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His words should have given her comfort. Instead they had the hint of a bad omen. She couldn’t help feeling that it was too good to be true — setting things right with Ronan, getting Elise out alive, going about her life like she was a normal person, a person who deservedhappiness.
Believing it was harder than it should havebeen.
29
Ronan checkeda stack of ammo before setting it into the black duffel on the terrace. He was checking the ammo while Nick did a last-minute check of the weapons and Braden inventoried the grenades and othersupplies.
They’d been working quietly for the past half hour, each of them checking off boxes in their mental checklists that would ensure they were prepared for anything. The supply check was soothing and Ronan was glad when Nora had convinced Julia to spend an hour on the beach. He’d been able to feel Julia’s tension, to see it in the way she held her body too tight, her spine straight enough to snap while she paced thehouse.
It was a reminder of all that was at stake, a reminder that she was inexperienced, that as much as the Elysium was a wild card, Julia was one too, and her own safety was the biggest thing atstake.
“Something you want tosay?”
He glanced up to find Nick’s eyes on him. Braden was still working, counting out tear gas grenades and setting them in the duffel, but Ronan wasn’t fooled. Braden would be listening to everyword.
Ronan sat back on his heels. Having siblings who knew you so well was a blessing and acurse.
“I want you to promise to get her out,” hesaid.
Nick’s jaw was set, his eyes hard. “That’s theidea.”
“You know what I mean,” Ronansaid.
“Maybe you should spell it out,” Nicksaid.
“I want you to get Julia out no matterwhat.”
Nick held his gaze. “No matterwhat?”
“No matter what.” Ronan was going to leave it at that but decided to make it crystal clear, just to make sure there wouldn’t be any room for Nick to squirm out of it later. “If you have to leave me behind, leave me behind. If you have to sacrifice me, sacrifice me. But whatever happens, you get Julia outalive.”
“That’s the mission now?” It wasn’t really aquestion.
“That’s the mission. In a perfect world, we get Elise too. But the prime directive is to get Julia out alive,” Ronansaid.
Nick set down the semiautomatic weapon in his hand and stood. “So this isn’t a rescue mission anymore. It’s an exercise forJulia.”
Ronan stood, unfurling himself to his full height until he was looking down slightly at his younger brother. “It’s a rescue mission with a caveat: if the rescue means sacrificing Julia, weabort.”
“At any cost?” There was a challenge in Nick’seyes.
“At anycost.”
“Jesus…” Nick turned away, running his hands through his hair before turning back to face Ronan with his eyes blazing. “Are you sure you’re thinking with the head on top of yourneck?”
Ronan’s voice was low. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t saythat.”
“It’s an honest question,” Nicksaid.
They stared each other down, Ronan’s fist balled at his sides as he tried to reign in histemper.
Braden was still kneeling on the terrace, pretending he wasn’t bearing witness to theargument.
Ronan looked at his brother, trying to think of something he could say to make Nick understand. Something that would make it clear that Ronan had thought it through, that he knew exactly what he was doing, that he would do it a hundred times over if it meant keeping Juliasafe.
Nick flinched when Ronan clasped a hand on his shoulder, like his brother had expected to take a fist to thejaw.
He looked in his brother’s eyes. “I loveher.”
