Titus nodded as he looked her in the eye, then took a slow, deliberate step backward. “Take care of yourself.”
“Titus…”
He took another step back, his eyes locked on hers, but completely unreadable.
“I’m glad we had some time together,” Hail said.
Titus nodded again, but didn’t reply.
“You’re really going do it this way,” Hail said.
“I’m just a bystander, watching you make your choices,” Titus said.
“You know it’s not what it looks like.”
“Apparently not. You take care, now,” he said, turning his back on her as he walked away.
Hail shook her head, then got in the car.
“You ready?” Storm asked.
“Yeah,” she said. “Get me off this mountain.”
“You know, you don’t have to stay off this mountain,” Storm said.
Hail looked over at her. “I made promises to you and to Athena, and Torrid and Flash, too. I’m not letting any of you down.”
“You have a right to be happy. Athena’s having a baby with Scorn. It’s not like she’s going to be interested in going out on mission. Torrid checked out long ago, and I think Flash is just waiting for the rest of us to choose our futures so she doesn’t have to feel like she’s walking away from anything she was ever a part of. And even if none of that was a fact, there’s nothing forcing you to honor a promise you made before we ever knew freedom was an option,” Storm said.
“You’re doing it,” Hail said.
“I’ve weighed my options, Hail. Nothing else makes me feel safe. All I know is the military. All that makes me feel alive is the military. Alliance and the Variant is as close as I’ll get to the real military ever again.” She snorted a laugh. “Thanks to the military.”
Hail laughed, too. “Ironic, isn’t it?”
“Very much so,” Storm said. “My point is that no one is going to think less of you for going after what calls to you instead of remaining loyal to a team that never should have existed.”
“We’re the only females left, though.”
“And?”
“People expect us to fall short.”
“No, assholes expect us to fall short. There is no ‘short’ in doing what you want instead of what others expect, and fuck them anyway!”
“And not in a good way,” Hail said.
“Amen to that,” Storm said.
“Alright, let’s go,” Frenzy said, as he, Feral, Valid, Fierce and Steve got in the Suburban Hail and Storm both waited in. Fierce started the car and put it in reverse to pull away from Jack’s house and get them back on the drive that would take them down the mountain. “Y’all good back there?” he asked.
Hail and Storm both nodded.
“No shame in getting out right now,” Frenzy said.
“And miss all the fun? Not a chance,” Hail said, her gaze on the males standing near Jack’s house, instead of Frenzy as she answered.
Savage and his team got in the second Suburban.
