With Love

Chapter Forty-Two

I let out a sigh. She twisted on her heel. "See? And there's the sigh, the 'Oh honey, you're too young to know' bullshit our mother used to spew to me," Amari retorted, her eyes sharp.

An amused laugh left my lips. "Well then, someone finally grew a backbone," I taunted, folding my arms across my chest and strolling up to her, whispering in her ear, "Welcome to the club."

She let out a suppressed screech, her ponytail whipping around as she turned, getting into my face. "Just because you're his favorite now doesn't mean—."

That word triggered something inside me. It snapped my resolve, the game I had been playing. It showed a sliver of truth inside me. "I am his machine," I hissed, "How many times do I need to repeat myself?"I asked rhetorically. "I am his machine, and you are his favorite," I gave her a slow sweep, from her naturally wide innocent blue eyes to her perfectly straight black hair. "Don't confuse the two," I muttered.

A hand braced itself on my shoulder before an easy laugh came from Elijah's lips as he sandwiched himself between us. "Okay, I think that's enough girl power for one day, huh?" He looked over at Jasper for help but our brother only stood there, watching silently.

"You got me on your side and now you're turning your back on me? I thought we were getting closer," Amari said softly, her eyes dimming.

Shit. Elijah, wide-eyed with comically pursed lips, stared at the ground, regretting his decision to step in the middle of us. Elijah didn't do emotion. I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Look, Amari, there are things that I can't disclose right now but—."

The air shifted, silencing my next words.

Something was off.

Jasper straightened to his full height, his narrowed gaze scanning the training area. Elijah stepped away from us, slowly walking to the door that led outside, the garage and house less than one hundred feet up the driveway. Santiago glanced around the room, shifting his weight like he was preparing himself for a fight.

Amari's eyebrows were furrowed, still staring at me waiting for my next words.

A gentle shift of tension encased the room in the seconds it took Elijah to get to the door. There were only a handful of men in here, including us. The door slowly creaked open and Elijah stuck his head out.

I held my breath.

An alarm sound filled the air. The door slammed shut. "Code Black!" Elijah shouted out and suddenly the room was in a frenzy. Dread and panic filled my chest.

The men in the room turned to me, unsure of what to do.

Amari turned to Luca, asking what code black meant. Luca didn't answer. "Get to the manor now!" I shouted.

Santiago sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I'm back for five fucking minutes and the place goes to shit," he muttered, grabbing his shirt off a bench and chasing after the others.

I tossed a glance at my brothers, Luca and Amari. "Go to the bunkers, and don't come out until I come to get you."

My men surged forward, ready to follow instructions while my brothers argued back. "And where the fuck do you think you're going?" Jasper demanded, following my quick steps to the storage room.

"I need to find Atticus," I said, my voice like stone. And Finn.

"Like hell, you're going into that clusterfuck on your own," Elijah said, anger pouring from his body.

A gunshot sliced through the alarm in the distance. They're at the gates. My heart clenched. I needed to go. Now. "You're still healing," I muttered, throwing open a storage locker and punching in a keypad. The wall clicked and moved slowly, opening like a door.