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“Are you sure that didn’t compromise your cover?” Maddoc asks tightly.
I lean my head on his shoulder, rubbing his back to try to ease some of the tension that locks up his muscles as he waits for Dante’s answer.
It’s got to be a painful question for him to ask, because it means he has to weigh the big-picture value of Dante’s mission against the potential lives of other Reapers, and for Maddoc, there’s no acceptable way to justify losses on either side of that equation.
It’s one of the reasons I love him… and luckily, this time, Dante made sure we didn’t have to.
“I covered it all up,” he says. “McKenna thinks the place was empty the whole time. Trust me, Madd, I made sure there’s no way anyone from West Point will realize there were Reapers there when we took it down.”
Maddoc nods, his shoulders relaxing a little. “You did good,” he repeats.
“I always do,” Dante quips with a hint of his usual cocky humor.
It’s not quite enough to make me smile though, because while it’s great news that he’s finally getting in with Austin, the longer he’s with West Point, the more risk he takes… and the more Austin manages to pick away at everything the Reapers have built.
“Have you found out anything we can use?” Maddoc asks, switching focus to the mission. “Do you know what he’s planning to do, or have any evidence that he has plans to go against The Six yet?”
“How will he try to take them down?” I blurt.
It’s hard to imagine, even with all the money Austin has access to now. The Six seem formidable, and there’s no way they got to the position they hold in Halston’s underground without having the ability to protect themselves.
“Fuck,” Dante mutters, his frustration coming through clearly. “I don’t know yet, princess. I haven’t been able to get anything solid at all so far. I walked in on McKenna and a couple of his inner circle talking the other day, but they changed the subject the minute I showed up.”
“I thought you said McKenna trusts you now?” Logan asks sharply, his concern for his brother tightly masked behind the abrupt question.
“Yeah, but that happened before we hit the packaging plant. I’m hoping the trust I built with that shit will get me some more access around him, but I’m not going to just sit around twiddling my fucking thumbs here.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, my heart suddenly in my throat. “Don’t…” I swallow hard. I can’t tell Dante not to put himself at risk. That’s literally his job right now. “Don’t do anything that will make me hate you,” I finish in a choked whisper.
He laughs. “Never, princess.” Then his voice gets serious again. “I’ve finally figured out where McKenna keeps most of his important shit now. He’s got a house that serves as his home base, just like we do.”
“Will you be able to get inside?” Maddoc asks.
“Yeah. Gonna have a chance real soon.”
Maddoc smiles grimly, exchanging a look with Logan. “Good. Anything else to report?”
“Yeah.” His tone takes on a playful, husky timbre that makes my chest ache with missing him. “I’m going through some serious withdrawals over here. Got an addiction I need a fix for, but these fucking weasels don’t have what I’m craving. Think you can help me with that when I get back, princess?”
I laugh, but the knot of worry in my stomach twists a little tighter. I want him back more than anything, but it almost feels like talking about it might jinx it.
I know that’s bullshit, though. He’s coming back, or else we’ll burn the world down to get him.
“When you get back, I’ll help you with anything you want,” I promise, brushing my fingers over my new ink; my only ink.
Dante’s ink.
He laughs, low and dirty. “Gonna hold you to that, princess. And I think we’ll start back down on that new pole of yours.” He pauses. “If I can wait that fucking long once I walk in the door.”
I bite my tongue to keep from asking him to promise that hewillwalk back in the door, and soon, and he goes on to tell Maddoc and Logan which targets in Reaper territory McKenna is planning to go after next.
“Just don’t make too many obvious moves to protect that shit,” he finishes, sounding tired again. “I’m tight enough with the planning now that it could blow my cover if everything’s suddenly fortified when they hit it.”
“We—” Maddoc starts.
“Someone’s coming,” Dante cuts in abruptly before the line goes dead.
The weight in my chest settles like a lead balloon, but when I look up at Logan, then Maddoc, it grounds me.
