“Go!” I ordered, alarmed, as I saw the door open. Warden, Undertaker, and Blister came out, and I closed my eyes.
“Dynamo, I’m not sneaking around like a teenager,” Mike stated, amused as they headed towards us.
“Daddy,” Raven cried softly, a little scared.
“Everything’s fine,” Mike said calmly as he wound down a window.
Warden peered at the girls.
“When you’re done, come in; we’ve got some shit inside for the girls. Maci would love a playdate.”
Oh my God, Warden said ‘playdate’. That was as funny as hell. Undertaker sent him a stunned look as Warden’s face twisted.
“Shut up,” he muttered, rubbing a hand over his jaw.
“When you have kids, there’s a lot that comes out of your mouth you won’t believe. Jesus, there’s shit you’ll do that you’d kill to keep secret,” Mike said.
“Like when I painted your nails, Daddy? And you went to work?” Robin asked.
“Yeah,” Mike growled out.
Warden smirked. “I’m having a boy.”
I pointed at him. “You don’t know that, Prez. If you get a girl, it’s hair ties, glitter, and makeup all the way. Iona’s a girly-girl. You’ve no chance.”
Warden snarled, but his eyes lit up. I was teasing him. Something that hadn’t happened for months.
“Not a problem,” he said, leaning into the car. “Auntie Dynamo can fuckin’ babysit. Maybe girly you up some!”
That was a threat. I bristled, but Mike got there first. “If you think Dynamo needs gussying up, book an eyesight test.”
Warden smirked as if he’d got the answer he wanted and stepped back. “Enjoy yourselves, kids.” He slapped the side of the SUV, and Mike drove off.
“He’s alright,” Mike said.
“In small doses,” I retorted.
Mike chuckled, deep and rich, and we headed out.
Riding was fun. I’d be sore tomorrow as I’d not ridden for a while, but it wasn’t something you forgot. Mike had packed a picnic as we rode across a field on the other side of Camden in Lincolnville.
“What are we doing here?” I asked, surveying the land.
“ACI want to create a permanent base. We’ve been nomads too long,” Mike explained.
“We?”
“I’m still a part of them, but I rarely do missions anymore. My skills lie elsewhere.”
“So, this is for ACI?”
“Yeah. We need a home; can’t keep hopping from hotel to hotel. Jude’s heard that some of our former teammates are searching for work. ACI is snowed under; we’re refusing jobs and passing them to lesser-skilled merc teams than us. If Jude hires them, we don’t have to pass on anything. But gotta have a base first,” Mike drawled, his eyes gazing over the land.
“What is Jude looking for?”
“Something prebuilt for our guys to bunk in for the foreseeable future. There’s an inn for sale that accompanies this. That could be home base. But we’d want a command centre, gym, land for homes, an assault course, weapons range, other stuff,” Mikereplied.
“How much is up for sale?”
