“And you’re evil. Amazing. But evil.”
“I aim to please.”
Gemma grew quiet again. “I miss you.”
A piercing ache pummeled his chest. “I miss you too.”
They lingered in the silence for a breath. Two. Three.
He squeezed his eyes closed, loathing the words that were about to come out of his mouth. “I have to go,” he said gently.
“I know.”
“Call me whenever you need me, okay? If I don’t answer, I’ll call you back as soon as I can.”
“I will.”
“I love you, Gem. More than you even know.”
She had a smile in her voice when she answered. “I love you too.”
Christian ended the call, rejoining the shadows where Hawk and Imara were posted. The ache in his chest stayed, but so did the smile. He tried to refocus, his hand brushing instinctively over the hilt of his grav knuckles as he kept eyes on the relay.
“You good, lover boy?” Imara snarked. “Or do you need a minute to, I don’t know, cool down and refocus on your tactical decisions?”
Christian shot her a warning look, but that only emboldened her.
“Next time,” she said sweetly, “maybe step a little further away before you growl out the words ‘rub your clit.’ Pretty sure the echo bounced off three walls.”
His face roasted.
Hawk smirked. “I thought he was whispering intel.”
“Oh, he was whispering, all right.” Imara cackled.
Christian squeezed the bridge of his nose. “I hate you both.”
“No, you don’t,” Imara said, smug and amused. “You just wish we had bad hearing.”
Hawk grinned. “You’re lucky we didn’t lose signal. She might’ve had to finish the job herself.”
Christian muttered something unrepeatable under his breath and turned back toward the cache. His ears burned, but he was smiling.
A soft chime cut through their teasing. Christian tapped his comm. The message from Ahna popped up on his eyepiece.
BACKUP EN ROUTE TO COLLECT THE CACHE. ETA THIRTY MINUTES. MAINTAIN VISUAL. DO NOT ENGAGE.
“They’re sending a team,” he informed his friends.
“Good,” Imara said. “I was about to start charging rental fees for this perch.”
Hawk adjusted the strap on his rifle. “Let’s just hope the Dissent doesn’t show up early.”
Christian’s hand drifted back to the hilt of his grav knuckles. “If they do, they won’t be leaving.”
Gemma woke screaming.
Cold air slammed into her lungs. Her spine arched off the diagnostic table as hands pressed her down. Lights swam above her, bright, clinical, and real.
