Sam saluted as he climbed to his feet then headed out with Butler.
"I hate that I'm sending them back out without any rest, but there's no other choice. I need Foster here before he heads back to Mesa Verde."
"They got a good meal in them before they left, babe." Frankie patted his arm. "They'll be fine."
"They've gone without sleep before," Sawyer reminded them. "They'll be fine."
"I still don't like it."
None of them did, but they all understood the gravity of the situation. If word got out that they knew what the government had done, the people who had survived would want to quiet them up. Considering they were the ones in charge of the ADF, they had a lot of muscle behind them.
Sawyer still wasn't sure what their options were or even if they should do anything at all. How would it change things? Would it even change things? It certainly wouldn't bring anyone back who had died of the virus or get the mechs to go away.
So, what was the point?
The other side of that argument was whether they could live with themselves if they let this crime go unpunished, and it was a crime. Whoever had done this was the biggest serial killer in the history of serial killers.
"I want to go back to that office and finish looking through those papers I found," Roark said. "The rest of you should get some rest. You're probably going to need it."
Sawyer had no doubt of that. "As I told you earlier, there's a bunch of rooms down that way." Sawyer pointed over his shoulder. "Pick any of them except the first one. That one is mine."
"Frankie, why don't you find us a place to sleep while I go look at these papers?" Roark suggested. "I won't be too long."
"Promise?" Frankie asked.
Roark smiled as he leaned over and pressed a kiss to Frankie's lips. "I promise."
"I need to make sure the place is closed up tight," Sawyer said. "If we're going to get any rest, we need to make sure no one can get in."
"What about Sam and Butler?" Stefan asked.
"We'll open the door up again in ten hours, which is about when they should be back. I don't want to leave us vulnerable while they're gone." Sawyer hated leaving Sam and Butler vulnerable if something happened, but he had no other choice. It was too dangerous to leave the complex unsecured.
"I need my bags," Stefan said. "I'll go with you."
"I need my bags, too," Dahl said.
"Dahl, can you get mine and Roark's bags when you get yours?" Frankie asked. "I'll stay here and clean up."
"Yeah, I can do that."
"Thanks, man."
Sawyer glanced around before giving a curt nod. "Okay, let's do this then so we can come back here and relax for a little bit." Because a little bit was all Sawyer was sure they had. Either someone looking for stuff to scavenge, the people who'd started this whole mess, or the mechs would come calling.
They needed to be ready because the battle was coming whether they were prepared for it or not.
Chapter Twelve
Sawyer's breath caught when he stepped into the room he'd claimed as his own an hour later. Stefan wasn't naked. He wasn't stretched out on the bed in some seductive pose. He was just sitting on the side of the cot pulling his shoes and socks off.
It was enough.
It was something he'd never thought to have again or to see again. Something as simple as watching Stefan undress and get ready for bed. It settled something deep inside of Sawyer that he hadn't known was in chaos.
"I missed you, you know." It was more of a statement than a question. "I've seen you a few times since that day on the tarmac. Mostly from afar. I was always afraid to get too close."
Stefan had a frown wrinkling the lines between his eyes when he glanced up. "Why would you be afraid?"
