“Go on,” Brooks urges once he makes sure I’m not going to pass out. “The extraction. How do we get her out?”
“We’re going to have a safe word. As soon as she says it, or if we determine that we need to get in faster, we make a break for the room. I have a battering ram that we will use if the door is locked. I will neutralize the threat. Brooks, you will extract Wren from the room.”
Brooks nods, wrapping his arm around me and kissing the side of my forehead.
“One more thing, Wren,” X says, “this is for you.”
I stare down at the table where he has slid something in front of me. It looks like a makeup compact. But when he presses the button, two small prongs pop out from the side.
“It’s a taser,” he says. “It should fit in your purse or your pocket. The intention is that you won’t need it because we will already be on our way to you. But in the event that we don’t make it in time, do not hold back. You just press this button to release the prongs, then press and hold this one here to initiate the shock.”
I nod solemnly. Fuck, this is getting real.
“What happens if…if they don’t do anything illegal?” Keaton asks.
“Then you should proceed as you normally would. We don’t want to give up our angle until we have something good and strong that we can use against him. Actual proof on top to corroborate all of the survivors’ stories,” Julian says.
We nod in unison, but then Brooks turns to me.
“Wren, you already know what I’m going to ask you,” he says. “But I’m going to ask it anyway. Are you sure you want to go through with this?”
I pause for a moment, longer than I’ve ever paused before all the other times he’s asked me this. I look from brother to brother to brother to X, and then finally, I nod.
“Yes,” I say. His head drops slightly, and I realize something.
He wanted me to say no.
“You can back out at any time, Wren,” he says. “Even if it’s not today. Even if it’s not tomorrow. Even if it’s while you’re walking into the damn hotel. You can say enough.”
“He’s right, Wren,” Julian says. “Anytime.”
I nod at both of them.
“I can do this,” I say out loud for them all to hear, but also a little bit for myself too.
“We know you can,” Keaton says with a soft smile.
I look back up at X.
“What’s the safe word?” I ask him.
“What’s something that makes you feel safe?” he asks me. My eyes instinctively drift to Brooks, and he tilts his head lovingly. “It shouldn’t be someone’s name. Particularly not the son of the man who poses the threat,” X says, reading my thoughts.
I think for another minute.
“Elevator,” I say. Brooks turns to me, raising an eyebrow.
“What? You hate elevators.”
“Yeah, but it reminds me of the first day I met you. And believe it or not, that day with you was the first time I ever actually felt safe in one,” I say with a smile. He leans forward and kisses my temple.
“Alright, then,” X says. “Elevator it is. I’m going to get some more info on our suite and figure out which equipment I want to use. I’ll be in touch early next week and then again once I take care of the room.”
“Thank you, X,” Brooks says, standing to shake his hand.
A little while later,Brooks and I are in the car, on the way back to his apartment. I stare out the window as we drive, watching all the faces that flash before me. Wondering how many of them have their own crises going on right now.Wondering how many of them are blissfully ignorant to the ways of this world.
It’s a silent ride, and although he’s holding my hand, he’s looking out his window too, eyes scanning the city like mine were, not his usual, affectionate, loving self.
