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“Why the fuck would you do that?”
“Because we need to learn more about this, and she wouldn’t have worked otherwise. Besides, I imagine she’ll eventually want to partner with someone.”
I chuckle. “That hasn’t happened for Eva or Christine.”
“There’s still hope for them.” Cole exhales a morose breath. “But enough of those prudes. It’s good to see Brit happy for a change.”
“I aim to keep her that way.”
“She’s lucky it was you standing on her side of the room. I can’t think of another man that would have handled the situation better.”
“Well, it wasn’t easy, but I can say now that it was worth it.”
“Is she upset about her father?”
“Nope, and I can’t say I blame her. Of course Maisy can never find out.”
“Of course,” Cole agrees. “I’ve already sworn everyone to silence.”
“I appreciate that.”
“So, about Hunter.”
I try not to look away or give any indication of guilt. “I’d rather not talk about him.”
“There’s no avoiding it.”
“I figured as much.”
“What happened?”
“Since the safe house we were at was close to the Vultures’ base, after we got Britney to the safe house, we scouted the area, just in case we were followed back. We didn’t realize a small horde had collected in the alley.”
“And you’re sure he’s dead.”
I nod my head. “There’s no way he left the alley alive.”
I can tell by the look he gives me he’s not wholly convinced.
“Go to Atticus and file a report,” he instructs. “Be thorough.”
“Is that it?”
“You’ll be running topside while Britney is in the pen. Stay vigilant. The Vulture situation is getting out of hand and I’m about to scorch the mother fucking earth to purge them from the soil.”
“How close are we to closing up shop?”
“I’d considered it this morning.” His scowl deepens. “I think about going under every day. If we do, the workload will change because we’ll have to shift to using systems we haven’t operated yet. We’ll all have to work harder, not just the men. Then there’s the overall lack of women we’ll have to contend with, which is going to cause a goddamn civil war. I’d considered giving the singles a choice to stay with Russ if we went under, but then we won’t have enough hands to keep the Keep going. It’s a no-win situation.”
“It’s hard to believe that women are so hard to come by.”
“The night the dead came into the city was brutal. Women were hit the hardest because they had to drag screaming children through the streets with them. The ones that survived were the ones so wasted that they passed out and slept through it all. They’re often not who we’re looking for.”
“And what about searching the rural areas?”
“I haven’t ruled that out, but one step at a time.” He turns off the monitor and throws the remote onto the table. “Now go file your report so you can spend time with your girl before she’s thrown in the slammer.”
Chapter19
