“What’s he doing building shit for you guys instead of working in Silicon Valley or something?”
“He’s also family.” I tossed the celery stick back and took one of the wings out of habit. “Normally, he’s in a support role—overwatch, drone operation, remote tech. But he’s head over heels for Brie. Would have sacrificed himself in a heartbeat for her, if it had come to that in Mnemis.”
“It was a fucking shitshow,” Percival said, shaking his head. “I can’t believe Lark was a plant.”
“Professionals get caught by surprise, too.” My team had dealt with our fair share of those since Noah returned to the land of the living. “We got there in time to save Brie. That’s what matters.”
“Your boy Will was something else—charging in when everything was going to hell.”
It had shocked me when Will ran after Lark and Brie, but it also hadn’t. They’d been in love with each other for so long that his risk felt as natural as breathing.
The memory of diving for Brooke flashed through my brain again. The searing pain through my shoulder. Bullets hitting flesh instead of my plate carrier.
Or so the doctors told me.
The music shifted again, to something slower, and the fiddle drew out a long, mournful note that seemed to echo my memories.
“Brooke blames herself for the Greek Fire getting out,” Percival said. “She thinks she didn’t push hard enough to have the formula deleted. I talked to her after we left, and I guess she’d half-expected this to happen all along.”
“Brie’s taking it pretty hard, too.” I stared down at the flight of glasses in front of me, all but the last one already empty. When had I done that?
“A lot of people would have done what she did in those circumstances.”
“She didn’t know what it was.” I took the last glass and pulled it close to my nose, inhaling the hoppy scent. “I don’t blame Brooke, either, but someone in your fucking organization should have backed her up, if the formula was that dangerous.”
“They thought it was secure enough, I guess.” He shrugged and turned over his wrist to check the time. “It’s almost eleven. Early flight tomorrow.”
I nodded, leaving cash on the table to cover our tab, plus a healthy tip. We stepped outside into the cool late-October night, where groups of people still moved between bars and late-night eateries. Music spilled from other venues down the street, and taxis periodically pulled up to collect patrons.
“One last thing,” Percival said as we prepared to part ways. “She never said a bad word about you. Not once.”
My chest tightened. “Percy?—”
“Just thought you should know.” He clapped me on the shoulder. “See you in the morning, brother.”
Chapter 8
Brooke
The Reynolds companyjet was roughly the same size as the one Pendragon normally flew my team on. It was equipped for twelve passengers in the main cabin and two more in the VIP cabin at the back.
Jayce and Zac had their seats in the fore-cabin swiveled to face the screen mounted in the mid-cabin, as did Emmett and I in the aft. In the heart of the jet, Rav stood beside the screen, which displayed a three-dimensional topographic map of the Naples area and a glowing marker on a hillside south of the city.
“Evelyn arranged for us to stay at the villa of a friend of a friend,” said Scarlett, sitting on the divan opposite the screen, next to Malcolm. “If thisisa trap, that puts a buffer layer between us and anywhere Noah would guess we’d stay.”
“The man’s name is Mario De Luca, and he’s an archaeologist who works in Pompeii.” Rav pointed at the marker as he began guiding us through the virtual terrain. “His villa is in Montechiaro, on high ground with excellent visibility.” His finger traced an arc across the display. “You can see the entire Bay of Naples, the Sorrentine Peninsula, and as far as Capri on a clear day.”
I tried to focus on the location’s tactical advantages rather than on how his hands moved—strong, deliberate, familiar. The same hands that had once traced every inch of my body with equal precision.
Stop it.
“We’ll be landing at Salerno Costa d’Amalfi Airport,” Rav continued, zooming out to show the area south of Naples. “It’s smaller, less monitored than Naples International. About thirty minutes from the villa.”
“Looks like a drive into the city center.” Malcolm was casual, his arm draped along the back of the divan. “Ferry port nearby?”
“By car, you can expect roughly an hour.” Rav highlighted a coastal area. “The nearest ferry port is twenty minutes from the villa, giving us multiple extraction options if needed.”
“It’s not ideal,” Scarlett added, “but since we don’t know Fenix’s exact location yet, it’s a solid compromise.”
