Dusk (Dangerous Web #1) - Aleatha Romig Page 0,15
came our way, Madeline first to Sparrow and Laurel to me. Their hugs wordlessly said more than I was ready to hear.
“I’m so sorry,” Laurel, my sister-in-law, whispered, looking into my eyes. “I-I don’t know what happened.”
“We’ll get them back.”
The ladies changed places, Laurel going to Sparrow and Madeline to me. After her quick hug, I looked down at Madeline’s even larger midsection. “How are you feeling?”
“Scared,” Madeline said. “I’m scared for them.”
“How are you and little Patrick?”
She smiled. “You know we haven’t shared his name.”
They hadn’t, but they had shared his gender. Madeline and Patrick had a little boy due in six weeks.
“You both are all right?” I asked again.
She allowed a smile to come to her face. “Yes. The doctor said his heartbeat is good and he’s been moving—a lot. If he stops for too long, I’m to call her.”
Patrick came up beside Madeline and wrapped his arm around her waist. “I sent Sparrows to the academy. Once they have Ruby secure, we’ll decide where she needs to go.”
Madeline exhaled. “She just began her senior year.”
Patrick shook his head. “I know and I’m sorry, but we can’t allow our daughter to be at the academy with whatever is happening.”
Madeline’s lips came together as her green eyes peered at her husband. I knew the look she was giving to him. It was the expression that each of the women had perfected through the years. It meant, We’re talking about this more once we’re alone. Since Patrick’s response was a nod and a kiss to Madeline’s forehead, I was certain he’d interpreted it as the same message.
As the Montana breeze blew the tall grasses and white clouds floated over Mason and Laurel’s house, I looked at the grouping of those present. These were the people who meant the most to all of us. They were our loved ones; they were our weak link—our Achilles’ heel. This vulnerability was why Sparrow didn’t welcome Lorna with open arms all those years ago. The more of us there were, the greater our liability. And now we had two more members of our family joining us by year’s end.
“Everyone inside,” Sparrow said.
There was no argument as we all ascended the steps to the porch. As we waited for the women to enter first, Mason reached for my arm. “I need your help. I know you want to be out turning over every fucking rock, but your strength is behind a keyboard.”
My jaw clenched.
“Listen,” he went on, “I found something through that backdoor access into the security that I need to verify. I didn’t mention it because” —he looked around, confirming that everyone else was now inside— “I don’t fucking know what to do if it’s accurate.”
“What did you find?”
His head shook. “I need to do some more research. There have been other outfits having issues. Patrick can look into that. He has the contacts. Sparrow can call the other leaders.” He glanced into the house. Seeing that the entry was clear, he pulled the front door closed and led me toward the porch railing. Small cyclones of dust danced on the lane, and birds flew overhead as he spoke. “I have a gut feeling that I don’t like.”
I stared into my brother-in-law’s eyes, seeing something I also didn’t like, something unusual, something akin to fear. Don’t get me wrong—Mason Pierce was rarely afraid. I’d watched him in military combat as well as facing enemies on Chicago’s streets. I could only recall one other time I saw the shadows now lingering in his stare. It was when he first returned to us.
“You and Sparrow,” I said, “the two of you made a deal.”
Mason’s neck straightened and his jaw tightened as he nodded. “We did, and I believed Top.”
Top was the top or the commander of a subversive counterterrorism government agency referred to as the Sovereign Order. Don’t try to research it. You won’t find a thing. The Sovereign Order doesn’t officially exist, and yet Mason had been a part of it for years.
“Hell,” he continued, “I had no choice but to believe him. Now I’m praying to fucking God that the gut feeling I’m having is wrong. That’s where I need your help. You and I designed the security for the ranch after what happened. There’s no road map, no Google search or YouTube video to give away our secrets. I need you to scour the program, find the weak link if it exists. If we can assess where and how it was breached, we’ll