“The idea of that might sound good, but I’m left with this hole inside me. I feel this immense nothingness that I know shouldn’t be there. People I once loved and cared for should be there. Fear. Hope.Something.” I let my eyes find Mori as he chats with Kayden, Thomas, and Gage. The four of them have a history and past that made them who they are. I feel incomplete.
Maybe it’s having connections like theirs that I’m missing. Something that feels like home, no matter how grim it may be.
Mikah lets out a snort. “Trust me, I’ve seen your file. You aren’t missing anything good, and have you stopped to think about your current predicament? Look who you’re teamed up with. Mori is a heartless killer. He can’t be trusted…honestly none of them can.” She sounds so sure.
Of course, someone from an analytical background would think of everything based on the odds, but looking at my squad as they laugh together and share stories between one another, I know there is trust there.
“What is it like in the technology sector anyway? I actually didn’t even know there was one in the Dark Forces,” I admit sheepishly.
Her eyes light up with the chance to tell me about her side of the operations. “It’s more complicated than you could ever comprehend. Secrets you couldn’t even fathom. We deal with the most vile dark web groups and black market organizations. Finding them and hacking into their systems to get coordinates and details on their buildings and routes. Did you think that you meatheads just randomly stumble upon them?” She grunts cockily.
“Holy shit, that’s actually so fucking badass,” I blurt out. Mikah straightens with pride.
“It is. We’re the backbone, you guys are the weapons.” She offers me a genuine smile and I find myself reflecting one back.
There’s so much more to all this than meets the eye, I guess. I wonder what other teams they have. What other horrid operations they run.
“Would you say what we do could be considered as good?” I mumble, staring hazily at Mori. He’s living proof that General Nolan’s dream of an unbeatable army is obtainable. An omen to a dark future. How is it that something as lethal as him can hold so much humanity deep in his bones? I absentmindedly brush my fingertips over my bottom lip, remembering the taste of his mouth on mine.
Mikah hums in thought. “I think so. I wouldn’t saywe’regood, but overall, I think bad guys like us are doing our part in the world. We take care of thereallyawful things the government doesn’t want a label attached to. So yeah, I think we are good-ish.”
I nod, deep in thought. But what happens to us after? Does anyone actually know?
“Have any Dark Forces soldiers actually gotten out, you know, earn their cards?”
My question gives her pause and her eyes fill with something I’ve yet to see on her. It’s a knowing look. One that says,Shut your mouth if you know what’s good for you.Chills break out across my arms.
That’s what I thought.Why would they let us go? They can’t trust us not to talk.
“No,” she says quieter.
I remember being skeptical of the wholeearn your cards outidea. If anyone knows all the details, it’s going to be Mikah and people like her who have access to that information. No one couldconvince me that she hasn’t hacked into the Dark Forces’s database and snooped around. With talent like that, the world could all but be hers.
Probably the exact reason she’s in the underground like we are. She likely hacked the wrong system and got caught.
Blood drips from my nose and wets my upper lip. I wipe it away thoughtlessly as a lovely, wicked idea springs into my head.
“Any chance you can get access to the lieutenant’s laptop?”
She shoots me a wry grin, excitement flashing across those icy eyes as she leans forward a little. My eyes dash to where she was just leaning against the crate, a black tablet is hidden behind her.
“I already have it.”
12
CAMERON
It’snice to know that I’m not the only one who’s restless tonight. Emery’s been tossing and turning for hours now.
She eventually sits up. My eyes are closed, but I can feel her gaze on me, trying to determine if I’m asleep or not.What is she doing?It has to be 2:30 a.m. by now.
She carefully rises from her cot and slips outside the tent.
I listen carefully, hearing her walk toward the direction of the dug-out lavatory. When she doesn’t come back after ten minutes I start to worry, pressing myself up on my forearms and deciding whether or not I’m going to go check on her.
No. What if I hurt her again?A low groan rumbles from my chest, frustrated at myself for being such a mess that I can’t even properly go check on her. I was hardly able to contain myself last night in the Under. The way I wanted to rut into her and make her mine once more was unbearable.
I rub my hand down my face slowly and exhale.
