“I’m going to look for Xavier and make sure nobody killed him yesterday,” I say, setting my coffee on the counter.
But it’s Xavier who finds us. I step onto the creaky front porch to spot him striding up the path, clad in the black clothing he wore on our recon mission.
“Hey,” he greets me, and the second I see his face, I know what he’s going to say next. “I just spoke to Kitty.”
“You’re staying,” I say unhappily.
Gray appears in the doorway. “Like hell he is.”
Xavier spares the other man a dismissive look. “I’m not going back to your mountain.”
“You don’t have a choice in the matter.”
“Actually, brother, I do.”
Shoulders set, Gray takes a step forward.
“Try me,” Xavier mocks, his eyes gleaming. “You might know how to fly a plane better than me, but you’re not a soldier, and you sure as shit aren’t a fighter. I could break your neck without batting an eyelash.”
He’s not wrong. I’ve seen Xavier fight.
“I don’t need to ask your permission,” he continues, “but as a courtesy to our mutual friend—that’s you, Darlington—I would like to request to stay behind.”
An ache tightens my chest. He’s one of the few people at the Dagger whom I explicitly trust. More than that, he’s become a good friend.
“I don’t belong there,” he tells me, reading my mind as always. “You know that.” He holds up his wrist, now bare. “I don’t belong with a tracker on my wrist. Restricted access to everything. Surrounded by people who look at me like they can’t trust me.”
“I wonder why they can’t trust you,” Gray cracks.
“Grayson,” I warn.
He gives me a frown. “How do you know he won’t go running back to the Command the moment we leave the Hollow?”
“Because I don’t belong there, either,” Xavier says simply. “I’m a deserter. That’s punishable by death.”
“Cross Redden is your childhood friend. He’s not going to let you die.”
“Do you really think Cross has any power right now? With his brother running the show? That’s not a chance I’m willing to take. The Command aren’t my people anymore. And you and your little Uprising were never my people.”
“But the Faithful are?”
“They could be. And if I discover I don’t belong here, either, I guess I’ll walk into the woods and blow my fucking brains out.”
“Don’t you dare,” I order.
He grins at me before refocusing on Gray. “Either way, I’m not going back with you. So if you want to put that bullet in my head yourself, go for it.”
Xavier stretches his arms out as if to say,Take your shot.
“Nobody’s shooting anybody,” drawls a familiar voice. Jasper appears on the path in a white button-down shirt, open to reveal a bronzed, muscular chest. His lips quirk when he sees me. “Good morning, Wren.”
“Morning, Jasper.”
He addresses Gray next. “Leave the lieutenant with me. I’ll take responsibility.”
“That’s really sweet of you, brother,” Xavier says, good-naturedly smacking Jasper’s arm before narrowing his eyes on Gray. “So? What’s it gonna be, Blake? Should I expect your Authority to dispatch an ambush squad and force me back to your mountain?”
Gray seems to be turning it over in his mind. I bet he wishes he had telepathy right now. Or at least his earpiece so he could consult the Authority. But we had to dump all our tech to be allowed into the Hollow.
