04-30-2019, 10:47 PM
“You may think you’re just here to look pretty, Axel,” she said dryly, “but you are in fact here for your expertise. So no, I am not going to fucking knock.”
He leaned in while Laurie eagerly scanned the documents. Frustration lanced the confession he’d denied her before, and she turned to watch his expression. Their situations were vastly different, and yet the squeeze of those bars was a feeling she understood better than she’d like. Perhaps he sold his own soul to reap the mess he found himself presently in, or perhaps circumstance conspired against him; either way, Natalie was not without compassion, even if it rarely showed. Even if it was not particularly well deserved.
“You sound doubtful. I’ll try not to take that as an insult.” His mannerisms alone made the scathe of his opinion quite clear, and he wouldn’t be the first person to write her off based on whatever was gleaned from first impression. She didn’t take his apparent honesty as a sign of trust so much as a sign of desperation, the scales perhaps for now tipped by the files she handed over to Lawrence. She nodded, though assurances were as thin as the ones he provided her. She wouldn’t waste her breath beyond agreement, for she doubted the legacy of her blood meant much to an American. But she would do it. “You’re just going to have to trust me.”
Her attention returned to Laurie, mulling over the information shared. She didn’t know that the school was where they held Jay. She didn’t know if it was where Diaz would take Cayli. But neither was she willing to allow more time to pass for such variables to become more certain. It was a risk, certainly, but she trusted the deep rooted instinct pushing her forward more than she trusted inertia. Though one word did catch sharp on her attention. Bait? Natalie didn’t turn to the irritation of Axel’s grin, sure to be smug at such an accusation. Neither did she correct it. Cayli was using herself as bait, but since Natalie had been unable to stop her it amounted to the same grim responsibility. It flushed her cold, like Jay might somehow sense the betrayal.
She stood, looping the bag over her shoulder. The power fluttered with her heartbeat, a thrumming reminder tainted by every time it had failed her before. The scars on her wrists itched, the beat of hopelessness ignored. “Any security we should know about?” The question was for Laurie, but her gaze flickered briefly to Axel, soliciting some of that best hope advice he was so keen on bragging about. “Jensen will try and get Cayli out of the States if he can, so even if it is the place she might not show. We’ll discuss details on route.”
He leaned in while Laurie eagerly scanned the documents. Frustration lanced the confession he’d denied her before, and she turned to watch his expression. Their situations were vastly different, and yet the squeeze of those bars was a feeling she understood better than she’d like. Perhaps he sold his own soul to reap the mess he found himself presently in, or perhaps circumstance conspired against him; either way, Natalie was not without compassion, even if it rarely showed. Even if it was not particularly well deserved.
“You sound doubtful. I’ll try not to take that as an insult.” His mannerisms alone made the scathe of his opinion quite clear, and he wouldn’t be the first person to write her off based on whatever was gleaned from first impression. She didn’t take his apparent honesty as a sign of trust so much as a sign of desperation, the scales perhaps for now tipped by the files she handed over to Lawrence. She nodded, though assurances were as thin as the ones he provided her. She wouldn’t waste her breath beyond agreement, for she doubted the legacy of her blood meant much to an American. But she would do it. “You’re just going to have to trust me.”
Her attention returned to Laurie, mulling over the information shared. She didn’t know that the school was where they held Jay. She didn’t know if it was where Diaz would take Cayli. But neither was she willing to allow more time to pass for such variables to become more certain. It was a risk, certainly, but she trusted the deep rooted instinct pushing her forward more than she trusted inertia. Though one word did catch sharp on her attention. Bait? Natalie didn’t turn to the irritation of Axel’s grin, sure to be smug at such an accusation. Neither did she correct it. Cayli was using herself as bait, but since Natalie had been unable to stop her it amounted to the same grim responsibility. It flushed her cold, like Jay might somehow sense the betrayal.
She stood, looping the bag over her shoulder. The power fluttered with her heartbeat, a thrumming reminder tainted by every time it had failed her before. The scars on her wrists itched, the beat of hopelessness ignored. “Any security we should know about?” The question was for Laurie, but her gaze flickered briefly to Axel, soliciting some of that best hope advice he was so keen on bragging about. “Jensen will try and get Cayli out of the States if he can, so even if it is the place she might not show. We’ll discuss details on route.”