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Colby stood as she approached the table. “It looks like you had a good night’s sleep. You look more refreshed than I’ve seen you since you came to Windsong.”
“I am. The room is gorgeous and the bed amazing. Thank you.”
“Colby was just telling us you were attacked on the train,” said Winter.
She and Winter had always had a wary respect for one another. Brie was certain it was because Winter was one of the people closest to Colby and so would have known of her unwillingness to commit to him and the pain that had caused him. It had taken Brie years to accept that he did truly care for her and believed her to be his fated mate. It was that easy for him; not so much for her. It was only recently that she realized as long as she continued to sleep with him now and again, he would never move past her and seek another.
Colby helped Brie into her seat as she replied. “Yes. I don’t know what Colby thinks or has said, but I find it unsettling that they seemed to know we were coming.”
Winter nodded as she took a bite of the thick bacon and moaned. “Sean, can’t we kidnap Maya and turn her against Colby? Nobody can turn out a meal the way that she can.”
Sean chuckled. “I fear your former alpha would come looking for my head on a platter if we did. Strode can take over the world and he’d be mildly annoyed, but someone stealing Maya? That would be cause for him to have the culprit drawn and quartered.”
“Well,” drawled Colby, “there’s world domination, and then there’s Maya’s cinnamon rolls.”
“Trust me, world domination pales in the face of Maya’s cooking,” agreed Winter.
It was easy to see the affection and respect Colby and Winter had for one another.
“Were you two here last night?” Brie asked as her sense of smell was tantalized by the aroma of fresh baked cinnamon rolls made with Ceylon cinnamon, the most expensive and rarest kind. She only knew that because she’d asked Maya about it.
“Nay,” said Sean. “We flew in this morning via chopper. Winter figured if Strode attacked last night, he most likely knows where ye are. We brought down a few of the boys to round out those Colby had here. We’ve talked about Adriana coming north with us.”
Brie took a bite of the cinnamon roll and could not help but moan.
“I know, right?” said Winter.
Brie grinned at her. “You just can’t help it. Colby did say something about sending Adriana north to you, but I think he was hoping to use her to bait the hook just a bit.”
“I think it’s safe to say, Strode knows she’s here,” said Colby.
“Aye, but what I didn’t realize—until we were inside—was just how many men you have here. The place has a fucking battalion.”
“We’ve made sure to move people in quietly, slowly, and so no one can guess how many. I want Strode to think it’s safe to come after us here, in person…”
“Do you think he’ll do that?” asked Brie.
“He’s going to have to leave Lundy Island at some point or else those who follow him will begin to wonder about his courage and honor…”
“I suspect you’ve had a hand in that as well,” said Brie with a smile.
Colby nodded. “I have. I want to force him out where we can control as much of the engagement as possible. We’re close enough to make it strategically easy for him. I’ll be here, and it’s my head he wants most, and now we have Adriana. He’s lost her twice. That’s got to be fanning the dissension in the ranks. I don’t want to move her until Strode takes a run at us.”
“That makes some sense. Shall we make a big show of leaving without her?” asked Brie.
“That might not be a bad idea, but I would like to stay behind,” said Winter. “You have no beta, and our men know me. I think I can help you get them up to speed.”
“Sean?” Colby asked.
Sean nodded. “As much as I don’t like being parted from her, as usual, Winter makes sense.”
“Agreed,” said Colby. “For one thing, it certainly will help to have Winter here, and for a second, it might make Strode think we are woefully short on manpower.”
They finished breakfast, and Colby and Winter escorted Sean to the helicopter that had brought them there. It wasn’t like the sleek, elegant ones Colby had, but was a military gunship and made no pretension to be otherwise. As the chopper lifted off, Winter waved and blew a kiss to Sean, who caught it and held it to his heart. Brie wondered what it might be like to have that kind of ease with a man as she walked out to the helipad to join them.
“Colby,” said Winter, “I’m going to go catch up with the men and start putting together a better watch plan.”
“That would be great, Winter. I appreciate you staying.”
