Chapter 22
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Evelyn woke up in her own bed. Her eyes opened, slim slits glaring at the sun-brightened room. She was about to ask L.I.N.D.A. why the lights were blaring before she remembered she wasn’t sleeping in the comfort of a guest cabin on the Rising Dawn, but in her own bed in Nevada.
She’d bought the house before this planet had electronic household management tools.
Clearly Corrie hadn’t been exaggerating when she said she’d left it as it was.
Grumbling, Evelyn stretched and lurched towards the blinds, fumbling with the strings to make the slats flip up enough to block the sun from entering her room.
Light streamed around the perimeter of the blinds, refusing to stop the assault of sunshine.
Admitting defeat, Evelyn trudged to her bathroom to attend to bodily needs. Brushing her teeth perked her up a little, but when she returned to the room, she couldn’t help the pang of loss she felt at not being greeted with a domed plate covered in sliced fruit.
That must be a record. Spoiled in what, four days?
Resigned to the reality that she must feed herself, Evelyn changed into a soft band tee and jeans with a surprising amount of spandex in the cotton blend. She shoved the communicator in her back pocket. Communication before caffeine was probably a bad idea.
The house was silent as she made her way to the kitchen. Evelyn didn’t know when she’d grown accustomed to the bustling nature of the crew on the Rising Dawn, but their absence was another sharp stab in her chest.
There was no coffee in the cabinet. Missed one trick, Corrie.
Instead, she chucked a third of the cherries into a colander, rinsed them, and methodically pitted the fruit into the trash can under the sink.
The tool dripped with juice by the end, her hands sticky and dyed red.
By the time she was done, a small bowl of cherries sat on the counter, lacking the charm Aidan would have given it, she was sure.
She wondered how he would arrange such a round fruit.
Probably skewers?
She took the bowl to the sofa and plopped down into her favored seat. Evelyn demolished the small mountain of fruit as she tried to motivate herself for the day ahead. Her butt vibrated. She fished the communicator out of her back pocket, resigned to answering messages before she had coffee.
She had messages from Corrie and Aiden, but also from ID codes she quickly realized belonged to Nannette and Veronique.
She wasn’t expecting those. She clicked through her inbox.
Corrie’s message said that she would be arriving in about an hour.
Evelyn checked the time it was sent. Great.
Corrie would be arriving in about fifteen minutes.
She absolutely couldn’t fit in any meaningful distraction in fifteen minutes. Crap.
She checked the messages from the others. Nannette wanted to know if she’d removed the key from the rock, as she considered it abysmal security practice.
But then how will you visit me?
she sent back. Veronique wanted to know if she’d had breakfast. Evelyn sent a picture of her nearly empty cherry bowl. Aiden’s message was more cryptic.
Hot or cold?
Evelyn was too scattered to figure that out.
I am currently in search of my cardigan.
There. That was an answer.
She shoved the last few cherries into her mouth and put the bowl in the sink next to the sticky pitter.
Where did she leave her cardigan? She went back to her bedroom and found it draped over the chair tucked under her desk.
Reveling in the soft wool, she pulled it on, then fished socks out of a drawer.
Bare feet with a bunch of people in the house felt too intimate for the conversation they were about to have.
She found the boots she’d worn yesterday and slipped those on after the socks, patting the knife in the sheath.
Unnecessary for today, but it gave her a boost to know that she was ready and willing to defend herself.
Three firm knocks on the door announced the arrival of her company.
Evelyn opened the door to find Corrie standing to one side of the threshold, two Bankers Boxes under her chin.
A stack of additional boxes sat next to her on the ground.
Aiden and the rest of the crew were trailing up from the drive.
“When it rains, it pours,” Evelyn said, standing to the side to let them in. “How did you even manage to knock?”
“I kicked the door,” Corrie said. She dropped her boxes on the coffee table before turning around to get the ones left outside.
“Very efficient.”
Nannette handed her the key from under the rock. “I will knock, like a fucking civilized person.”
“That’s very fair. And sensible. I concede.” Evelyn tucked the key into the pocket of her jeans.
Cairn darted around Elenor and Lillian to give Evelyn a crushing hug. “Of all the places on Earth to hide out and read books, you would pick Vegas,” he said, gesturing outside of the house.
“She’s a humble land,” Evelyn said. “You know I like the quiet life.”
The rest of the crew filed in, greeting her with hugs and pats and cheek kisses.
Veronique waved a bag of what smelled like breakfast sandwiches and headed for the kitchen for plates. “Your all fruit diet is absurd.”
“It’s not all fruit,” Evelyn said, resting a hand on her hip. “Caffeine is a major aspect of my nutritional plan.”
Aiden offered her a travel cup of coffee. “Hot. Hi.”
She accepted the coffee and took a sniff. “Mmmm. Hello, gorgeous.” Evelyn grinned. “And hi back.”
