“That’s fine.Make sure you sanitize the area after, the way we planned.”Standard operating procedure for his organization, to limit the amount of evidence left behind after a live-fire training exercise.Right now they had to be even more careful, so certain other measures were called for.
“Of course.Darryl said he delivered another shipment of supplies to you this afternoon?”
“He did.We’re set for another six months here, maybe longer if we ration it more carefully.”Eric glanced around the room he slept in.
Utilitarian.Cold.Devoid of any pictures or memorabilia that would give anyone a clue to his life or background.Only his weapons, ammo, and stockpiles of supplies were down here.If any Feds got suspicious, started sniffing around and actually found this place, he wanted them to think he was just some crazy prepper, obsessed with readying for the end of the world or whatever.
He wasn’t crazy.But hewasprepared for the end of the world, in a sense.
The end of the U.S.government was coming, sooner than anyone imagined.It would unleash a firestorm of chaos and anarchy, and he would be ready.When the flames of destruction finally died out, he’d be ready to take his place in the new, less corrupt and more just order that would rise from the ashes.
The American people were tired of the broken system they were trapped in.Eric’s mission was to help liberate them all.
“I want an in-person report about the exercise once you’re done,” he told Lyle.“I need to know who’s ready.”The first planned attack was only weeks away, and he wasn’t moving the timeline back again.He’d take the best members, carefully screen and vet them, and choose a handful from their ranks to carry out the coming operation.
“You got it, boss.See you in a few hours.”
Eric ended the call and turned off the lamp before lying back down on his bunk.For more than three years he’d lived here pretty much alone, totally off the grid except for encrypted phone calls and when occasional travel was necessary to get where he needed to be.
He never used the same fake ID twice, and always took a bodyguard with him when he left the safety of his headquarters.Couldn’t be too careful these days, not when the government was looking for him.
It might be pitch dark in here but he didn’t need to see to navigate around as he slid off the bunk and made his way to his bank of computers.He knew every inch of this place by heart.All the nooks and crannies, the location of each weapon or food stockpile, every last secret the place had to offer.Just in case.
Sacrifice was a necessary part of the path he’d embarked upon.His entire life was underground now, until he made his triumphant return to the surface when the right moment came.
And that moment was closer now than ever.
––––––––
“Seriously, you don’thave to come down if you don’t want to.I know you’re still exhausted.”
Ryan looked up at his wife, surprised.
Candace shot him a sardonic look, hot as ever as she came out of the bathroom with her golden hair pinned up, wearing a black strapless cocktail dress and a pair of red high heels that gave him plenty of ideas about how they should spend the rest of the evening together—alone, with the ends of those sexy heels digging into his naked back.
“And let’s be honest, we all know how much you dread being in the same room as my grandma anyway,” she added.
Ruby was terrifying.“What?I get a kick out of her.”
“Sure you do.”
Okay, something was definitely up.They’d been apart for months, with only a few weeks together after his previous deployment.He’d assumed she’d want to spend every moment they could together, but she’d just told him he didn’t have to come to dinner.What was up with that?
“Something wrong?”
“No.”She turned toward the mirror over the vanity to put on lipstick.The tension in her shoulders, combined with the way she avoided eye contact with him, were dead giveaways.
Something was bothering her.He tried to think of what she might be mad at him about, but came up blank, other than one particular phone conversation a few weeks back.He was over it.She tended to hold onto things longer than him though.“What is it?”
“Nothing.”
Uh oh.Red flag.Nothing was a guarantee that it was something, and something she saw as major.“Just tell me.”
She sighed and set the lipstick down on the counter.“We’ll talk about it later, after dinner.”
Oh, awesome.He barely refrained from muttering it under his breath.That remote tone, and those hated words meant whatever she had to say wasn’t going to be pleasant.
He repressed a sigh.A moment ago he’d been looking forward to hot, kinky sex the minute they got back to the room, while she wore nothing but those high heels and a sensual smile.Now he was bracing for a fight instead, and that sucked.
