“Is this a vote?” Ryder asks, breaking the odd standoff.
Wolf hesitates, and I know it’s because these are extenuating circumstances. This usually would be a vote.
“No,” he says firmly. “It’s not a vote. I haven’t confirmed anything with Mihai, but yes. According to him, we can increase our force by at least twenty men within a week.”
A sharp ping sounds. All our gazes snap up to the screen.
Bug: Ask him for Tudor Olaru. No exceptions.
I frown. Bug really does know everyone. Or at least has the ability to dig it up.
Wolf clears his throat. “I will, Bug. Was already planning on it.”
Bug: Sure, you were.
I roll my eyes, itching to get back to the task at hand.
“Healer, Scar,” Wolf looks at them, his face wretched. “Anything to add?”
Ping!
Bug left the chat.
Guess that answers his involvement.
God, I want this done so I can go back and put my eyes on Charlotte again. She’s been in her room—her apartment—ever since we broke the news to her. And I know she’s probably not handling any of this well.
I just… need to be closer. Standing outside her damn door would be enough.
Healer doesn’t speak at first. His jaw works like he’s chewing through something bitter.
So Scar takes over, filling in the gaps. Walking us through what they found—the crumbling state of a compound that had been a fully functioning machine barely a night ago. He runs through the numbers again. The bodies.
Then Healer finally decides to chime in. “Nine brothers dead,” he says flatly. “No sign of the others. No sign of the women or the kids either.”
“If they were taken,” he continues grimly, “then the remaining twenty-something brothers were taken with them.”
A pause.
“The whole compound’s a graveyard, Prez. My medical team wasn’t even needed.”
The desolation in his voice is enough for every single one of us to feel it—the creeping dread of what’s coming.
But we also know something else.
We can’t let it happen to us. To our families. We won’t.
“I want the list of the dead and missing,” Wolf says, turning to Ryder. “Coordinate with Spike.”
Ryder nods once. His gaze holds on Wolf a moment longer than necessary, something sharp and unspoken passing between them.
There’s another order hidden in Wolf’s words. I know it. And Ryder definitely knows it.
Another thirty minutes crawl by before the meeting finally breaks. Chairs scrape. Boots drag across the floor. Everyone walks out slower than they came in. Heavy. Dreary.
Ryder, Healer, and I are the last ones left when Healer’s phone suddenly rings. He frowns down at the screen and answers distractedly, already heading toward the door.
I fall into step behind him.
