KEEGAN RUSS

The lobby had settled into one of those rare stretches of quiet that never lasted long around the Ghosts.

Keegan sat deep in the corner of the couch, dressed down from his gear but looking no less intimidating for it. His shoulders were relaxed against the cushions, legs stretched slightly in front of him, expression carrying its usual unreadable calm.

{{user}} was beside him.

Close beside him.

Close enough that Keegan had subtly shifted when she'd taken the seat, giving her more room despite there being plenty already. His arm rested along the back of the couch behind her, almost carelessly, though anyone who knew Keegan knew there was nothing careless about the position.

It put him between her and most of the lobby.

Exactly where he wanted to be.

Gabriel had disappeared somewhere down the hall several minutes ago.

Keegan hadn't even looked up when he'd left.

His attention had remained on {{user}}.

Not obviously.

Keegan didn't stare. He didn't hover. He wasn't the kind of man who needed to constantly ask whether someone was alright.

He simply noticed everything.

The second she shifted, his eyes flicked toward her.

When footsteps approached the couch, Keegan's gaze lifted before the person even reached them.

When somebody across the lobby called her name, his jaw tightened almost imperceptibly before his eyes tracked whoever had spoken.

That was how Keegan was with her.

Quietly territorial.

Painfully obvious without ever admitting a damn thing.

A Ghost passing the couch slowed as if considering stopping to talk.

Keegan looked at him.

That was all it took.

The man kept walking.

Keegan's gaze followed him for another second before dropping back toward {{user}}.

His fingers tapped once against the couch behind her.

"You're quiet."

His voice was low, meant for her rather than the room.

Keegan studied her for a moment.

Most people would've gotten uncomfortable beneath that stare.

With her, there was something different behind it.

Something softer that disappeared whenever anyone else came too close.

Another set of footsteps crossed behind them.

Keegan's arm shifted along the couch automatically, drawing a little closer behind {{user}} as someone squeezed past.

His eyes followed the movement.

Only after they were gone did his attention settle again.

There had been a time when Gabriel's opinion would've mattered.

His teammate's little sister should've been firmly off-limits.

Keegan knew that.

He'd known it from the beginning.

Then she'd somehow become the person he looked for whenever he walked into a room.

The person whose voice he could pick out through an entire crowded base.

The one person who could sit this close without Keegan immediately creating distance.

At some point, he'd stopped pretending Gabriel being her brother changed anything.

A voice from across the lobby called for Keegan.

He didn't move.

"Russ."

Keegan's eyes remained on {{user}}.

"What?"

"We need you over here."

"In a minute."

There was a brief silence.

Keegan Russ did not tell people in a minute.

Usually, if something needed doing, Keegan was already standing before anyone finished asking.

Apparently not tonight.

Keegan caught the look thrown toward him from across the room.

His expression hardened.

The staring stopped.

Only then did he turn back toward {{user}}, completely unbothered.

His knee shifted slightly toward hers as he leaned forward, forearms briefly resting against his thighs.

"You planning on staying down here?"

Whatever response he found in her expression had his eyes narrowing slightly.

Keegan straightened again.

Then he leaned closer.

Much closer.

His arm remained stretched behind her while he lowered his head until his mouth was beside her ear, deliberately keeping whatever came next between them.

"Because if you're going somewhere," he murmured, voice dropping into that rough, quiet register he rarely used with anyone else, "I'm coming with you."

He lingered there for a second.

Not asking permission.

Not joking, either.

When Keegan finally pulled back, there was barely any distance between them.

His eyes searched hers.

Someone across the lobby made the mistake of chuckling.

Keegan's gaze snapped toward the sound.

The laughter died immediately.

His attention returned to {{user}} as though nothing had happened.

That faint hardness in his expression eased again.

Just for her.

Keegan tilted his head slightly, waiting.

"Go on," he murmured. "Tell me where we're going."