Chapter Twelve #3
I must’ve made a sound of discomfort, prompting Liis to step closer. She stopped within reach and rested her hand briefly against the center of my back, just once, just enough pressure to register. No soothing stroke, just a point of contact. “I trust you, you know. To keep us safe.”
I leaned into her touch. “I know.”
It had been years since I’d needed comfort in any recognizable form.
I kept my eyes on the window because if I looked at her, she would see the truth, unraveling all the reassurance I’d just accomplished.
Exhaustion was already setting in, and I didn’t have language to lie about it, nor the dozens of arguably less important things irritating my soul this morning.
She returned to making breakfast, taking out more plates. Bread in the toaster, transitioning jam, butter, and syrup from the fridge. For a few minutes, the only sounds in the adobe were lids twisting off jars, glass against quartz, and the quiet scrape of a knife.
Even minutes later, I could still feel the warmth of my wife’s touch.
Other than our daughter, that was as close to comforting anyone as Liis Lindy ever got, and it landed harder than pep talk or coddling would have.
I turned just enough to take her in. She’d always carried a beauty that didn’t rely on softness.
The concern in her eyes was there, but it was controlled, sorted, put to use instead of left to wander.
Some of that was hard-earned. Some of it, I knew, had come the way I loved and understood her.
She’d always been formidable, but she was still my wife. Mine to protect, to comfort, to stand in front of if it came to it, even if she didn’t want me to know she wanted or needed any of it.
My hand found her wrist before I thought better of it. She looked down at it, then back up at me, and something passed between us that didn’t need translation. Too much history, too much damage survived for either of us to mistake silence for emptiness.
I leaned in to kiss her, but a knock sounded on the door.
Liis took a step, but I was already moving when the second knock hit, followed by a voice from outside.
“Maddox?”
It was Naomi.
I opened the door and found her on the porch in cargo pants and a dark olive-green tank, dust already on her boots. Sweat had dampened the hair at her temples. She stepped to the side, motioning for Bodhi to come in. He stumbled past her, red-faced, covered in sweat-soaked sand.
“Eat, shit, rest, then back at it at 1400, recruit,” she said.
“Aye, ma’am,” Bodhi said, but the words just barely made it passed his lips.
“He’s just a college kid, you know,” I said, only half-joking.
“Not when I’m finished with him,” she said.
I leaned against the door jamb, crossing my arms. “I’m guessing you’re not here to make sure he got back without passing out?”
She was unfazed. “Recon found fresh vehicle tracks east of the perimeter.” Her gaze flicked past me once, probably checking whether Liis was behind me, then came back to mine.
“General wants all nonessential civilians staged closer to shelter points. Quietly. Because they’re unfamiliar with evacuation routes and procedure, he’s ordered your family underground. He wants you both armed and ready.”
“Good, we were just discussing that. What did recon report?”
“Two vehicles, maybe three. Could be decoys.” She adjusted the strap on her rifle. “Spotter thinks one team doubled back after they realized they were burned.”
That tightened something low in my chest. “Distance?”
“Too close. If they move, it’ll be quick.”
Liis was beside me now. “How long do we have?”
Naomi looked at her. “Depends on whether they’re scouting or setting up,” Naomi said. “Either way, your family shouldn’t wait.”
Liis nodded once. “We’ll make sure they don’t.”
Naomi reached into the cargo pocket at her thigh and pulled out a handheld radio. “Keep this on channel three. The General wants updates relayed direct once you’re relocated.”
I took it from her. “Can we get a team to help relocate from the Longhouse?”
“Javier and Cruz are enroute. Hopefully your people are early risers.” She looked over her shoulder toward the road. “I have a few things to lock down. I’ll keep you updated.”
“Thanks,” I said, watching her turn and move down the steps, one hand at her radio, head angled toward the compound gate.
I shut the door and turned seeing that Liis was already heading for Stella’s room.
“Gently,” I said, reaching for the bag. “Nothing’s happening yet.”
“I know.”
I keyed the radio once, listening to the crackle of voices layered under static, turning it down once I heard Stella’s sleepy half-cry from the back room. Liis’s spoke to her softly, making the world smaller for her in all the right ways.
I moved to the window and watched dust rise beyond the north fence, thin at first, then thicker, as if the desert itself had begun to stir.
It was the truth. Nothing was happening yet, but whatever was lurking beyond the fences had awoken General Marcel’s Arizona Border Recon Patrol, and they were about to learn what that choice would cost them.