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)
“Hello.” A woman who looks fortyish, with short brown hair and beady eyes, holds her hand out to me. “I’m Commander Ingrid Voss. And you are?”
I don’t want to answer, but I don’t have much choice. “Briar.”
“Ah, Briar. Of course. Marcus talked about you a lot.”
She looks at him and he grins.
Niran rushes up to us, putting his arms around Marcus in a back-slapping bro hug.
“Finally, man. Shit hit the fan right after you left.”
Marcus looks at Ingrid, who’s frowning.
“What happened?” she asks.
“The volcano exploded. We lost around half the people on the island. Rising Tide’s camp was destroyed. That’s why they’re here.”
Marcus nods, looking thoughtful. “That’s smart. Everyone can work together now.”
A wave of lightheadedness hits me. Marcus is right here, just a few feet away, but something’s off.
I think he’s their prisoner, and acting differently than he normally would is his only way of communicating with us. He can’t tell us something’s not right, so he’s showing us.
“Hello, I’m Commander Ingrid Voss.” She holds her hand out to Niran. “And you are?”
“Niran Merced.”
“Pleased to meet you. Do you want—”
“What in the fuck are they doing here?” Nova cuts off Ingrid’s question, her dark, accusatory gaze locked onto Marcus.
“There’s a lot to talk about,” Marcus says. “I want to call everyone together for a meeting.”
Nova scoffs. “Summarize it for me. You brought a bunch of New America pricks here because ...?”
“We’re here to help,” Ingrid says. “We have food and supplies. Marcus will fill everyone in. Is there a place we can all gather?”
Behind Nova, Adele, Chance, and Breck stand in a line, all of them pointing weapons at the uniformed New Americans. The chatter over the cinnamon rolls has quieted.
“Not you guys,” Nova says. “Only Marcus.”
Marcus draws his brows together. “There’s so much we didn’t know before. Commander Voss generously offered to bring help and supplies to our island. They’re staying. I want to get everyone together for a meeting, and that includes them.”
Nova’s gaze flicks to mine. I don’t know what to do or say. All I can think about is getting Marcus alone so I can at least get some clues about what’s going on.
“Only Marcus,” Nova repeats.
Marcus narrows his eyes slightly, raising his voice when he says, “I’m the leader. It’s my decision. The meeting will be for everyone.”
“Let’s just listen,” I tell Nova.
What choice do we have? There are at least forty armed men with Ingrid. This isn’t the time or place for a confrontation.
Everyone starts to make their way from the beach to the inside of camp, supplies still being unloaded. We desperately need the food, so I’m grateful for that.
But something is very wrong. Marcus would never bring a New America commander here if he had a choice. Between these new troops and Rising Tide, we’re greatly outnumbered now.
Amira’s close by, so I fall into step beside her.
“What the fuck?” she says under her breath.
I keep my expression neutral. “I need you to distract the woman next to Marcus. Now.”
She says nothing, but falls back as everyone else keeps moving. I get closer to Marcus, and within a minute, Amira’s beside Ingrid.
“Hi, I’m Amira,” she says brightly. “It’s so great to see new faces here. What’s going on back home? Are pro sports a thing again yet?”
I take Marcus’s hand, slowing my stride a little.
“It’s so great to have you back,” I say.
“Great to be back.”
“You don’t mind that we let the Tiders in?”
He shrugs. “No, I don’t mind.”
I lower my voice. “Even Pax?”
“I just want to move forward. Commander Voss showed me what they’re doing on her island, and I want to build something just like it here. Life is going to be better for all of us.”
There are so many ways he could communicate that he’s here against his will, but he’s not. Could there be some sort of surveillance device implanted in him?
I study him, trying to figure out what’s off. His hair is shorter, but maybe he got it cut on the other island. He looks the same, but every time he talks, he feels unfamiliar to me.
“I’ve been thinking about our conversation by the waterfall before you left,” I say.
He arches his brows. “Oh yeah?”
“Would you want to finish that conversation sometime?”
In other words, want to have sex later?
“Uh, sure. When I have time. It’s about to get really busy around here.”
A boulder lodges in my stomach. I want to stop walking and demand to know what’s going on. He could communicate something to me now, with a squeeze of my hand or a reference only I would understand. And he’s not.
“Have you seen Athena?” I ask.
His fingers twitch slightly. “Have I? I’m so tired from the trip, I don’t even know.”
I laugh, but an alarm is sounding in my head. Athena is Nova’s call sign. Ingrid got me to say my name, and then got Niran to say his. Marcus didn’t call either of us by our names before that.