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Another hard kiss and I was dumping my shit on the ground and hauling her into me. I only pulled back long enough to growl, “I love you too, Star Sullivan.”
Jaw tense, eyes cold, she nodded at me. “We will see tomorrow.”
Each syllable was like a bullet, settling into my gut with a centripetal force that left me staggered.
“We will see tomorrow,” I rumbled back, trying to imbue the words with the faith I had in her. A faith that was absolute. A faith that was founded in us.
She blew out a breath, then the Star I knew was gone, replaced with one I’d only met in passing.
It wasn’t my woman.
It wasn’t the love of my life.
It was the soldier.
Thank fuck for the soldier, though, because I needed Lodestar to bring her A-game.
She rushed over to Dead To Me and started loading up even more gear as I headed toward the house without a backward glance because that would not be the last time I saw her.
I refused to accept that.
So, I did what I did best.
I obeyed the order on where to position myself and considered it fate that, right beside the goddamn door Troy had described, there was an outlet.
Unpacking my computer from its case, I plugged it in, settled the SMG on the floor and once I piggybacked onto Troy’s Wi-Fi, shot my brothers a warning about Dagda, and used the worm Star had given me—seriously, best gift ever—to begin the process of hammering into Troy’s security so that it unlocked for me.
At the same time, I created a channel that would link us all and, once it opened, demanded, “Check in.”
“Here. 1, over.” Star.
“Here. 2, over.” D.
“Here. 3, over.” Troy.
For an answer, I grunted as I focused on my laptop.
With the worm’s help, I was inside her system in less than a minute.
Now able to see each of her (impressive) perimeter alarms, I could also shut off that motherfucking noise that was going to drive me crazy.
The lay of the land was spread out like an open book in front of me. It consisted of a bunch of corn fields, then tilled areas that reminded me of my ma’s flowerbeds with boxes I assumed were beehives dotted into the formation.
Two sets of gates were blown wide, and once I took note of the vehicles, I briefed them, “Two cars approaching from the front gates, one from a back road. Only the one from the back road is speeding.”
“Maybe they do just want to talk?” D asked.
“No. They want answers. If I don’t give them to them, then they’ll kill me,” Troy said, her insipid, bored tone belonging to a Starbucks barista who couldn’t spell Sarah and not a woman who was being targeted by a secret society.
“Answers to which questions?”
“Not worth…” Troy cleared her throat then mumbled something that sounded like, “…my life to discuss them.”
“That’s exactly what’s in the cards here, Troy,” I snapped. “Your life! So maybe share with the class?”
“You guard that fucking door, Conor. Do you hear me?”
“I do. I hear you, Troy.” Hearing the sounds of exerted breathing in my ears and knowing the women were situating themselves in their nests, I peered behind me, wondering what I was guarding. “What am I actually protecting?”
