Page 34 of Barinov

“She would lose her mind,” I add, softening my voice. “If she found out you gave up Worlds because of her.”

Haley lets out a broken laugh. “She’d murder us.”

Ellie sniffs, wiping her nose on her sleeve. “She really would.”

I nod. “So you go. You practice. You kick ass at Worlds. And when Bella comes home, because she will, you can tell her you’re a world champion.”

Ellie’s shoulders shake as she nods against my chest.

Lex watches us for a moment, something unreadable in his eyes. “Good,” he says. “Then it’s settled.”

“I’m coming too,” Roman says, swaying just a tad.

“You were just shot. You need rest.”

“Try and stop me,” he bites back, his voice thinning. “He took my daughter, Lex. If you think I’m sitting this out then you’ve got—”

“And when you face-plant in the jungle somewhere because your fucking chest opens up again, then what?”

“I’ll be fine.”

“The hell you will. You’ll just get in the—”

“L’ombre, that’s enough.” Sabine’s smooth voice cuts through the heat. She steps closer and lies a steady hand on Lex’s tensed arm. “I’ll tend to him and make sure he’s whole. You let him go.”

Lex’s jaw works, muscles bunching under her palm. But he doesn’t shake her off.

Before he can argue, Knox clears his throat. “There’s one more thing.”

Everyone looks at him.

Knox gestures around at the laptops, the weapons, and all of the blankets on the floor. Then to the girls curled in my arms on the couch. “If we’re doing this for days, weeks… hell even months, this isn’t going to work.”

“What are you saying?” Lex asks.

“I’m saying we need a command center,” Knox replies. “A real one. Somewhere secure that’s built for this kind of shit.”

“The Obsidian.” Roman coughs, bracing himself on the table. He glances around the room. Taking in the chaos and exhaustion. The way none of us have slept properly in days.

“You can have it. It’s secure and reinforced.” He winces, shoving the towel harder against his seeping wound. “Enough server room for whatever you could possibly need. And it’s right under NOX, so everyone can have a room. No more sleeping on the floors.”

Chapter 9

LEX

NOX - Room 1122

Waiting for some damn coordinates.

11 days since Bella’s kidnapping.

Cade’s arm is slung over my chest. We’re both stripped down to nothing but boxers, tangled in sheets we never planned to use. His intoxicating cedar and ink scent clings to the pillow, to me, and fills the air around us. I don’t move. Don’t dare to breathe too deep.

No way in hell am I about to wake him up.

His body finally gave up around one-thirty this morning after hours of tossing and turning. He never said it out loud, but he’s nervous about tomorrow.

We all are.