“You’re more than that, NOVA,” I whispered, and I swear, if she had eyes, she would have rolled them.
“How about you just don’t die, okay? Then no one needs to make promises they can’t keep.”
I let out a dry laugh, adjusting my mask slightly to make sure it was secure.
“I’ll see what I can do,” I muttered, and she snickered softly in my earpiece as I went to wake up the love of my life so we could go to war.
“Alright, we’re good to go,” I said, settling in front of the monitors and sliding on my headset.
I could see the entire perimeter of the cabin from here, as well as every room inside the structure. The cameras were motion-activated, so any movement detected would bring the feed that needed attention to the forefront, which meant I didn’t have to worry about missing anything. NOVA assured me she had that part handled.
The entire exterior of the cabin was lit up with blinding floodlights, making it easy for me to see if anyone approached.
We’d assumed they would have some sort of night vision tech, so there was no point in keeping what was soon to be our battle area dark. It would only give Luke’s men more cover.
“You sure you’re okay down here, baby?” Jay asked me gruffly, and I could tell he would still much prefer if I hid in the safe room with my mom.
“Yep! Now get up there and make sure the perimeter is secure,” I ordered, before grinning up at NOVA’s speakers.
“How was that? Did I sound like I knew what I was doing?”
“Oh yes. Very military. I almost confused you for a lieutenant for a second there.”
I grinned, and Jay rolled his eyes.
“Just… don’t leave this lab. If something happens to me, go directly to the panic room. There’s enough food in there that you should be able to last almost six months before you need to leave. I don’t think even Luke would wait that long to smoke you out,” Jay said, and I scowled at him.
“I’m not going into the freaking panic room, Jay. Now go check the perimeter before these butt wipes get here.”
Jay didn’t seem amused by my antics. His face was pale, and his mouth a firm line. I watched that muscle in his jaw twitch several times before he finally nodded and slid his mask down over his face. The glowing blue ring that signified NOVA was loaded and ready to whisper directions in his ear made me feel slightly better.
“Don’t. Die,” Jay growled, his voice sounding robotic as it filtered through the voice modifier.
“Back at you, baby,” I chirped, just as one of our motion detectors set off, triggering an alarm.
WARNING, WARNING, MOVEMENT DETECTED AT ENTRY POINT B.
That was the footpath. They’d been trying to go the stealthy way first.
My gaze dropped to the monitors, and I found that Jay had been right. They’d divided into smaller teams, and the first wave was walking down the footpath in full SWAT gear. There were five men, and they all had what looked like AK-47s, helmets, and tactical goggles that I was sure were decked out with night vision.
“Fuck. I’ve gotta go,” Jay cursed, tossing me one last look over his shoulder. He hovered, as if he had something important he wanted to say but was too afraid to say it. Finally, after a beat, he spoke.
“Milo… I know that meeting me was probably the worst thing that could have ever happened to you. I know it was wrong of me to bring you into all of this, and it’s not something I’ll ever be able to forgive myself for.”
“Jay, that’snot?—”
“Let me finish.”
My eyes were burning, and I hated that he had his mask on. I wanted so badly to see his face.
“What I’m trying to say is… IknowI’m the worst thing that could have ever happened to you, but you’re thebestthing that’s ever happened to me, Milo. And I’ll give my lastfuckingbreath if it means keeping you safe and giving you the chance to live the life you’ve always deserved. I love you so much, baby. No matter what happens, just… know that.”
His words hung heavily in the air between us, and I swallowed hard in an attempt to prevent myself from bursting into tears.
“I love you too,” I choked, my words coming out in a tight rasp. “Now make sure you come back here in one piece so we can live that life you keep promising me together.”
He stared at me for a long moment before finally nodding and turning away to face the man who’d taken everything from him.
