanced around. There was another couple in our row, about eight seats over, and a group of three guys just a few rows in front. Nobody was paying any attention to us so far, but it wouldn't take much to change that.

  "Sebastian," I said, nodding at the couple and raising my eyebrows.

  He grinned like a child who knew he was about to do something naughty and just didn't care. "They're not paying attention." Pulling away momentarily, he shrugged off his jacket and threw it over both our laps. "And if they are, now all they'll see is a cold girl and her chivalrous boyfriend."

  Before I could argue, his hand was climbing my thigh once more. I felt like I should keep up the pretence of resistance, but the truth was, my heart was already beating wildly, and the closer he drew to my sex, the less fighting it
seemed to matter.

  His fingers inched upward until they found my panties, tugging them to the side. The first touch was soft, a gentle caress from my entrance all the way up, and I felt myself grow wet almost instantly. I let out a little sigh and sunk deeper into my seat to give him better access. Taking my cue, he slipped one long finger inside me, teasing and probing until he eventually settled on my g-spot. That sudden contact sent a spike of pleasure through me, drawing a sharp gasp from my lips.

  "Uh uh, quiet now," he whispered. "We wouldn't want to alert our audience."

  I swallowed loudly and clamped my mouth closed, glancing around the room once more. All eyes were still fixed on the screen, although the couple in our row both looked to be wearing tighter expressions than before. Was it just the film? Or were they onto our game and simply trying to ignore us? I felt an uneasy excitement settle in my stomach, the same kind of perverse thrill I'd experienced wearing the butt plug around my office.

  Sebastian stroked me with a slow, rhythmic motion, and everything began turning to liquid inside me. A second finger joined the first, and I bit back another cry, curling my hands tightly around the arm rests for fear that my movements would betray us.

  "Do you like that?" Sebastian breathed into my ear. "Do you like being pleasured in a room full of people?"

  I nodded quickly, not trusting myself to do more than that.

  "God, you feel so good around my fingers. I wish I had something else inside you. But I can wait. I'll fuck you soon enough."

  For a moment, all I could think about was having his cock inside me, but then his thumb found my clit, and all other thoughts fled. There was just his hand and the exquisite things it was doing to me. The simultaneous stimulation was incredible. I had no idea how he was so dexterous, but every motion seemed to work together in perfect harmony. A tightness began to build in my core, beckoning, begging for release.

  "I want you to come for now me, Sophia, and I want you to do it without making a sound."

  I wasn't sure that was going to be possible. Even with my mouth firmly shut, there were shrill little noises escaping my throat. But I sure as hell wasn't going to stop and tell him that.