had changed.
They
had changed. A lot. Nuala had always been quiet and reserved but uncannily focused. Téya and Annie, however, had been close and raucous. Livewires, Boone had called them.
Téya seemed even more reclusive since the mission with her grandmother and boyfriend. Though Annie wanted to comfort her, the words—even in her head—sounded shallow.
Sorry
didn’t quite make up for the harm caused to someone you loved.
“What’s he like?” Annie asked, pretending less interest than she felt.
Riffling through a stack of papers, Téya hesitated then resumed her perusal.
Okay then. “Words are cheap, but—”
“You’re right. They’re cheap.” Téya tossed the file down and moved to another box farther away from Annie.
“You’re not the only one who lost in this attack,” Annie said softly. Not to be confrontational, but they needed perspective. Had to remember the greater mission.
Téya didn’t respond. She squatted at a box and thumbed through some items.
“What about you?” Nuala said, her eyes curious. “Did you find someone since…?”
Sam’s handsome mug leapt into her visual cortex and forced a smile. “Yeah.” She laughed. “I have a knack for trouble—he’s a Navy SEAL.”
Nuala’s eyebrows raised. “Seriously? How’d you meet him?”
“I worked at a great place called the Green Dot Sub Shop. Sam’s friends with the owner.” She dug through a box of clothes. Slinky, sparkly clothes. “Please tell me she used this to blend in,” Annie said, holding up a skirt. “This looks more like a tourniquet than a miniskirt.”
“Um,” Nuala said, lifting something out of a bin. She held out her hand.
Annie stared at the syringes and elastic bands.
“Did she get into drugs?”
“Jessie struggled after Misrata.” Boone appeared out of nowhere, his expression stiff. “She couldn’t keep it together or cope with what she’d done.”
Téya straightened and glared at Boone. “What someone forced us to do.”
“Easy,” Boone said. “I’m not blaming. Just giving the facts.”
“So,” Nuala said, tossing the syringes down. She planted her hands on her hips, looking around at the boxes. She turned a circle.
“What?” Annie asked.
“I’m just wondering—Jessie wasn’t just a brilliant strategist, she was a computer geek.”
“Everyone knew she loved her devices,” Boone said.
“Then where are her computers? Laptops? iPads?”
“I thought that odd, too,” Houston called from the command dais. “Especially since I can track a bit of traffic back to her address. Utility records do not show she had Internet, but all she needed was a mobile hotspot or something and she’d be up and running.”
Boone glanced back, standing as he always had while training them, hands on his tac belt—appraising. “You sure about that?”
“About as sure as I can be without getting hold of her device. In fact, I suspect she and Keeley had been in contact.”
Annie tensed. That was one of the cardinal rules Trace placed on them when they went into hiding—no contact with anyone in their former lives, especially other Zulu members. Jessie had sent her a message a couple of times, but Annie hadn’t returned them. As cold and heartless as it felt at the time, she believed it too dangerous to have those dots connected. If Keeley and Jessie were communicating…that could explain why they were hit first.
Boone lifted his phone and started toward the soundproof briefing room.
“What do you make of that?” Téya asked as she eased up next to Annie.
“Trouble.”
“So, you had a boyfriend,” Téya said quietly, waiting for Annie to look at her. “What happened to—”
“It ended.” New tension knots bunched at the base of Annie’s shoulders.
“Listen up,” Boone’s voice boomed through the bunker.
Nuala snickered as she stood behind the two of them. “He says that like he’s still our drill sergeant.”
“We’re heading to Nevada.”
Nuala
Las Vegas,
They
had changed. A lot. Nuala had always been quiet and reserved but uncannily focused. Téya and Annie, however, had been close and raucous. Livewires, Boone had called them.
Téya seemed even more reclusive since the mission with her grandmother and boyfriend. Though Annie wanted to comfort her, the words—even in her head—sounded shallow.
Sorry
didn’t quite make up for the harm caused to someone you loved.
“What’s he like?” Annie asked, pretending less interest than she felt.
Riffling through a stack of papers, Téya hesitated then resumed her perusal.
Okay then. “Words are cheap, but—”
“You’re right. They’re cheap.” Téya tossed the file down and moved to another box farther away from Annie.
“You’re not the only one who lost in this attack,” Annie said softly. Not to be confrontational, but they needed perspective. Had to remember the greater mission.
Téya didn’t respond. She squatted at a box and thumbed through some items.
“What about you?” Nuala said, her eyes curious. “Did you find someone since…?”
Sam’s handsome mug leapt into her visual cortex and forced a smile. “Yeah.” She laughed. “I have a knack for trouble—he’s a Navy SEAL.”
Nuala’s eyebrows raised. “Seriously? How’d you meet him?”
“I worked at a great place called the Green Dot Sub Shop. Sam’s friends with the owner.” She dug through a box of clothes. Slinky, sparkly clothes. “Please tell me she used this to blend in,” Annie said, holding up a skirt. “This looks more like a tourniquet than a miniskirt.”
“Um,” Nuala said, lifting something out of a bin. She held out her hand.
Annie stared at the syringes and elastic bands.
“Did she get into drugs?”
“Jessie struggled after Misrata.” Boone appeared out of nowhere, his expression stiff. “She couldn’t keep it together or cope with what she’d done.”
Téya straightened and glared at Boone. “What someone forced us to do.”
“Easy,” Boone said. “I’m not blaming. Just giving the facts.”
“So,” Nuala said, tossing the syringes down. She planted her hands on her hips, looking around at the boxes. She turned a circle.
“What?” Annie asked.
“I’m just wondering—Jessie wasn’t just a brilliant strategist, she was a computer geek.”
“Everyone knew she loved her devices,” Boone said.
“Then where are her computers? Laptops? iPads?”
“I thought that odd, too,” Houston called from the command dais. “Especially since I can track a bit of traffic back to her address. Utility records do not show she had Internet, but all she needed was a mobile hotspot or something and she’d be up and running.”
Boone glanced back, standing as he always had while training them, hands on his tac belt—appraising. “You sure about that?”
“About as sure as I can be without getting hold of her device. In fact, I suspect she and Keeley had been in contact.”
Annie tensed. That was one of the cardinal rules Trace placed on them when they went into hiding—no contact with anyone in their former lives, especially other Zulu members. Jessie had sent her a message a couple of times, but Annie hadn’t returned them. As cold and heartless as it felt at the time, she believed it too dangerous to have those dots connected. If Keeley and Jessie were communicating…that could explain why they were hit first.
Boone lifted his phone and started toward the soundproof briefing room.
“What do you make of that?” Téya asked as she eased up next to Annie.
“Trouble.”
“So, you had a boyfriend,” Téya said quietly, waiting for Annie to look at her. “What happened to—”
“It ended.” New tension knots bunched at the base of Annie’s shoulders.
“Listen up,” Boone’s voice boomed through the bunker.
Nuala snickered as she stood behind the two of them. “He says that like he’s still our drill sergeant.”
“We’re heading to Nevada.”
Nuala
Las Vegas,
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