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“I’m not exactly comfortable having a machine running underneath us when we don’t know what it is. What if it’s some kind of nuclear energy or something? Nothing would surprise me with these guys.” He made a good point.
I tentatively reached out and put my hand on it. It felt only slightly warmer than the room. “Nuclear energy runs incredibly hot and is usually liquid cooled. So I don’t think that’s the answer. But it’s too quiet for it to be any fuel based forms of power I know about. Those are usually the explosive types.”
He nodded, but still looked wary. I looked up at the roof, as if I could see through it. “If we keep the omegas to the kitchen and the ballroom, where they’ve been sleeping anyway, they’ll be at the opposite end of the building. We should be alright as long as we keep everyone away from the western residential wing above us.”
“Good idea. Any others?” I looked at him in surprise. He wasn’t trying to take over and solve this problem himself. He was looking at me for input. A rare thing for an alpha. I tried not to puff my chest out, but I did stand a little taller.
“Yeah, we need to get Max here. He’s a tech genius. If anyone can figure this out, it’ll be him.”
“Can you make that happen?”
“Yeah. I still have Ava’s satellite phone.”
“Okay, I’ll post a guard in here tonight. They can let us know if anything changes with it.”
I put my ear up against it gingerly. There’d been the faintest vibration through it when I touched it, but it only made the barest whirring sound. When I looked up, I noticed River had moved closer and stood over me, as if he planned to yank me away at the slightest change in the machine. He didn’t say anything when I straightened up, he just stepped back and gave me room to move.
“Anything concerning?” He asked. I shook my head. I wasn’t even sure what I’d been listening for. “Good, I’m going to go find Ava and check out those other tunnels.”
“Okay, she should be in the kitchen with Emma. I’m going to go back to the first lab and start going through their systems. Max will need as much info as he can get when he arrives.”
River motioned for me to go up the stairs first, then handed me the flashlight and shut off the light after I’d passed. He seemed to be hyper aware of my movements and safety. It was strange coming from another guy, but felt comforting rather than creepy. As if he’d been watching over me my whole life. It was touching that he seemed to feel protective of me. I kinda liked it. It felt big brotherly in a way I’d never known before. I’d never been close to my own brothers. We didn’t have the same interests or outlook. They were farmers by nature, engrossed in working the land, even as teenagers. I loved the farm, but farming had never been my calling. Still. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to mess with River.
“What’s with the old school romance moves?”
River shrugged, with an actual grin this time. “Ava would kill me if anything happened to you on my watch, and I’m trying to get back into her good books.”
That had me blushing furiously. I’d thought about little else but Ava since the day I’d met her. I’d assumed anything between us was an impossibility until I’d heard her mention she liked me to Maia and Lexie this morning. My heart had pounded so hard, and I hadn’t been able to wipe the goofy smile off my face when I opened the door.He knew Ava cared about me and he was okay with it?
River smirked at me, relaxing more than I’d seen him do yet. “Plus, I like you, kid.”
“Technically, I’m an adult. Have been for a few years now.” I felt compelled to point that out. I figured there were about four or five years between us, but his experience and training gave him an air of being even older.
He just raised one eyebrow at me.Was he messing with me, too?
The idea that River felt comfortable enough with me to let his guard down and mess with me blew my mind. He’d been straight up intimidating with Sam’s team and the other alphas who’d arrived with us. Glowering at them all.
I was good friends with Max, who was about the same age as River and Ryder. We’d clicked instantly when Max first arrived at the farm with his mates. I’d always gravitated to people who were older, even when I was young. My mother always told people I was born a few years too late. Yet I’d always watched the dynamic Max had with his mates with an intense longing. Growing up with my great grandmother, GG to everyone on the farm, as a major influence on my life, I’d learned a lot about the old ways. I’d known those guys were a pack before even they did.
Thinking of GG reminded me I needed to call her. She’d be worried that I hadn’t returned from town, even though I was sure Maia would have told her where I was. I didn’t need her turning up on our doorstep to check on me, and I knew she’d find a way to do it. We’d always had a strong connection.
“I’ll leave you to it,” River said when we got back to the first lab. “Let me know if you find anything worth noting. And if you hear any strange noises or vibrations coming from down below, I want you out of here.”
“Yes, Sir.” I saluted him and threw in a cocky wink. Sam had directed Owen and Miles to be in charge here, but even they deferred to River and Ryder.
He just shook his head before he turned and took off. I couldn’t help but yell, “Thanks for the non-date, I’m keeping the knife as a courting gift,” at his back. He waved over his shoulder and I imagined him grinning. I felt like my home had finally found me.
I rubbed my hands together as I turned to the wall of computers, humming one of my favorite songs. I may not be deadly, but I knew my way around computers. And those skills just might help the people I cared about.
The number of people on that list had recently gotten a little bigger.
eight
AngelwasgrippingCary’shand tightly as we pushed through the kitchen door into the dim hallway. We were being careful with our electricity usage and only putting lights on when we absolutely needed them. I think the dimly lit passages were scaring Angel a little, but she’d never say.
I sensed River hovering a few metres away. I snuck a glance, and the sight had me looking away just as quickly. He was leaning against the wall, with one foot propped up and his hands in his pants pockets. His head was bent slightly down, yet his hooded gaze tracked my every movement as he watched me through his lashes. He looked as if he belonged in a high end menswear commercial. That dark, gorgeous gaze intent on seducing me.
He wasn’t the awkward, gangly teenage boy I’d known any longer. I missed that boy fiercely, but I also desperately wanted to get to know this man. This mesmerizing alpha with a powerful body that had my own igniting with just a look.
