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Marc throws an arm over his shoulder. “Someday, we’ll have to take a tour of all our holdings. We’ll need a month to cover everything.”
Mayn joins us, her dark eyes darting around what she can see of the space.
“There are sleeping quarters upstairs, with every room able to sleep four people comfortably.” I point to a metal staircase leading to a second floor attached to the far wall. “It’s set up with a kitchen, dining hall, and leisure area. And there’s a storage room with enough food to feed sixty people for five years.”
“We have enough solar panels and generators in the basement to run this place completely off the grid,” Marc adds.
Sharpe looks dazed. “How paranoid was I?”
“Prepared,” Marc stresses. “We’ve seen a lot of civilizations rise and fall.”
“There are portals connecting this safe house to three other safe houses, so if we need to evacuate, we can pull up and leave instantly.” The old coven leader had loaned us her portal maker when we first set this up, and Flint had Reese reinforce them after things became unstable in Clearhelm.
Ahead of us, Savannah pushes open the door to the planning room. “I brought company!”
Whistles and hoots split the air as we enter. Trent and Elizabeth sit at the large, oval table on one end, with Jerry perched on the tall cabinet behind them.
Surprise fills me when I spot Amalia leaning against the wall, her arms folded over her narrow chest. We haven’t seen her since she took off with the Hive Queen’s stinger.
Flint and Darius rise from where they sit with Meredith and hurry over to us.
Darius assesses me and Marc for damage, while Flint yanks me into a tight embrace. “Never tell me to leave you behind again.”
“Are the kids safe?” I return his hug. “What about Aediva?”
“They’re all enjoying the Librarian’s hospitality. The Library will be on lockdown until the hag deems it safe to open up again.” He releases me to hug Sharpe. “How the hell did you end up in jail first?”
The two men step away from our group, Sharpe explaining what happened.
I walk over to Amalia. “Hey, didn’t expect to see you back in Clearhelm so soon.”
“We spotted her at the airport.” Trent leans his chair back to balance on two legs. “Gave her a lift into town.”
She juts out her chin. “I heard you had number two on my hunt list of big bads. Figured I could take a crack at it.”
“And run off with the bounty reward again.” The legs of Trent’s chair thud back to the ground, and he stands to walk over to us. “Don’t think that will happen twice, kid.”
“Not a kid, old man.” Her eyes narrow at him. “Seventy-thirty.”
He grins, his white teeth a startling contrast to his salt-and-pepper beard. “Fifty-fifty.”
“Hey, shouldn’t it be split four ways?” Marc joins us, with Darius at his side. “Amalia, Trent’s team, us, and Sharpe’s people?”
Trent scowls. “Like you need the money.”
“Leave some for those of us who have less time to amass fortunes,” Amalia argues.
“Fine, it can be split three ways,” I say to end the argument. “Sharpe’s people still deserve a cut, now that they’re freelancers.”
“Great, just what we need,” Amalia mutters. “More competition.”
Trent rocks back on his heels and yells toward the other man, “Bring it on, Sharpe!”
Confusion knitting his brow, Sharpe glances over at us. “Bring what on?”
Aghast, Trent stares at him before shifting his focus to me. “Does he evenknowthere’s a bounty? He can’t be doing all this out of a sense ofhonor.”
About to answer, the door opening distracts me.
