innocent people die.”
More than one message there. Knox saw the same sentiment reflected back at him from Rafe’s eyes. When he finally looked at Gray, his second sighed deeply and bowed his head.
A tightness that had gripped Knox’s chest from the first moment he’d met Nina eased. He took a full breath and saw the end of his deception, the end of this rift in his soul—
—the end of Nina looking at him with the satisfied smile that formed when he turned and nodded. “Rafe’s good for recon. What about your team?”
Dani stepped forward. “I’ll go.”
Conall knelt and jerked open the bag. He didn’t need help handing out reconnaissance equipment, so Knox stepped away, roiling with an anticipation that had nothing to do with the fight at hand.
Nina still wasn’t quite looking at him. The playful physical affection they’d shared in the store had provided effective cover, but they were back to the careful, respectful distance of skilled colleagues. There was a wall between them, a wall he loathed and appreciated in equal measure. Maybe it would protect her heart when he laid out the stark, ugly truth for her. He didn’t want to be the one who snuffed the light out of her. He wanted—
No. Too soon to think about those wants. Reckless to think about them. Saving this town might buy him back a little bit of his soul, but he couldn’t pretend it was going to buy him forgiveness from Nina. Gray had been right about that. She was going to hate him.
But she’d still help him. Maybe not for him, but for his men. For Conall. For Luna. She’d help him pull off this impossible job, she’d help him save the people counting on him.
And her heart was so damn big. She might not hate him forever.
Someday, she might even save him.
* * *
TECHCORPS PROPRIETARY DATA, L2 SECURITY CLEARANCE
66–615’s promotion to captain has been authorized. Give him free access to the enhanced MD and TE recruit files to fill out his squad. If he wants a Protectorate soldier already assigned to another unit, put in for the transfer.
Give him what he wants. Let’s see what he can do.
Internal Memo, February 2079
* * *
EIGHTEEN
The reconnaissance was illuminating.
While they were planting surveillance devices and trying to get a head count on hostiles, Rafe and Dani had run across Eileen, the woman who ran the café. It hadn’t taken her long to fill them in on what had happened to Dalton.
A self-professed trading caravan had stopped in a couple of weeks earlier, looking to make some business connections. Too late, the townspeople had realized that the traders’ idea of business was more like thievery. They’d seized a handful of hostages, locked them away in the vault at the local bank, and used their safety as leverage to keep the rest of the town compliant.
By threatening their loved ones, twelve men had managed to maintain a stranglehold on an entire town. An effective bit of strategy, if you could overlook the cruelty of it. The greed.
Nina studied the 3-D holographic sand table Conall had set up. It mapped out the entire street, incorporating the intel Eileen had given them as well as the video and still shots from the cameras Rafe and Dani had managed to deploy.
“Time?” she asked aloud.
Dani finished buckling a sheath around her thigh and slid a knife into it with a snap. “Not quite nine.”
“Perfect.” In a little over a quarter of an hour, half of the men would be heading to Eileen’s restaurant to start drinking, where Conall would take them out of play. “You know,” Nina mused, “when you really break it down, we’re not even close to outnumbered.”
“We could pull this job alone.” Maya had her braids up in a ponytail and was checking the stun-stick at her hip. “Should be a breeze with some supersoldiers tagging along.”
Knox’s lips twitched slightly at the characterization, but he didn’t look up from the table.
“Here.” Conall handed Nina a tiny earpiece. “I’ll link these up with our subdural comms. We can all get cozy in each other’s heads.”
“I’m not sure I like the sound of that,” Dani muttered.
“Don’t worry,” Rafe told her while strapping on his own hunting knife. “You get to take them back out. I’m stuck with Conall.”
“Or he’s stuck with you.”
Nina slid her earpiece into place. “Is everyone clear on the mission?”
Maya shot Nina a thumbs-up. “Kill, kill, save, party.”
“Overly simplistic, but accurate.” Knox rose and swept up the tiny projector, disrupting the