Page 182 of Eight of Swords, Part Two

‘In your dreams, Sorrenko,’ Riley sneers. ‘Luca, heads up.’

Luca calls back, ‘We know, we’re on it.’

Kade feels dizzy when he stands, his head swimming with information that feels more like a sledgehammer to the head than a friendly exchange.

He forces himself into a more focused mode of operation; protect the boss, get back to the Tower. First Captain. Iron Star. Riley Harker.

That’s his life.

His world.

Only it’s crumbling.

‘Hiru, incoming count?’ he asks, his own voice buzzing slightly in his ears. They rejoin the team in the small space outside the kitchen while Vasily’s people calmly form around him, one of them grabbing the box.

Hiru looks up from his scanner.

‘Thirty-six.’

‘We can take thirty-six,’ Kade says, more confidently than he feels because they’ve only ever dealt with fifteen to twenty Resets at any given time and that was always in their cleverly designed tunnels.

‘More joining,’ Hiru warns, glancing at Riley. ‘Boss?’

Riley’s lip curls slightly like he’s swallowing something bad.

His chest rises and falls swiftly.

‘Protect me,’ he forces himself to say. ‘Kill them all.’

Kade has never felt worse for Riley than he does then, seeing the full breadth of cowardice necessary to protect… his little brother. It means hiding behind the strength of others. It means keeping himself safe while he silently absorbs any and all of Kade’s injuries.

It’s on the tip of Kade’s tongue to contravene Riley’s order and tell the team to huddle around him instead, but Riley won’t allow that and precious seconds will be lost.

‘Yes, sir. What about Sorrenko’s people?’

‘We’re working with them for now.’

‘I’ll guard Harker,’ Lachlan offers, stepping forward. He’s carrying the MP7 he favoured for his attack on the Tower only days ago. He gives Kade a small wink. ‘You’ve got this.’

Vasily joins Kade. ‘I will help.’

‘I don’t trust you to help, Sorrenko.’

‘Then use me as shield. I am tall.’

Kade softens a little despite all his very best efforts.

He’s not going to let himself like this fucker.

‘Lock, make sure you see face before you kill, huh?’

‘I’ll do my best.’

Kade says, ‘Let’s bottleneck them. How many, Hiru?’

‘Eighty-nine. They’re coming in fast.’

Kade makes sure his swallow doesn’t show. ‘Easy peasy.’