“I know. But I don’t like taking this kind of risk right now. We’re only a couple of weeks out from taking the Arsenal.” He’s starting to feel bristly. Protective.
“But it’s going to be a hell of a lot easier to take the Arsenal if Robin is on our side. We’ll be careful. You can check things out as closely as you want before I make an appearance. But the talk itself has to be with me.”
It’s latethat same afternoon when I walk beside a still bristly Ben, surrounded by six of my people, down a hill into Robin’s camp.
We scouted out the area for miles around, and there’s no sign of any hidden guards. If it’s an ambush, it’s either a very bad one or one so clever there’s no predicting it.
His group is bigger than I thought it would be. There are several tents and a few dozen people who all stop what they’re doing at our approach. They’re ready for action if it comes to that. They look competent—hardened by the fight in the way my own people are—and every single one of them is holding a weapon.
But they don’t advance, and as instructed, none of my people make an aggressive move. It’s tense, but that’s to be expected.
My heart is racing as much with excitement as with nerves. If this works, it could change everything.
But I still don’t know if this is real or another trap.
A man comes out of the largest tent just then, ducking under the flap and straightening up to his full height. It’s considerable. He’s not as big as Ben, but his height is close. His build is leaner, and his chin-length hair is a dark gold that glints in the sun.
He’s dressed in standard work clothes—boots, a worn long-sleeved shirt, and brown trousers—but he has an air of something that immediately draws attention.
It’s not that he’s unnaturally handsome, although he’s definitely good to look at. It’s more of an innate confidence that rightly knows everyone else will fall in line.
I’ve never been inclined to fall in line. Not with anyone. So I’m intrigued but not particularly daunted as I draw to a stop and wait for him to approach.
It’s then—only then—that I realize I’ve seen this man before.
He’s the ragged driver who gave us a ride on the way to my mother’s village.
I suck in a sharp breath. “Ben?—”
“I know,” Ben murmurs. “I recognize him too.”
“Fuck,” the man says, his face breaking out in a smile. “They said you were gorgeous, but I figured they must be exaggerating.” He comes to stand directly in front of me, his blue eyes running up and down my body in anappreciative but not overtly sexual once-over. “If anything, they understated it.”
I shake my head. “This is how you greet me?”
He laughs, as warm and relaxed as if we were at a social gathering rather than a military parley. “I’m only a man after all. You’re not what anyone would expect.”
“And you’re exactly what I expected.” I should be annoyed or offended by his approach, but he can somehow make the teasing amusing rather than obnoxious. “Did you know who we were when you gave us a ride?”
“I suspected, but I wasn’t sure. I’m glad to see I was right.”
“I bet you are. Anyway, you wanted to talk, so I’m here. Let’s talk.”
Robin shakes his head. “Right down to business. If that’s what you want, that’s what you get.” He winks before he gestures toward the large tent he just emerged from. “I’m at your service.”
Ben stiffens again. I feel it rather than see it. And this time it’s paired with a soft, guttural sound. Almost like a growl.
Of course I’m focused on what’s important. The stakes here are life and death, and I’m the last person in the world not to take that seriously.
But still… that small growl of a sound is (just a little bit) thrilling.
19
Robin knowswhat he’s doing.
He’s not merely a charming flirt. He’s got a sharp, strategic mind, and it’s evident immediately that he can use it to good purpose. It doesn’t take long for me to recognize he’ll be a formidable ally or enemy, and I’d much rather have him as the former.
Our missions align very closely. What I’ve always assumed were random guerrilla tactics in his history are working toward a more developed rebellion plot, and the reason he wants to help me now is that he’s identified the Arsenal as a natural next step for him. He wanted to use the captured outpost to launch his own attack, and he’s pleased to hear that’s been my plan all along.
