Chapter 53
Gray finds me as we’re packing up the plane. Coming up behind me, he wraps his arms around my waist and presses a kiss on the top of my head. “Be careful tonight, keen?”
I smile. “You’re being very sweet for someone I know wants to tie me up to stop me from going.”
“I want to tie you up for other reasons,” he drawls, nipping my ear. “But I’d never stop you from running an op. You’re too valuable in the field to keep your skills hidden at the Dagger.”
I turn to face him. It warms my heart that he can recognize I’m talented, that he’s willing to let me go even if his instincts scream for him to protect me.
“You’re getting good weather tonight,” he says. “Storm clouds rolling in. That should give you good cover.”
I nod, sliding a handgun into my hip holster.
Nearby, Karra is checking her gear. I’ve never worked with her on a mission before, but if Gray and the others trust her, then I guess so do I.
Gray’s eyes remain on me, those playful green eyes that always have a way of making me feel lighter. He doesn’t even need to use his grounding ability. His eyes do it for him.
I reach up and trace that sharp jawline with my fingertips, and his lips curve. He rests his hands on my waist and tugs me toward him.
“I mean it. Stay safe,” he says roughly.
“I will,” I promise, tipping my head back as he lowers his mouth to mine.
It’s a fleeting kiss, quick and gentle, but I feel the emotion pouring from him. I feel the concern. I get it, nothing is guaranteed in this life. I can promise all day long to stay safe. That doesn’t mean I will.
I kiss him again, deeper this time, and it’s only when our tongues touch and I hear someone clearing their throat that I remember we’re not alone.
Shit.
Karra strides up with her pack, tossing it into the cargo hold. She flicks her gaze at us before securing the bag. Her expression is unreadable, but I wouldn’t blame her if she was pissed. Nobody wants to see a former lover flaunting a new relationship in front of their face.
He bids us goodbye and heads off. Once he’s gone, I turn to Karra, remorseful.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”
She shrugs.
When she starts to walk away, I tug on her sleeve. “I mean it. That was insensitive. I’m sorry.”
“I don’t care that you kissed him.” Hurt clouds her face. “I just fucking hate being proved wrong.”
“Wrong about what?”
“I told you he’s incapable of deep feelings.” I hear the bitterness in her voice. “Incapable of really loving someone. I guess I was wrong.”
My heart squeezes. “Karra—”
“No, it’s fine. Whatever. Let’s go.”
She climbs into the back of the hybrid. I hop on, too, just as Evlynne crosses the hangar with a black duffel.
“Here, let me help,” I say, reaching out, but she begs me off.
“I’ve got it.”
She sets the large gear bag in the cargo hold and straps it to the floor, making sure it stays secure. She looks ill at ease.
“You okay?” I ask her.
She shakes her head. “I don’t like this. Feels like a trap.”
Yet despite those words, she flies us out of the mountain ten minutes later.
Bramble Base is in Ward H, located in a crumbling industrial area bordered by woods.
According to Adrienne, the nuclear bunker was built in the Old Era and reinforced sometime in the past fifty years.
It was designed to withstand literal nuclear war and indeed did.
Tucked deep underground, the bunker can house up to five hundred people, but she tells me that only about two hundred currently reside there.
We enter the facility from the main hatch, which leads to a metal staircase. Downstairs, we find a huge set of iron doors at the end of a long hallway. The corridor is quiet. Our footsteps echo off the concrete as we approach the entrance. Adrienne punches in a code, and the doors slide open.
The first thing we see on the other side is Declan.
“Welcome to Bramble,” he says when he notices me among the group. “First time, right?”
I nod.
Adrienne quickly briefs him. “The meeting is at midnight, but we don’t have the grids yet.”
He rolls his eyes. “Somebody’s paranoid.”
“Indeed. It appears the General doesn’t trust us,” she says with a wry smile. “The grids will be transmitted over an encrypted channel two hours before the meet.”
I was told this earlier, and I don’t enjoy hearing it the second time around. I understand Travis’s reasoning for not transmitting the coordinates yet. We can’t ambush him if we don’t know where we’re meeting him. But that means we might be walking into an ambush.
