Toy Soldiers (Helford #1)

(16) Open

“So,” Marci said, grinning widely.

“So what?” I asked back, barely looking up from the schoolwork I was actually attempting down on my lap, three different textbooks scattered around the top of my bed. Marci was perched on the edge, watching me expectantly with a grin that reminded me of the Cheshire Cat. I half expected her to disappear before my very eyes.

She nudged my arm, making my pencil skirt across the page and draw a line through my history work. She wagged her eyebrows before making a kissing face.

“You’re disturbed,” I accused.

“No, I’m curious,” she stated matter-of-factly, scooting closer. “What was the date like? And the target? Was he a gentleman or was he like that dude from Moscow who tried to bribe you to strip in front of his friends? He seems like the Nice Guy kind of kid. What restaurant did he take you to? Did he get you flowers? Did he kiss you? Did you let him?”

Moments like there were ones where I almost wished I had never met Marci. Almost.

I sighed heavily, running my fingers through my hair. For the first time in a long time, I was not wearing gloves, and every part of my hands could feel the softness of my hair, the sleek shine I spent much of my time making look perfect. I watched her through narrowed eyes, hoping I was making the most unattractive of faces.

“It was fine,” I said simply.

“No way am I letting you go that easily,” she replied curtly, rolling her eyes. “Come on. Details.”

Still, I didn’t say anything, just sat back and looked at her, wondering what she would want me to say. She reached over and grabbed my shoulders before shaking me, giggling when I let my limbs stay loose and they flailed wildly. She pushed me away, grinning right along with me as I fell back against the pillows.

“Slut,” she said, “you better tell me something before my head explodes.”

“He’s a really nice guy,” I told her, letting out the air in my lungs like I no longer needed to breathe. “He’s probably one of the nicest I’ve ever had to deal with. I guess that’s what happens when I don’t have to deal directly with the scumbags.”

“So he was nice?” she asked, smiling, eager now that she was managing to wrestle some information from me. “Was he excited?”

“Totally,” I said. She snorted.

“I rarely like my men perkier than my boobs,” she told me, making a face. “Cute guys that act like puppy dogs are cute for a little while, but they end up just being too much to handle.”

“Did you really just compare my target to your cleavage?”

She met my eyes with a shy grin, and we both burst out laughing.

“Okay, okay,” Marci called after a moment, still smiling widely from our giggling. Her expression slowly started to fall until she heaved a sigh, and I knew exactly what was coming now. I breathed out a long breath and leaned back against the headboard of my bed, my hands curling tightly into fists from where they were resting in my lap. Her eyes shot up to mine, and my suspicions were concerned. “Rian also asked me to come in here and talk to you.”

I said nothing.

She shifted nervously and added, “About the abduction.”

“I’m not worried,” I told her simply, shrugging. “There hasn’t been another attempt, and frankly I’m not going to think much about it until there is proof that there will be.”

“You know that’s not what I’m talking about,” she said softly.

“I don’t need to go to counseling, Marci, I’m fine,” I insisted to her, a burst of annoyance lighting a fire under my skin because Rian had been worrying about it—again. It had been about a week since the incidence, and he had been asking me questions about it off and on since then. I had pointed out on more than one occasion that what happened that night was not the only time that I had come close to ending up in a hostile situation like an abduction. More than once in my life I had been figured out whether on a mission or not and I had been taken captive. I had been asked questions and my bones have been broken and my skin has been split. The way that Rian regarded it was as if I was a perfectly normal person, and having these moments were not a normal part of my life, was beginning to get under my skin.