The Gender Game 5: The Gender Fall(95)

32





Violet





Eight hours later, I was in my room, packing my bag, amazed at how quickly everything seemed to have come together. Ms. Dale had her conversation with Jeff, and, after only an hour and a half of what must have been carefully placed questions on Jeff’s part, he had reported back that, almost always, emergency vehicles that left the city were given blanket clearance upon re-entry. Apparently, Elena’s desire to appear merciful had helped play into our hands.

After that, Jeff had reached out to Anello Cruz, asking if the former fighter turned security advisor would be so kind as to give his family, who were coming into the city to undergo their registration process, a tour of the stadium. He had played to Cruz’s ego, promising that his family were all huge fans, and the man had fallen for it hook, line, and sinker. I smiled at the very thought. I had no idea how good a valet Jeff had been, but as a spy and manipulator of assets, he excelled.

And now everyone was getting ready, packing their own equipment, just as I was. There was no way I was going to sit this one out. Not again, not after what had happened the last time. The worry alone had made me sick to my stomach, and this time around there would be little to no communication with our base, as Ms. Dale, Thomas, and Amber had insisted it would be too much of a risk. Using our handhelds that close to Elena’s forces meant a higher chance of them tracing our calls and intercepting us—or finding their way back to our allies.

I was busy folding up a set of slightly-too-big black pants when the door swung open with a creak and Viggo walked in. He leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms as I finished folding and set the pants in my bag. I tried to make the motion look as effortless as possible, but the cast around my arm made it almost laughable.

“What are you doing?” Viggo asked roughly.

I picked up a flashlight, shoving it into the bag as well, and didn’t look at him. “I think it’s pretty obvious.”

I cringed at the tone of my voice. I had already dropped into defensiveness in anticipation of the fight brewing. I knew Viggo was going to fight me on my decision to go, and I was already snapping at him. It wasn’t right, and it wasn’t how I’d planned to do this.

I looked up to see him glowering at me. “I’m sorry,” I said, fidgeting slightly. “I didn’t mean to sound snappy.”

Viggo took a step into the room, turning to close the door behind him. I heard him take a deep breath, in and out, before he came about to face me.

“We had an agreement,” he said quietly, his eyes dropping to my cast and then rising back up to take in my bare scalp. I reached up to run my fingers over it, feeling the coarse, short hairs prickling me.

“I know, but I’m fine,” I insisted. “I haven’t had a dizzy spell since—”

“Yesterday,” Viggo said sternly.

“How did you know that?” I asked.

“People in the camp are keeping an eye on you,” he supplied. A flash of irritation made my skull heat up, but he held up his hands, palms out in a calming gesture. “I didn’t request it. Everyone is just worried about you. They want to make sure you aren’t pushing yourself too hard. They keep coming up to me and asking me how you’re doing, telling me all these reasons they’re concerned you’re working too much.”

I ran my hands over my head again, the emotions that flooded through me at that statement too complicated to parse right now. “Look,” I began, “I’m not saying I need to be with you guys every step of the way. I just… I can’t stay here. Not after last mission. It was… it was torment! I had no idea whether you were okay or not, and my mind kept taking me to dark places.”

Viggo frowned, his dark brows furrowing over deep green eyes. I took a deep breath, then moved to him, taking one of his hands into my own. “This is who we are, Viggo,” I reasoned. “We… we will never be the ‘stay behind’ type—we are both best in the moment. We both need to be there so that we can help each other, rescue each other… face these trials together.”

As I spoke, Viggo’s other hand came up and over my left hand, holding it tightly between his two larger ones. “Violet, you know I don’t want you to feel left out. And yes, I agree, as far as teams go, there is no one I would rather have by my side. There is no one I trust more with a mission—and with my life—than you.”

I smiled up at him, beaming with his praise, but the smile died when I saw the hesitation on his face. “But?” I asked.

“But you are not in fighting form right now. I say this with all the love in my heart I can possibly offer up… I know this will hurt you, but you are a liability right now.” He bent his knees a little, bringing his face down to my level, his eyes searching my features for a reaction.