"Please don't tell me you made a deal with the devil in order to talk to me," I said as I answered the phone. I heard Adrian scoff on the other line, and I could easily imagine the eye roll that would accompany it.

"Little Dhampir, have some faith in me. Your father is hardly the devil," he replied.

"Might as well be. Now tell me, what exactly did you agree to?" I questioned.

"If you must know, Rose, the deal was in my favor. Your father came looking for you, and I was the only one with answers. Well, the only one willing to talk. Simple as that."

"So how does the phone factor in?" I asked.

"I suggested to your father that it wasn't good to have you so isolated. He agreed," I laughed.

"You'd really do anything to talk to me, huh? You miss me that much?" My heart clenched at the thought. If only I could have even half the love I felt for Dimitri in Adrian, maybe things wouldn't be so difficult.

"You know I can't stand to be away from you. It's not all about me, though. I made sure the phone has a few other numbers. Your best friend's, for example."

"Is there someone expecting a call from me?" I asked, trying to see what Adrian had told the others left at Court. I didn't know if I could handle talking to Lissa just yet, I really didn't want the pressure.

"No one's expecting anything. In fact, they'd be completely surprised to hear from you. I just want you to know I'm not the only one who misses you..." he trailed off. I felt a bit guilty after he said that, but then I remembered why I agreed to come. I needed to heal.

At that moment Sydney walked through the door into our bedroom. She gave me an apologetic look and made to leave, but I waved her inside. I didn't want to kick her out of her space. Plus, it gave me a good reason to end the phone call.

"Thanks for that, Adrian. Listen, I have to go. But I'll call you soon, okay? I promise," I told him. We exchanged goodbyes before I hung up, cradling the phone in my hand.

I could feel Sydney's eyes on me, but I couldn't bear to look up at her until I had seen the names plugged into my contact list. I quickly scrolled through to see the people Adrian thought were important to me. He didn't do a terrible job. There were only four total, but every single name contained some heartbreak and complicated feelings.

Abe Mazur

Adrian Ivashkov

Dimitri Belikov

Lissa Dragomir

I had my finger hovering over Lissa's name, wanting so badly to hear her voice. Checking in through the bond suddenly didn't feel like enough when I had the option to have a conversation with her. The more I thought about her, the more I realized the distance was taking it's toll. It was so tempting to press call.

I was about to break when I remembered that it wouldn't change anything about our current situations. I still had a job to do, and she was still trying to protect Dimitri. I hit the lock button on my phone and turned my attention to Sydney. I wasn't sure how long I was focused on my phone, but it was enough time for her to fall asleep. I turned on my side, not wanting to wake her. I would have to wait until tomorrow to talk to her.

I was the first to wake up the next morning. I went downstairs and made some coffee to drink while I checked my email. There was no acknowledgement of my passive aggressive report, and it made me even more annoyed with the Queen, which I didn't think was possible. I put too much work into that email to get no response.

There was, however, another message from Guardian Croft. He had more targets for me to take a look at, with a message to 'take your pick' from the ones he sent. I had the feeling he was trying to make up for the last mission from the looks of these targets. They were mostly couples, and all missions had a simple kill order. They were so similar they almost blended together, and none of them seemed to take priority over the others.

Eventually Christian and Eddie walked downstairs together, and I called out to them as they entered the kitchen.

"Which is the better road trip destination? Middle of nowhere Kentucky, or middle of nowhere North Carolina?"

"The shortest drive. It makes the trip back much more bearable," Eddie replied. I understood the sentiment. Sitting in the car for hours on end while weighed down with injury was not my definition of fun.

"I second that!" Christian said as he poured himself a cup of coffee, "Did you eat yet?" He asked, turning to me. I shook my head no and continued to read through the files.

Soon I had a plate of scrambled eggs and toast in front of me, and I sat chatting with the boys as we ate. I made sure to check in on Eddie and see how he was healing. Even though these targets were considered "easy", I wasn't willing to go on even one mission with someone missing. I was starting to take a kind of "all or nothing" approach to the team.

Thankfully he was feeling better, and I decided we'd start on the list tomorrow. It made us all ansty to sit in the house for too long. It seemed like each of us was running from something, and that meant we all needed the distraction.

We were soon joined by Mikhail and Sydney, and the five of us lapsed into another strategy session. We all agreed to go to Kentucky instead of North Carolina. The shorter drive sentiment was shared by all, and I knew we'd all dread heading to North Carolina eventually. I briefly wondered if we would ever get missions on the other side of the country, but I pushed that thought aside and got back to brainstorming.

Soon enough Sydney and Mikhail took Christian into town for a feeding, and Eddie and I decided to pass the time sparring. I trusted him when he said he was feeling better, but I wanted to see for myself if he was lacking any mobility from the injuries. He was a little stiff at first, but he soon warmed up and fought like he hadn't just been seriously injured. No doubt thanks to our good dhampir genes.

Spending time training with Eddie reminded me of our time at the academy. I could tell he thought the same, and we both shared the same kind of looks we did when we got back from Spokane, suddenly one member down from our friend group. I knew how close Eddie and Mason were, and I could only imagine we shared the same guilt about what happened. But this mission was a fresh start, and neither of us wanted to keep dwelling on the past.

