Talon clicks his tongue. “Well. That’s a bust.”
“Skye.” Cassian repeats. “We’re going into a populated area, in the middle of the day. Those are the worst possible conditions for an ambush.”
Nathaniel nods once.
“What do we do?” Talon asks, leaning forward, elbows on his knees.
“We bet Alex shows soon,” Cassian replies. “And we set some rules.”
“Okay,” I whisper.
“If we make contact with the killers, you follow my orders immediately. They have hostages, so let’s not get creative, okay?”
“Okay,” I say.
“Next,” Cassian says. “Skye stays between Nathaniel and me at all times. If anything goes to hell, Talon flanks. There is no scenario where Skye engages alone. Ever.”
My stomach drops.
“Okay.”
“Skye, you’ve got your weapons,” he continues. “If it comes to it, you use them. No hesitation, okay, baby?”
I’ve got the gun tucked against my ribs, the switchblade in my jacket pocket, and the collapsible baton strapped to my thigh. The thought of using any of it for real is honestly a little sickening.
“Yeah,” I say anyway. “Okay.”
Cassian glances at me, just long enough for his eyes to flick down and check that I actually have everything on me. For his own sanity, I suppose.
“If you get cornered, shoot first. Ask questions later,” he says. “There might be people there. They might scream and look at you like you’re the bad one. Fuck them. They know nothing about you.”
“Talon, pass me my backpack,” Nathaniel says.
Talon reaches under his seat and pulls out the larger medical pack. He hands it over. Nathaniel settles it on his lap and starts checking the compartments.
Before anyone can say another word, something happens.
A beat—
—and then Alex pops into existence above the center console. Her buzz cut flickers for a second before stabilizing. She exhales like she just climbed five flights of stairs.
“Oh, thank fuck,” I breathe.
She looks at me. “That’s a weird reaction.”
I don’t have the mental capacity to unpack my reactions right now.
“Where the hell have you been?” I snap. “Your crows stopped leading us like ten streets ago.”
“I know,” she says, completely unbothered. “I was scouting.”
“Scouting?” I echo.
“They’re close,” she replies, flat and final.
Every muscle in my body locks.
“Where?” Cassian demands.
