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He slid the barn-style door open to see Tate sitting at his desk. “You have a minute?”
“Of course.”
Aidyn entered the office and sat on one of the leather chairs facing him.
“What’s up?”
Taking a deep breath, he leaned forward. “I have feelings for Elena. We’ve been meeting in private for a few months now.”
Tate kept his face neutral and sat back in his chair. “Okay.”
Aidyn continued. “She wants to leave the mountain and I want to help her. She's the brewer up there. It'll be contentious, but with Craig as the president, things are changing for the worse and time is running out for Elena."
“Running out. In what way?”
“Craig asked her to make another batch of elixir to pay the taxes, which she’s doing right now. But he’s also told her she has to marry and have kids to help keep their population up.”
“Holy fuck!”
“Right. Add to that a sick mom and all I see is a battle coming to remove them from the mountain.”
“How sick is the mom?”
“I don’t know. They think a heart condition but there’s no confirmation of that from a medical professional. I’ve asked Addy for help and she’s speaking with her mom right now. But it seems as though she will need assistance coming down. Once the extraction is started, there’ll be no turning back. Elena would suffer the consequences of aborting an extraction. Her mom as well. I can’t let that happen.”
“Are you in love with her?”
He took another deep breath and let the calm settle over him.
“Yes.” It was the first time he’d actually admitted it out loud and it wasn’t hard. Scary—sure. He hoped he wasn’t making a mistake here. They would be disrupting many lives, including his teammates.
“We can’t go in without a plan. We have to prepare and know the area. Can you ask Elena to draw a map or show us where everyone is situated? We have some knowledge, but not enough to go up there and take two of their people. And that’s what it will look like—a kidnapping. It could start a tit-for-tat scenario.”
“I’m aware and I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to do.”
“Is she in danger now?”
“She doesn’t think so. Other than Craig making noise about getting married. But she’s brewing their second batch now and she thinks, until the batch is finished, she’s safe.”
“When is the batch finished?”
“A week.”
“Okay. See if you can get a map from Elena and we’ll go from there.”
He stood to leave but halted. “Thanks, Tate. I’m sorry and sure don’t mean to create a mess up there or down here. But I want to be with her and she wants to leave the mountain.”
Tate nodded. “I only want to ask one question. She’s not using you to get her out of there is she? In other words, once we stir up this hornet’s nest, we’re the ones who will suffer the consequences. Is she sticking around, or will she take off for parts unknown and leave us with the shit?”
He swallowed. “I’ve asked myself that question a thousand times. I believe she’s legit. She has feelings for me, too.” He shrugged. “I don’t know. It could be a bit of both. But I can’t leave her up there. I won’t have a moment of peace knowing I left a woman up there to be treated as if she has no rights. To be forced to marry and birth children with someone she doesn’t love. But we haven’t gotten down to the nitty gritty of things.”
“You need to get gritty, Aid. Soon.”
He swallowed what felt like a hot rock in his throat. Hearing that out loud hurt. He’d been thinking it but pushed it aside and told himself to stop being a baby. The final conclusion he’d come to around five this morning was that even if she was using him to get herself and her mom off the mountain, it would be worth it. Living up there being someone’s baby-maker without love was no way to live. So, he’d nurse his broken heart and revel in the fact that he’d helped her start a new and better life. That would have to give him solace in the long dark nights when he felt low.
He strode back to his bedroom and pulled his phone from his pocket. For the fourth time today, he’d have to tell his story and then he’d have to tell it again when he called his parents because they should know what’s going on and it should be from him. Not reading the GHOST reports of the extraction.
He pulled up his contacts and tapped Emersyn’s name. His heartbeat increased as he listened for the phone to connect. He hoped Emmy and Chase would be able to help Elena and he knew they’d have to move back to Indiana once she was free. Craig would make her the poster child for bad behavior and traitorism and she’d never be safe here.
