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“You insinuated she was hot enough to fake-drown for”

“She is,” I say “Tell me fourteen-year-old Akara wouldn’t fake-flail in the deep-end hoping she’d dive down and rescue your ass?”

“I wouldn’t Because when I was fourteen, she was eight”

I gri, man She’s twenty-one now”

He whisper-hisses, “And I’ve known her since she was sixteen, Banks She’s like a sister I’ve told you that It’s different for you—it’ll always be different”

Yeah, I haven’t been her bodyguard for years I’ht after the Marine Corps and becauard to Xander Hale I’ve seen Sulli since I enty-two, but I didn’t know her Didn’t spend time with her Not like Akara

I scratch the back of ainst a shelf of tin can pots “Maybe you should go find a mirror and reflect”

His eyes flit to o find some cotton swabs and clean your ears out so I don’t have to repeat the same shit a billion times”

I nod “Who wants to tell her we’rea detour to Bed, Bath, and Beyond after this?”

Akara smiles

I sazes return to Sulli

“She’s Oscar Mike,” I say, telling hio She can’t hear us, but she’s tossing so to the next aisle

As alk, a soft thuht now A fewbags

“What are you doing?” Akara asks, more at my silence

“The usual” I put a toothpick betweenfor s”

“Hey, while you’re waiting, you should go grab a canteen, so to be a long fucking time”

I lift“I have forever”

He laughs into another smile “Funny, so do I”

My mouth curves up “You’re almost as stubborn as my brother”

“That’s not possible”

Thatcher at least acknowledged his attraction to Jane Akara won’t even aduard-client boundary forbids hi boss, and she won’t fire him

Denial—he’s so far in fucking denial that I’ to think this is all a lost cause

Maybe Akara does just see her like a sister, anddirection