The others got home fairly quickly, only stopping at the feeder's house before coming home. We all hung out in the living room playing some video games for a few hours. Everyone took turns except Christian, and I knew something was up. I didn't want to ask him how he was doing in front of everyone, so I waited until he excused himself and walked up the stairs a few steps behind him.

"What's wrong, Sparky?" I asked once we reached the top of the stairs. He ignored me and walked into the boys' bedroom. I paused and opted to lean on the doorframe instead of following him inside. I raised my brows at him, waiting for an answer.

"Nothing," he finally responded. I rolled my eyes.

"C'mon, I thought we were besties now? You can tell me what's bothering you."

"Nothing serious," he amended, plopping down on one of the beds.

"Don't make me say it," I made a face as he looked at me, questioning clear in his eyes, "I care about you Sparky, please talk to me."

I dropped the face so he knew I was serious. He gave me a hard look, as if he was deciding if I was telling the truth or not. Finally he started talking.

"I miss Lissa," he said in a quiet voice. I walked into the room and sat next to him on the bed.

"I do too," I said, "but not in the same way you do."

"Obviously," he snorted. I laughed back at him, and it helped ease some of the tension. He opened up a little more before I had the chance to respond.

"I just wish I could talk to her, hear her voice, you know? I just keep thinking about how I blindsided her when I left. I was so upset, and at the time I thought I was doing the right thing. The more I think about it, the more I'm not sure," he said.

"Do you want to go home?" I asked. I felt a pang in my stomach, and I knew I would miss him if he decided to leave. I would never admit that to him, though.

"No, that's not what I mean. I like being here, and I'm staying as long as you all do. I just wonder, when this is all over, when we go home, if there will be a chance for us again," he said, tears gathering in the corner of his eyes.

"Oh, Sparky," I said and grabbed him around the shoulders into a bone crushing hug. He huffed at the nickname, but he eventually hugged me back.

"I mean, don't you feel the same about Dimitri?" He asked. I dropped my arms and pulled back from him, not expecting that question.

"Dimitri and I are over. What we had is gone," I answered in a cool voice. I wrapped my arms around my middle, needing the support. I saw Christian roll his eyes before continuing.

"You can lie to yourself, but you can't lie to me. I know you still love him," he told me. I flinched, not realizing it was that obvious.

"But he doesn't love me anymore. You can't exactly go back to someone who doesn't have feelings for you," I told him. I suddenly felt an overwhelming need to get out of the room. I could feel the walls closing in on me, and I didn't want Christian to see me collapse in on myself.

I tried to think on my feet and made a decision I wasn't sure if I would regret later. I took the phone Abe had given me out of my back pocket. Christian asked me where it came from, and I tried to sum it up as quickly as I could. I told him it couldn't be traced back to us and that Lissa's number was already programmed in. I also made sure he knew not to give away any information that would compromise the taskforce or our location. He nodded, and I started to leave the room.

"I'll give you some privacy," I said as I turned to leave.

"I think we both know that's impossible," he said, referring to my bond with Lissa, "but thanks, Rose. I'm looking forward to you telling me how I said everything wrong."

I rolled my eyes and made my way down the hall to my own room. I laid on the bed and tried to will myself to sleep as quickly as possible, but I couldn't help but take a quick peek into Lissa's mind. I told myself I just wanted to make sure she was okay hearing from him, but a part of me wondered if it'd be so bad to stay for the whole conversation.

I jumped into her mind right as her phone started ringing. I could tell she was just waking up for the day, having breakfast downstairs. I didn't see anyone else, but if I had to guess, her shadow would be standing against the wall in proper guardian form.

My suspicions were confirmed when I heard her gasp "Christian?" into the phone and Dimitri jumped into view. I could hear Christian brag through the phone about the rules he was breaking to talk to her, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes. It worked though, Lissa was thoroughly impressed. I begrudgingly admitted to myself that Sparky had some game, and I swore I would never let him know I thought so.

They hadn't even been talking for two minutes and I could already tell what happened between them was forgiven. It was like they melted for each other, and I wondered what it would be like to have things be so easy. Nothing in my life had ever just worked out like that, and I had to push my jealousy away to be happy for my friends.

Christian did a good job at keeping our secrets, and Lissa agreed not to mention anything to anyone. Well, except Dimitri, of course. He was practically breathing down her neck, his eyes trying to convey a message to her that I couldn't understand. Finally she asked the question, and things clicked into place for me.

"Can I talk to Rose?" She said it so casually, as if she hadn't betrayed me just a few weeks ago. Christian might be able to forgive her easily, but I wouldn't be swayed by a single phone call.

"Is it you that wants to do the talking?" He asked, voice turning hard.

"Of course I want to talk to her. I need to apologize, to let her know how much I miss her..." she trailed off, "But..."

"She doesn't want to talk to him," Christian answered.

"Maybe it's not all about her. Maybe it would be good for both of them," she snapped back.

"It's just not an option. Hopefully I can convince her to talk to you soon, but even that would be a miracle," he joked, trying to break the tension.

The two of them laughed and moved on to lighter topics before saying goodnight. I could tell through the bond that there was so much more Lissa wanted to say. She was happy Christian called, but she was also fearful of what could happen in the future. I had to pull away when I saw them hang up and Dimitri leaned back against the wall, looking defeated.

If he didn't let go of the guilt, it would drive him crazy. I was sure of it.