Read Online Belle Fury: Manhatten Ten, Book 3 by Lola Dodge - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Lola Dodge
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tossing fresh pizza dough. Mongolian grill. The place was a gourmet buffet. We didn’t exactly cut the line, but a sudden space appeared for us in the crowd of workers. Angel showed me how to order on the touchscreen menu.
By the time we got our table by the windows, the wait staff had poured us lemon water and my chicken Caesar wrap was delivered on a platter.
Angel had a massive Cobb salad, and Ivory had…some sort of questionable red meat. I didn’t want to look too closely. Her predatory grin was back. “They didn’t overcook it today.”
Angel faux-gagged. “Do I have to remind you? Every time you order that, it’s forever sealed into my memory.”
“It’s delicious.”
I bit into my wrap and it tasted like heaven. It was Caesar, for Christ’s sake. They probably rolled the tortillas out on a virgin’s stomach and spiced the dressing with unicorn tears.
“So any suggestions for our book club, Belle? We need outside help.” Angel had turned away from Ivory and the meat-stravaganza.
“You have a book club?” That was so…normal.
“We just finished Gone Girl , but Nil and Thunder almost brawled about it, so we’re looking for something less controversial.”
“The guys are in it?”
“God, no.” Angel shuddered. “We kicked Panther out for inappropriate behavior and Thunder’s probably quitting for good, so just the one. We’d love another female member.”
“Am I staying here that long?” No one had broached any long-term plans with me. I’d assumed I was back to my own devices once I stopped being a danger to the populace.
“As long as you need to. We have jurisdiction over all supers, and that includes providing asylum, so you’re welcome for as long as you want to stay.”
Ivory sliced her steak into pieces. “You should consider joining the Ten.”
Hadn’t we already covered that? “Not a good idea.” And I wasn’t getting the sense that you could just walk into the office and join the club. None of these supers understood how amazing the Ten were to someone used to normal things. I’d always been too busy for TV and magazines, but now that I’d been introduced, even I recognized their faces from billboards. The Ten weren’t so much a group of heroes as the group of heroes.
“We can talk about that later.” Angel waved with her fork. “It’s so unusual for someone to come into their powers so late, and with who you are…the paparazzi will make you miserable. We’ll get you off of Ruin’s floor and you can work on figuring things out once you’re into your own space.”
“Can you get me a barre for the stadium?” If I was going to be here long-term I needed to get outfitted. Scary thought.
Was this really where I belonged? I’d never had the kind of girlfriends who lunched and did book club, but these ladies were hardly housewives.
Why was it so comfortable? It wasn’t real life.
“Sure.” Angel pulled out her phone. “I can get you anything else you need.”
We chatted as we finished our lunches. Panther padded into the cafeteria in actual panther form, butting his head under Ivory’s arm. She scratched his head with love in her eyes and slipped him a piece of meat. Angel lectured him in Spanish as she texted away on her phone. When it rang, she answered in Russian.
This was their reality. Apparently it was about to be mine.
Chapter Eight
Red Ruin
All morning I clicked between work and the video of Belle. Work flew. Fifteen minutes of soul-crushing FBI bureaucracy, a glimpse of Belle spinning like a top. A bullshit e-mail chain for another lawsuit against Steel, and then Belle, almost hovering, her clothes fluttering around her like wings.
That kind of spirit didn’t come around often.
I pushed through lunch, trying to get ahead of the workload. Shit flew as fast as I could shovel, but I was not having it. Couldn’t any of these government douchebags solve a problem?
“Ryan?” Belle poked her head in. “You didn’t
By the time we got our table by the windows, the wait staff had poured us lemon water and my chicken Caesar wrap was delivered on a platter.
Angel had a massive Cobb salad, and Ivory had…some sort of questionable red meat. I didn’t want to look too closely. Her predatory grin was back. “They didn’t overcook it today.”
Angel faux-gagged. “Do I have to remind you? Every time you order that, it’s forever sealed into my memory.”
“It’s delicious.”
I bit into my wrap and it tasted like heaven. It was Caesar, for Christ’s sake. They probably rolled the tortillas out on a virgin’s stomach and spiced the dressing with unicorn tears.
“So any suggestions for our book club, Belle? We need outside help.” Angel had turned away from Ivory and the meat-stravaganza.
“You have a book club?” That was so…normal.
“We just finished Gone Girl , but Nil and Thunder almost brawled about it, so we’re looking for something less controversial.”
“The guys are in it?”
“God, no.” Angel shuddered. “We kicked Panther out for inappropriate behavior and Thunder’s probably quitting for good, so just the one. We’d love another female member.”
“Am I staying here that long?” No one had broached any long-term plans with me. I’d assumed I was back to my own devices once I stopped being a danger to the populace.
“As long as you need to. We have jurisdiction over all supers, and that includes providing asylum, so you’re welcome for as long as you want to stay.”
Ivory sliced her steak into pieces. “You should consider joining the Ten.”
Hadn’t we already covered that? “Not a good idea.” And I wasn’t getting the sense that you could just walk into the office and join the club. None of these supers understood how amazing the Ten were to someone used to normal things. I’d always been too busy for TV and magazines, but now that I’d been introduced, even I recognized their faces from billboards. The Ten weren’t so much a group of heroes as the group of heroes.
“We can talk about that later.” Angel waved with her fork. “It’s so unusual for someone to come into their powers so late, and with who you are…the paparazzi will make you miserable. We’ll get you off of Ruin’s floor and you can work on figuring things out once you’re into your own space.”
“Can you get me a barre for the stadium?” If I was going to be here long-term I needed to get outfitted. Scary thought.
Was this really where I belonged? I’d never had the kind of girlfriends who lunched and did book club, but these ladies were hardly housewives.
Why was it so comfortable? It wasn’t real life.
“Sure.” Angel pulled out her phone. “I can get you anything else you need.”
We chatted as we finished our lunches. Panther padded into the cafeteria in actual panther form, butting his head under Ivory’s arm. She scratched his head with love in her eyes and slipped him a piece of meat. Angel lectured him in Spanish as she texted away on her phone. When it rang, she answered in Russian.
This was their reality. Apparently it was about to be mine.
Chapter Eight
Red Ruin
All morning I clicked between work and the video of Belle. Work flew. Fifteen minutes of soul-crushing FBI bureaucracy, a glimpse of Belle spinning like a top. A bullshit e-mail chain for another lawsuit against Steel, and then Belle, almost hovering, her clothes fluttering around her like wings.
That kind of spirit didn’t come around often.
I pushed through lunch, trying to get ahead of the workload. Shit flew as fast as I could shovel, but I was not having it. Couldn’t any of these government douchebags solve a problem?
“Ryan?” Belle poked her head in. “You didn’t
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