“Glad to know where I stand,” he said, with a smile that nearly melted her out of her jeans.
“It’s a very close second place,” she managed to say despite the fluttering in her stomach. Did they make sex antacids?
They settled in her living room, and easy conversation buzzed as sandwiches and drinks were distributed. The love that the crew had for each other was evident, and Evelyn had been invited into this chaotic coterie with open arms, no questions asked.
Well, questions had been asked. But for her, not about her.
Did Corrie long for this, too? Or did she have her own community to fall back on? Evelyn looked at her. She was sitting in the same chair she sat in yesterday, nibbling on a croissant. Her eyes darted around, following the conversation.
Is she filing things away for later? Does she ever just pay attention?
She really didn’t know the woman she’d always considered her favorite aunt, she realized. Not anymore.
Taking a deep, bolstering gulp of her coffee, Evelyn then set her cup down with a little more force than she’d intended. A few drops flew up through the sipping lid.
Smooth.
The group quieted, and she felt the weight of every eye in the room turn to her. Color rose to her cheeks. She hated being the center of attention like this, but she figured this was as good a time as any to declare her intentions.
“I spent a lot of time thinking yesterday,” she began. Aiden’s arm crept down from the back of the sofa, where he had draped it lazily, to give her shoulder a gentle squeeze. She smiled and pressed on.
“Even if it’s doomed to fail, breaking Emil’s hold on Tanalia is the right thing to do. Not that I think we’re doomed to fail! I just . . .” She sighed. “If there’s a plan and I can help, I want to. I can’t just run and hide and farm llamas on some asteroid colony.
“I also don’t expect any of you to run to our aid.
You’ve all done so much for me already. Tanalia is very heavily in your debt.
But I do think we would be more successful if you want to help.
That’s all.” Evelyn lunged for the coffee cup and clutched it to her chest. The room was dead silent.
She could actually hear her heart beating in her ears, the heat radiating from her cheek as she lifted her cup to her face.
“Told you,” Veselko said. He was lounging against the wall again, like it was his job to keep the structure from falling. His grin reminded Evelyn of a feral hyena. “Told you she’d want to.”
Evelyn was pretty sure she could warm a package of ramen with the heat emanating from her face at this point. How could faith in her be more embarrassing than being listened to? She focused on the lid of her cup.
“He did,” Aiden said softly. His hand on her shoulder rubbed in small circles. Evelyn was afraid she was going to burst into tears.
“So, what’s in the boxes?” Changing the subject was always the move.
Corrie smiled at her. Her eyes were bright, and she radiated a sense of satisfaction.
“It’s your homework,” she said. “If you’re going to help, we need to train your talent.”
Evelyn’s stomach fell.
You knew this was coming.
“Well, two of them. The other boxes have information so that everyone can make an informed decision. I must insist on a policy of nondisclosure,” Corrie continued.
Evelyn zoned out as the rest of the group peppered Corrie with questions about logistics, weaponry, men on the ground, infiltration techniques (both physical and technological), and of course, payment.
Evelyn and Corrie were fighting for their homeland.
The crew of the Rising Dawn were coming in as .
. . mercenaries? Technical consultants? Procurement experts?
Whatever they wanted to be called, Evelyn would make sure they were paid very handsomely.
Corrie passed out folders full of documents, answering their questions with reference to the contents.
Elenor seemed impressed at the level of preparation that was going into this pitch.
Lillian was taking notes on her communicator.
Nannette had found a highlighter somewhere and was going through her folder, marking up the pages.
Cairn had dragged Veronique into his lap, and they were whispering about her “directorial debut.” Tariel was making a list, and Veselko was still keeping the wall up.
Aiden was still rubbing her shoulder in gentle circles. Calm, certain, steady energy radiated off of him. He asked questions and followed them up when necessary. He was clearly agreeing to nothing that he couldn’t successfully plot out on his mile of whiteboard.
And he can already see it all plotted out there.
That’s when it hit her.
They were actually considering joining this coup.
She patted Aiden’s hand on her shoulder and got up off the sofa. She needed water. Veselko followed her into the kitchen.
“So, how long did it take you all to decide to come along and play?” She found a cup in the cabinet and offered him one. He shook his head. She found a jug of water in the fridge and filled her cup.
“Give or take? About an hour. And then we figured out what we’d all want to make things work.
Corrie was actually pretty in line. Woman’s been planning for fifty years off and on, though, so I’m not sure who’s more impressive here.
I suppose having to wait for such a stellar crew to be born put a hitch in her giddy up. ” He buffed his nails on his shirt.
Evelyn choked on her water. An hour?
“Lunatics,” she sputtered. “You’re all lunatics.”
Veselko smiled. “Yeah, but we’re fun lunatics. And we have an espresso machine.”
Evelyn considered this. “I’m going to need some help packing my media. Your selection of classics is abysmal.”
“We have boxes in the car.”
Of course they did.