Chapter 694

Jesse feels the change in the room almost immediately and turns towards the rest of the group. "Yeah, Rafe beat me in the end," he says with a wide smile, breaking into the silence and carrying on as if nothing happened. He doesn't dropping his hand from its place on Daphne's back but certainly not staring at her anymore like she's the only person in the room – perhaps on earth.

“He had my help," Luca says with a proud smirk, shutting the door behind him and striding happily to the center of the room.

"I mean, if I had simply had command from the start -" Jesse says, sending Jackson a wicked grin.

I look anxiously between my brother and my cousin, seeing the question on Rafe's face as he starts to put together the start of what I've known for a long time.

"Oh, you're lucky I gave it to you at all," Jacks calls, grinning at Jesse as the cheerful vibe returns to the room. I grin a little as I turn my face to Jackson, because it's clear to me that he's completely oblivious to the Daphne drama. Rafe roughly shakes his head like he's trying to clear it, as Daphne moves away from Jesse and takes her spot on the couch next to me. He blinks hard like he's not sure if he believes what he just saw. “And what other choice did you have?" Jesse asks, putting his hands on his hips as everyone else settles into the room. Luca comes to me immediately and I reach out for his hand, squeezing it as he drops a kiss to my cheek and then settles on the floor at my feet.noveldrama

A very tiny growl grumbles in Jackson's chest but I put a hand on his knee and he settles, taking a deep breath and shoving down his newly intensified instincts regarding his mate.

"The other choice would have been me!" Tony says with a happy grin, leaning back on his palms as he sits next to Ben across from me, the coffee table between us. "Though honestly, I was perfectly happy messing around with the drone and the sniper rifle Ari left me." He turns to me with a wink. "Thanks for that, babe."

Luca growls this time and I can't help but laugh.

"Any time, Tones." I say, wrinkling my nose at him.

The dumbwaiter bell rings and Jesse moves off to fetch our dinner as the rest of the group happily chats. My stomach growls audibly as I turn towards the dumbwaiter - we didn't have lunch, after all, and it's been a long and busy day since breakfast. The mood is very cheerful in the room as we all eat the cheeseburgers and fries that the kitchen sent up, everyone filling me in on the results of the games.

Apparently, once Jesse quite ably took control of Jackson's abandoned team, Ben brokered a deal between my brother and my cousin so that Jesse and Rafe took Wright's entire team out together. Then, they went head-to-head in a bloody - or at least paint-y – battle that lasted most of the day. Halfway through the story the results arrive, slipped under our door, and we spend a great deal of time pouring over them and fussing over our victors.

To my distinct pleasure, Tony took top kills again and this time he wasn't disqualified. Luca and Jesse likewise distinguished themselves, though Rafe took the crowning champion spot now that he has two Games wins under his belt,

Jackson, Blythe and I are listed at the bottom of the page with little to distinguish us, except two stars next to my name that indicate I killed two team leaders, alongside DQFF. grin to see the stars, knowing that it probably killed the Captain togive them to me since I earned them in direct rejection of his order that I play the game as assigned.

"Honestly it was a little unfair," Rafe says, turning his eyes towards me, smiling happily now that he's put the Daphne Business out of his mind "It was supposed to be four teams When Jesse and I ganged upon Wright, it was a pretty easy business."

"Yeah well," I say with a happy sigh, stretching my arms above my head. "Sometimes a girl just needs a day off."

“Seriously, Ari,” Ben says, raising an eyebrow at me. “What the hell were you thinking?"

"I was jealous of Tony," I say with a smirk, making my grey-eyed friend burst into a grin. "He can't be the only flashy wild card in the Games. I like to keep people on their toes too."

"Yeah, but you're just a copy cat," my friend says, grinning at me. "I'll always be the progenitor of the plan to toss a grenade into my own team and then go home to chill."

"I live in constant awe of your devious mind, Tony," I say, laughing and giving him a little bow. "I take no credit for originality."

He grins at me and nods and I laugh, loving that we have this connection.

"Seriously, though," Luca says, frowning up at me. “What the hell happened? Jesse told us you just showed up, shot Jacks, and left.”

I don't miss the subtle jealousy in his voice.

"Yeah well," I say with a happy sigh. "I needed to send a message."