“No.” I push off him and step in front of the fire pit, starting to pace.
“We have to do something. Anything. Our parents might not even be part of this, which means we’re giving up on her out of loyalty to The Company when The Company might not even deserve it.”
I look between them as my chest tightens.
“Victor, you’re the best tracker we have. Riggs is top of his class for spying. Nobody can beat Roman in weapons and Atlas already runs rings around anyone in The Company for hacking.”
My gaze locks on Felix.
“Don’t you want to use everything in your arsenal to get her back? It’s Robyn.”
I drag in a breath, shaking my head.
“The Company have been acting scared of us for years. Why the fuck do we meet here if they’re not monitoring us more than other recruits?”
I take a step closer to Felix as my my voice drops lower and firmer.
“If we do this right, if we follow your strategy, we don’t just get her back… we can end whoever took her.”
I’m heaving by the time I finish, my eyes flicking between them, daring them to take me seriously.
“She might have just left, Tink,” Roman says quietly, like he’s almost afraid to upset me.
I scoff at that. Of course Roman would think that. He cannot process that people love, feel, and respect other humans. He is one of the most intelligent men I know, yet the dumbest when it comes to human interactions.
“And if that’s the case, it’ll be easy to find her. When we do, I’ll speak to her in private and ask why she left like this.” I shake my head. “But she didn’t, Roman. She wouldn’t. I know she wasn’t looking forward to graduation or the prospect of leaving us behind, but I refuse to believe she just left and didn’t even leave a note.”
“What are the options?” Victor asks.
“She is either lying in a ditch somewhere or someone has taken her.” Felix’s solemn voice makes Riggs visibly shiver.
“What the fuck was the point in everything we’ve been through if we can’t use it to help our friend?”
“Well, I’m in,” Felix says, giving a firm nod.
The rest of the room falls silent for a moment before a chorus of “I’m in” follows. Roman is the last to speak.
He slowly stands, every movement calculated as he steps towards me. Placing his forefinger beneath my chin, he forces me to arch my neck back.
“You do what your brother plans, as he plans and never go off task Tinkerbell. Run with logic, not emotion. We do not know what we are walking into. It could be dangerous. Do I make myself clear?”
I want to scoff. The inner feminist in me wants to tell him to choke on a cock for dictating what I can and cannot do, but mybody clearly does not agree. Heat pools low in my stomach at the close proximity of this beautiful man. I hate the reaction I always have to him. I hate it even more that I can never act on it.
Regardless of the storm brewing inside me, my head nods before my brain can catch up.
“Words, Tink,” he mutters, licking his lips, his voice settling somewhere it shouldn’t, familiar in a way that makes my chest tighten.
“I agree.”
“Good.” He drops my chin and takes a step back, breaking the spell that always seems to happen between us.
The smile Roman gives me sends a chill down my spine. For a split second, doubt creeps in.
Then I remember my best friend is missing.
And there is not a deal in this world I wouldn’t sign to bring my tornado home.
CHAPTER 3