outside the windows passed in a dark blur broken only occasionally by the ghostly reach of the moonlight.
Several hours into the journey, Alexa lifted my right hand and pressed her lips to my knuckles. “I think we should buy a home in the country.”
I smiled, daring to glance at her for just a moment before returning my attention to the night. “Tell me more. I want to be able to see the picture in your head.”
“There are several,” she said, barely audible above the throbbing engine. “Sometimes I think of a large house on its own mountain in Vermont or New Hampshire. Other times, I see a smaller home on the coast. Massachusetts, maybe, or Maine.”
“We could combine those visions if we bought a mountainous island.”
She laughed. “We have more money than I’d ever dreamed of, but not enough to purchase an island.”
“Not yet,” I conceded. “But we will. We will, baby.”
When she let out a quiet sigh of contentment and shifted against me, I felt my heart expand as though it were a balloon. Before Alexa, my life had been a constant battle—against my family, my expectations, and sometimes even myself. She granted me a measure of serenity I’d barely known to hope for. Even now, with the very pillars of our world in jeopardy of destruction, the core of my soul knew only peace.
My satphone rang. As the call connected, the sound of gunfire pierced my ear. Heart suddenly thundering in my chest, I shouted for Foster to pull over.
“Val!” Summers’s voice was labored. “Ran into Brenner’s scouts. Car totaled. In a firefight.”
“Stay put! We’re coming to get you.”
“Don’t—”
The call went dead, swallowing whatever he had been about to say. “Summers? Summers! Damn it!”
“Tell me their position,” Karma said, her voice eerily calm as she struggled to keep her jackal from reacting to the emotional moment.
I read off the coordinates logged by the phone. As she keyed them into the GPS, I double-checked the readiness of my pistol before stuffing it into my waistband.
“We can be there inside half an hour,” Karma said. “Maybe less. Devon, you’ll want to keep on this road to—”
“Wait,” Foster cut in. “Are we sure we should go charging into this? Didn’t I hear Leon say ‘don’t’ before the connection broke off?”
“We have no idea what else he was going to say,” said Alexa.
“But our first commitment is to Tian and the mission.”
I handed my shotgun to Alexa, threw off my seat belt, and opened the door. “We are not leaving them to fend for themselves. Get the fuck out of that seat. I’m driving.”
Displeasure was written in every line of Foster’s face, but she obeyed. “If this goes to shit, Val, I’m holding you responsible.”
“Works for me.”
No sooner had the back door closed behind her than we were in motion. I pushed the vehicle to its limits, swerving around hairpin curves and accelerating down steep slopes, capitalizing on our momentum.
With less than a mile to go, I checked my seat belt. “Choose your targets carefully,” I shouted over the engine’s whine. “The scene could be a mess.”
“One thousand feet,” said Karma as we made a steep, winding ascent. “Seven fifty.”
The throb of the engine eased as we crested the slope. I kept the accelerator fully depressed, and we rocketed down the far side.
“Lean right!” We careened into an S-turn, and I felt the car lift onto two wheels for several breathtaking seconds before finally crashing back to earth. And then, quite suddenly, we were upon them.
The other Humvee had somehow turned onto its side and was dangling precariously off a steep embankment to the right, just a hundred feet ahead. Gunfire arced between it and two Jeeps blocking the road.
“Brace!”
Allowing instinct to guide me, I braked hard and swerved, sending the car into a dizzying series of rotations. When its back fender broadsided one Jeep and sent it tumbling off the road, satisfaction
Several hours into the journey, Alexa lifted my right hand and pressed her lips to my knuckles. “I think we should buy a home in the country.”
I smiled, daring to glance at her for just a moment before returning my attention to the night. “Tell me more. I want to be able to see the picture in your head.”
“There are several,” she said, barely audible above the throbbing engine. “Sometimes I think of a large house on its own mountain in Vermont or New Hampshire. Other times, I see a smaller home on the coast. Massachusetts, maybe, or Maine.”
“We could combine those visions if we bought a mountainous island.”
She laughed. “We have more money than I’d ever dreamed of, but not enough to purchase an island.”
“Not yet,” I conceded. “But we will. We will, baby.”
When she let out a quiet sigh of contentment and shifted against me, I felt my heart expand as though it were a balloon. Before Alexa, my life had been a constant battle—against my family, my expectations, and sometimes even myself. She granted me a measure of serenity I’d barely known to hope for. Even now, with the very pillars of our world in jeopardy of destruction, the core of my soul knew only peace.
My satphone rang. As the call connected, the sound of gunfire pierced my ear. Heart suddenly thundering in my chest, I shouted for Foster to pull over.
“Val!” Summers’s voice was labored. “Ran into Brenner’s scouts. Car totaled. In a firefight.”
“Stay put! We’re coming to get you.”
“Don’t—”
The call went dead, swallowing whatever he had been about to say. “Summers? Summers! Damn it!”
“Tell me their position,” Karma said, her voice eerily calm as she struggled to keep her jackal from reacting to the emotional moment.
I read off the coordinates logged by the phone. As she keyed them into the GPS, I double-checked the readiness of my pistol before stuffing it into my waistband.
“We can be there inside half an hour,” Karma said. “Maybe less. Devon, you’ll want to keep on this road to—”
“Wait,” Foster cut in. “Are we sure we should go charging into this? Didn’t I hear Leon say ‘don’t’ before the connection broke off?”
“We have no idea what else he was going to say,” said Alexa.
“But our first commitment is to Tian and the mission.”
I handed my shotgun to Alexa, threw off my seat belt, and opened the door. “We are not leaving them to fend for themselves. Get the fuck out of that seat. I’m driving.”
Displeasure was written in every line of Foster’s face, but she obeyed. “If this goes to shit, Val, I’m holding you responsible.”
“Works for me.”
No sooner had the back door closed behind her than we were in motion. I pushed the vehicle to its limits, swerving around hairpin curves and accelerating down steep slopes, capitalizing on our momentum.
With less than a mile to go, I checked my seat belt. “Choose your targets carefully,” I shouted over the engine’s whine. “The scene could be a mess.”
“One thousand feet,” said Karma as we made a steep, winding ascent. “Seven fifty.”
The throb of the engine eased as we crested the slope. I kept the accelerator fully depressed, and we rocketed down the far side.
“Lean right!” We careened into an S-turn, and I felt the car lift onto two wheels for several breathtaking seconds before finally crashing back to earth. And then, quite suddenly, we were upon them.
The other Humvee had somehow turned onto its side and was dangling precariously off a steep embankment to the right, just a hundred feet ahead. Gunfire arced between it and two Jeeps blocking the road.
“Brace!”
Allowing instinct to guide me, I braked hard and swerved, sending the car into a dizzying series of rotations. When its back fender broadsided one Jeep and sent it tumbling off the road, satisfaction
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