I nod, running my hands through my hair and gathering the thick waves into a bun at the nape of my neck.
“What can I do?” Amira asks.
“Go to the tower with your bow,” I say. “Be ready to take out any threats. If Theron or the exiles come into our camp, shoot to kill.”
“Got it.”
Nova radios all the command team members to get strapped and meet outside the Sub. My anger grows with every step I take toward the weapons room.
If anyone from our camp gets hurt, that’s on me, and the chances of it happening are a lot higher now. I led with my heart, and it’s not just myself I’ve put at risk.
I already have a gun in my shoulder holster and a small knife strapped to my ankle. I put on a waist holster and add a second gun and a hunting knife to it.
Niran, loading a gun nearby, gives me a cautious look.
“You good?” he asks.
“Fantastic,” I bite back, grabbing a stun stick.
I storm up the Sub’s ramp, the guards at the door opening it for me. The bright morning sunlight is blinding, so I shield my eyes with a hand.
Several command team members are already here, and so is Pax. I glare at him.
“You know anything about this?”
He puts his palms up. “Would I be here if I did?”
I narrow my eyes. “Don’t answer my questions with questions. Do you know anything about Theron breaking out?”
“No.” His eyes stay locked on mine as he says it. “I wouldn’t put my people at risk by doing something so stupid.”
Nova and Niran walk out at the same time, Nova’s jaw set and her eyes blazing.
“We’ve got all the Tiders in the Hub but the ones out on fishing boats,” she says. “Wyatt, Niran, Chance, coordinate searches of their quarters. Get all their spears into the Sub.”
Vadim, our usually jovial head chef, is approaching us, his expression stern.
“Food was stolen from the kitchen last night,” he says.
I’m such a fool. The Tiders protected Georgie and I immediately let my guard down. They played me and I couldn’t have made it any easier.
“How much?” I ask.
“About ten pounds of dried beef and a dozen eggs.”
Pax groans softly. “Shit.”
I want to go after that Viking bastard. We’ve been feeding him even though he can’t work. Nothing but firing several bullets into him will tame the fury burning in my chest right now.
Why take so little when he could have taken it all, though? It doesn’t add up.
“Adele, take two people from team two and go guard the kitchen,” Nova says. “Briar, put out a shelter order. I want everyDust Walker who isn’t on one of the command teams in the Sub, and I want both security teams guarding it.”
I nod and grab my radio, grateful to Nova for taking charge. As soon as I’ve issued the order, Pax approaches me, his expression sheepish.
“I swear I didn’t know anything about this,” he says.
I think he’s telling the truth, but my judgment got us into this situation.