I glance at Adrienne. “Do I have time for a tour? I’m dying to see what this base looks like.”
“Sure, but keep your comm on.”
“I’ll take you,” Declan offers.
As the others disappear into what looks like a common area with tables and coffee machines, I follow Declan down the hall instead, guided by the hum of the overhead fluorescent lights.
Our first stop is the dormitories, which are more functional than comfortable, maximizing the space with bunks rather than single beds.
Declan tells me there’s a wing of private rooms for the base leaders, including him.
They have enough food stored to last years, water tanks and purification systems, and a small hydroponic system that lets them grow fresh produce in the bunker itself.
He shows me several recreation rooms and a small gym. There’s truly no reason for anyone to ever leave this base, unless they’re fans of the sun. Yet even that isn’t a detriment; Declan explains that everyone at Bramble takes vitamins and supplements that help with the lack of natural light.
I feel like we’ve walked over a mile by the time I say, “Should we head back to the briefing room?”
“There’s nothing to brief about. Options are limited until the grids arrive.”
“True.”
“Do you want to see the medical bay?” He nods at the end of the hallway. “Fiona’s there, with her daughter.”
“Poppy?” I say in surprise. “What is she doing here?”
I wonder how on earth she convinced Fiona to let her come along. Last I heard, Fiona was threatening to chain her to the mountain before allowing her to leave the Dagger.
“I don’t know, but they arrived together.”
He pushes open the door and I’m instantly hit with the strong scent of antiseptic.
The medical bay is a large room filled with single cots separated by light-blue curtains and equipment lining the walls.
Only a few of the cots are occupied, but none of the people appear seriously injured.
Fiona stands by a bed in the back of the room, talking to a prone older man who looks to be in his eighties.
“Wren!”
I glance over and there’s Poppy. Her blond braid swings over her shoulder as she walks toward me.
I raise an eyebrow at her. “How did you manage this leisure pass?”
She bites her lip sheepishly. “I may have, you know, thrown a tantrum.”
I swallow a laugh. “Really.”
“Yeah. I’m so tired of being stuck on the mountain all the time.”
“I don’t blame you. There’s only so many rounds of clash poker you can play.”
“Exactly.”
I feel like I’m being watched, and I look over to find Fiona staring at me and Poppy. Her gaze is sharp. Wary. I give a small smile and a wave, but although she nods in greeting, her lips tighten, nothing but quiet disapproval in her expression.
“She really doesn’t like me,” I remark, trying not to grin.
Poppy shrugs. “She thinks you’re a bad influence.”
That makes me snicker. How am I a bad influence?
All I’ve ever done is save this girl from being paralyzed by violet bells and getting eaten by a ridgehowler.
Don’t get me wrong, I do understand Fiona’s protectiveness.
This is her only child, and the wards aren’t safe for Mods.
But I also don’t blame Poppy for being desperate to break out of the high walls Fiona has erected around her.
“Ready to head back?” Declan asks me.
I notice Poppy’s disappointment. “You can’t stay?” she says.
As much as I’d love to free her from being trapped in the shadows of overprotective Fiona, I’m on a mission, and can’t socialize. “I’m sorry,” I tell her. “We’re here on official business.”
“All right, well, come find me later if you can.”
“I will,” I promise.
Declan and I make the long trek back across the labyrinthian corridors that make up Bramble Base. We enter one of the briefing rooms a few minutes later to everyone sitting around, looking bored.
“Do we have the meeting coordinates yet?” I ask Adrienne.
“No,” she says tersely.
“He’s playing games with us.” Teriq’s eyes flash with irritation. “Kallister was right.”
Her posture goes rigid. “It’s still early. He has time.” But she must be worried, because she reaches for her comm. “Evlynne, do you copy?”
“I’m here,” is the response.
“Is there anything unusual on your end?”
“Negative. Radar’s clear. No activity at all. Nothing moving in or out as far as I can tell.”
“Could be a setup,” Teriq says, shaking his head.
Declan glances at Adrienne. “Should we abort?”
“No, we’re still on standby for now.” She pauses. “But if we don’t hear from them in the next thirty minutes, we’ll call it—”
She barely finishes that sentence when the explosion rocks the bunker.