Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 110757 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110757 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
“Ready?” she asks me, her hand on the sliding lock securing our door.
“Yeah.”
My heart races, every cell in my body on high alert as I step into the wood-planked hallway of our housing unit. A shelter-in-place order doesn’t apply to the command teams, but we can hear people running and yelling nearby, trying to reach shelter.
When we step outside, a bead of sweat slides down my spine. It’s going to be brutally hot on the island today.
People are racing in all directions, their expressions panicked.
“What’s going on?” a woman asks me, holding a toddler against her chest.
“I don’t know. Let’s get you to the Sub.”
It’s the most secure place to be in an emergency. Amira and I scan the camp for threats as we jog toward the Sub with the woman and child. Rendezvous Point One is outside the front of the Sub.
When we get there, Marcus, Olin, and Wyatt are waiting. Olin’s gaze locks onto mine, concern etched into his features. Nova comes flying out of the Sub’s main door, her eyes wild and frantic. A hunting knife and a handgun are holstered around her waist, and she has a rifle in hand.
“Don’t you dare try to stop me,” she says to Marcus, her tone menacing.
My heart pounds with worry. I’ve never seen Nova look the slightest bit out of control, but right now she’s unhinged.
“Give me five minutes,” Marcus says. “I know—”
“Fuck you,” she snaps. “I’m going after my wife.”
“What happened?” I ask.
Nova gives me a dark look. “They took Ellison.”
My stomach drops to the ground. “No. The Tiders?”
Marcus’s eyes find mine, the swirl of emotions I see throwing me off balance. He looks like Nova sounds, but he’s outwardly keeping calm.
Adele runs up to us, her eyes wide with alarm.
“What’s going on?”
“Ellison’s been kidnapped,” Olin says.
Marcus narrows his eyes at Olin. “Who the fuck said you’re on this team? You’re supposed to be sheltering.”
“I can help.”
Olin shocked me when we brought him to our camp and discovered by accident that not only can he talk despite convincing people he’s mute, but he was sent here by the Idaho Liberation Front to gather intelligence. He’s only twenty-one, his chaotic red hair and lanky frame making him look like a college student who overslept for an exam.
“Go.” Marcus points at the Sub.
“Fuck this.” Nova sneers and turns.
“Nova, stop,” I say. “I’m going with you. But let’s take a breath and make a plan.”
She pauses. Marcus glares at Olin, and I walk over to stand beside him.
“I trust him,” I say. “I think he’d be an asset to our team.”
“You want to put the spy on our top team? He’s not even on our side.”
“I’m more on your side than theirs,” Olin says. “I can help.”
“You’re in,” Nova snaps. “Let’s make a plan right fucking now.”
Marcus crosses his arms, exhaling heavily. “Where the hell is Chance?”
On cue, Chance approaches us, his dripping wet hair indicating he was taking a shower when the alarm went off.
Marcus proceeds without preamble.
“The guy sent to help Pax took Ellison early this morning,” he says.
“What guy?” Wyatt asks. “Who sent him?”
“Whitman or one of his people. His name’s Theron. I have no idea how, but he took Ellison when she was out gathering herbs this morning.”
Adele’s brow crinkles with confusion. “Wait, how? She gathers herbs in the garden. Did she leave camp?”
“No.” Marcus rubs a hand over his jawline. “Two of the laundry people on bikes saw it go down. Theron told them to tell me if I want her, I can come get her at Rising Tide.”
Tears stream down Nova’s face, her jaw clenched and her nostrils flaring. I can’t imagine the hell she must be in right now. She and Ellison are two halves of a whole.
“So let’s go,” I say.
“Wait.” Amira puts up a palm, giving me a worried look. “Something’s not right. How did he get into our camp?”
Marcus’s grim expression tells me he’s got the same question. We have a frequency shield in the Sub that makes the perimeter around our camp impenetrable to anyone with active aromium. It’s the only thing that keeps the Tiders from attacking us and taking over our camp.
“We’ll worry about that later,” Nova says. “Let’s go.”
“Okay, but ... what if that’s exactly what they want us to do?” Wyatt says. “Do we know if our shield is up? They could be waiting to attack while we’re gone.”
“It’s programmed to set off an alarm if it goes down,” Marcus says. “We’ll check it before we go and I’ll tell Stella everyone needs to shelter in the Sub. They can secure it from the inside.”
No one objects to that plan, but I think we’re all concerned we may be falling into a trap, no matter which way we go. Theron hasn’t even been on the island for twenty-four hours, and he’s already turned the tables on us.