Page 199 of Aviatrix

“What’s on your mind?” I try to keep my tone light, but inside, my stomach knots with dread.

“I’ve been thinking,” he begins.

“Uh oh,” I try to joke. But Eli doesn’t laugh. And that sends alarm bells through me.

“Rourke told me if I made it out alive, I should seek out the Legion.”

I frown. “The Legion? Rourke’s dead. Jan Ming’s dismantling his factory. The Legion’s done.”

Eli clicks his tongue. “There’s still an alien ship hovering over D.C. I know everyone has their theories, Quay, but I think they’re coming back. And if I think that, it means others do, too. The Legion won’t vanish just because Rourke is gone. They’ll find someone else. Appoint a new leader. And when they do, I should be there. I need to take them down from the inside.”

“I...” I trail off, unsure of what to say.

He steps closer, wrapping his arms around my waist, pulling me tight against him. “I’ve thought long and hard about this. I have to find out who they are. What they know. Why they want VAL. Why they think you might be the key to your father’s classified project.”

I want to say something supportive. Reassuring. But all that comes out are his borrowed words, “I just got you back.”

Eli exhales a heavy breath. “I know, but they’re going to come after you, and I’m not going to sit back and wait for it. I’ll do whatever it takes to protect you. To protect VAL. You know that, right?”

I nod as tears blur my vision. “You’re right.”

“I don’t want to leave you,” he whispers as I lay my head on his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. “I don’t know what else to do. I don’t know how to keep you safe.”

“I’ll be fine, Eli,” I tell him. “I can take care of myself.”

“I know,” he says, resting his cheek against the top of my head. “But you can’t do this alone. I have an invite. Maybe.”

The truth is, I’d do the same thing. I’d infiltrate the Legion and destroy them from the inside out.

But Rourke didn’t ask me to be part of the team.

“When do you leave?” I ask.

Eli pulls me tighter. “I was supposed to leave an hour ago.”

The words hit like a punch. I’m not ready. I don’t want to let him go.

“Will you come back to me?” I ask.

“Nothing will ever stop me from coming back to you.”

I look up at him, searching his face. The worry carved into it matches the fear in my chest.

“You sure about that?”

“In this life,” Eli says quietly, “and the next, I will always be yours, Quay.”

“Same goes for me,” I say, offering a smile I barely manage to hold.

“Walk me to my jet?” he asks.

“It would be my honor, Major.”

Our fingers stay threaded as we make our way down the corridor.

I’ve spent years building walls, reinforcing them with steel and silence. But Eli? He’s always scaled them like it was second nature. Like the challenge was the point all along. He’s the only person I’ve ever wanted to make it over the razor wire.

The hangar is surprisingly empty as we slow our pace. Neither of us wants to let go. But the war’s not over, and we both know it.