Page 91 of Eight of Swords, Part Two

‘It’s not that I don’t want you to go,’ Riley explains. ‘It’s too dangerous.’

‘I can take care of myself.’

‘Has he told you why he wants to take you there?’

‘He...’ Kade rubs the back of his head. ‘No.’

‘That’s a lot of trust.’

‘He helped us earlier. He’s on our side now.’

‘Kade.’

‘Please. I want to go there with him. I... I think I need to.’

‘The Resets patrol there.’

‘Lachlan is immortal.’

‘You’re not.’

‘I can handle it.’

‘If I forbid it,’ Riley says, his voice pitched low, ‘are you going to obey?’

The word obey sits heavy between them like a boulder.

Kade chews the inside of his cheek, looks down and shakes his head.

‘Well.’ Riley sighs. ‘I can’t let you go alone.’

‘I went into the city the other night and it was OK.’

‘He brought you back here unconscious. The pain of separation is a factor we can’t ignore. I can’t take the risk of it distracting you if you’re under attack,’ Riley explains. Then, when Kade looks at Cole and Finn with a worried frown, he waves a hand and adds, ‘They know everything.’

‘They do?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Have they always?’

Riley doesn’t answer that. ‘We need to bring a field team.’

Kade stares, unsure of what he heard. ‘We?’

‘I’m coming with you.’

They haven’t left the Tower together for years.

‘Really?’

‘We’re going together when the sun sets. I need you to run prep and checks, select your team, but Seth needs to be on it.’

‘Seth? Boss, that’s not a good idea.’

‘It wasn’t a suggestion,’ Riley tells him in a tone that brooks no debate. This version of Riley is a far cry from the one who shared information to the point of almost passing out last night, whose pain was writ large across his face during the attack when Kade couldn’t hear.

This is boss Riley, head of Iron Star.