Her smile alone calms the demons that seek to get inside my head.
Emery presses a kiss to my forehead. “All I ever need is you. The rest doesn’t matter.”
“I love you so fucking much.” I kiss her.
And kiss her.
And kiss her until my dick starts to harden inside her again.
“Cameron.”She laughs, and the lovely sound will be the death of me.
27
EMERY
Mikah is fidgety all evening.It strikes me as odd because she’s the only one technically going back to the home base. Cameron watches me from across the room as I sit beside her on the sofa in the common room. Our eyes meet and a playful grin spreads over his lips. My cheeks burn with what we did in the forest. Twice.
Before my heart can race again at the thoughts, I refocus onto Mikah. I figured it would be helpful to gain any information that I could from her before she leaves in the morning.
“Oh.” She startles. “Hi, Emery.”
I pull my legs up and wrap my arms around them. “Hey, Mikah. Is everything all right? You’ve seemed a bit jumpy all day,” I say with a hushed tone so no one will overhear us.
She smiles vaguely and shakes her head. “I’m fine, just preparing for the trip back to base tomorrow.” Her voice breaks at the end. Her eyes are focused on the ground, and her lips are chapped.
Well, that’s not convincing.
I scoot a bit closer.
“You’d tell me if something was wrong, wouldn’t you?” I practically plead with her. If she knew we were going to all die, she’d tell us, right? Mikah’s eyes dart over to where Erik is speaking with Thomas and Gage.
She ensures that he’s fully engrossed with his conversation before she looks back at me. Her throat bobs a few times as she considers what to say. “I found some disturbing messages on Lieutenant Belerik’s receiver.” I almost forgot his real last name is Belerik and not Erik so it takes a moment to click in my head.
“What were they?” I whisper, trying to seem inconspicuous by looking down at my nails and trying to buff out some scratches with my finger.
“They were written in a series of coded phrases. That’s what initially caught my attention, but as I read into it more, I became…concerned.” She feigns a yawn as Erik looks over, seeming to think we’re having an innocent conversation and setting his attention back to Thomas as he spills on about something. “I don’t think I’m landing in Coronado tomorrow, Emery,” she says with a twisted expression that I can only decipher as fear.
My stomach drops. “Why do you think that? If anyone should be safe, it’s you.” Her eyes flash up at me with confusion, so I explain, “I have reason to believe that the entire Fury Squad will be terminated after we complete the next phase of this mission.”
She studies my gaze before standing and giggling, grabbing my hand and saying, “Okay, fine. Let’s find you a new hairstyle. Thanks for trusting me, Emery.” I immediately catch on and throw an award-winning smile and nod.
“Thanks, Mikah.” I pretend like we’re having a grand time. The men buy it with the exception of Cameron. His gaze follows us across the room. Erik doesn’t bat an eye.
The second we get to the bathroom, Mikah closes the door andpulls out an old flip phone. My eyes widen. I didn’t think she was allowed to have one. So either she probably stole it from an officer at some point or has been keeping one secretly. I guess there’s a chance that the IT department gets to have things the soldiers don’t, but a burner phone doesn’t seem like it fits the bill.Who would’ve given her that?
She speaks quickly in a hushed tone. Her entire demeanor seems to have shifted, and it makes me uneasy. “Remember when you asked me about the ‘cards’ on our first mission? I didn’t say anything because I couldn’t. I still technically can’t, but if this all unfolds the way I’m predicting it will, then there really isn’t much to lose anymore.” Mikah walks to the shower and turns it on.
We probably have about ten minutes before someone comes to check on us.
“No one has earned their cards because it’s a farce. A lie. Something they tell the soldiers to keep you motivated because you truly believe that there will be a way out someday. That you were saved from death row and can be fixed if you serve the Dark Forces. Well, it isn’t true. The truth is that no one will ever get out. You either prove your loyalty and rise to become an officer or”—Mikah swallows and her face pales—“they tell you you’ve earned your cards and execute you shortly after.”
I stumble backward and brace myself against the sink.I fucking knew it.Yet it still feels like a kick to the gut.
“What do they tell the other squads after we don’t come back? Why do so many of the soldiers believe it to be true?” I ask hopelessly.
Mikah takes a staggered breath. “They tell the others that the entire squad died while on a mission. I saw the order go through on Captain Bridger’s internal file. He’s already set everything into motion. He’s already having the Fury Squad’s death report created.”
My throat feels dry and my eyes burn. “Why?” is all I can muster.
