“That’s right,” Keira said. “Fuck Onyx.” She pulled Jade into her arms and hugged her tightly. Then she set her at arm’s length. “Get some sleep. We need to be on the road by five to give us plenty of time to get to our location, evaluate the setup and get in place.”
Jade nodded. “Thank you both for helping Lily.” She turned and entered the cabin.
Keira sank onto the steps and stared out at the sky.
Rogue dropped down to sit beside her.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow,” she said softly.
He slipped his arm around her. “None of us do.”
Keira leaned into his warmth and strength. “I just... I want you to know that these last few days, working with you, trusting you... It's the first time I've felt like a person instead of a weapon in a long time."
He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “You've always been a person, Keira. Viktor tried to take that from you, but he didn't succeed. You're still here. Still fighting. Still human.”
She sighed. “Like you.”
He touched a finger to her chin, turning her face up to him. “I’m trying to be.”
When he leaned down, she met his mouth with hers in a kiss so tender and real it touched her soul. As the kiss deepened and became more urgent, Keira realized it was more than just lust or attraction. It was a connection, an understanding of each other, a beacon of hope in the face of an uncertain outcome that could end in tragedy.
Keira pulled back and stared up into his eyes as they reflected the stars shining in the sky. “If we don’t survive tomorrow?—”
He touched a finger to her lips. “When we survive tomorrow.”
She kissed his finger and nodded. “When we survive tomorrow, is there any universe in which an assassin and a war hero can be together? I’d really like to give whatever this is between us a chance.”
“I’ll do everything in my power to make it happen,” he said, “because I want that chance, too.”
He kissed her again, and they held each other, stealing a moment of peace before the storm.
Chapter 11
“Jade spotted the Bear Brothers Supply truck. It just entered the parking lot and is pulling behind the diner,” Keira whispered across the table to Rogue. She wore sunglasses and he wore a fisherman’s hat pulled low over his forehead to avoid being identified as the man and woman whose faces were plastered all over the news channels as armed and dangerous murderers.
Though tense inside, Rogue remained a calm, ordinary diner customer on the outside. They’d already paid the check for the coffee they’d consumed and the Danish they hadn’t touched. He wished he had a radio headset like Jade and Keira, but he felt better knowing they could communicate with each other. As long as he kept Keira in sight, he’d be all right.
Jade had been in the diner earlier to secure her coffee and snack and had taken them out to the truck, where she’d serve as their lookout and report in when their target arrived.
Rogue took one last sip of his coffee and gave Keira a stiff smile. “Ready?”
“I am.” She set her cup on the table and laid her napkin beside it.
They stood and made their way to the door.
Once outside, they rounded the side of the diner and waited for Jade’s cue.
Keira leaned into Rogue as if going in for a kiss. Instead, she whispered in his ear, relaying Jade’s messages. “He unloaded several boxes onto a hand truck and is wheeling it into the diner. He’s inside the diner.”
“It’s go time,” Keira said and ducked behind the diner, leaving Rogue at the corner.
He peered around the side of the building, watching as she climbed into the passenger seat of the truck’s cab and ducked out of sight.
The driver in his Bear Brothers coveralls and cap came back out of the back of the diner with an empty hand truck. He stowed it on the back of the truck, rolled the overhead door down and secured it.
Then he climbed up into the driver’s seat.
Rogue held his breath until the driver slumped against the door.
