Page 119 of Wicked Nightmare

"Why?" Lakey demanded. "Why help us?"

Sarah's expression shifted. Just a fraction. "Because I saw myself in you two. The potential to break free, to fight back. I couldn't save myself then, but I could give you a fighting chance."

I exchanged a long look with Lakey. The tension in her shoulders eased slightly.

"Alright," I said slowly. "Let's say we buy this. You, Kyle, all of it. What's our next move?"

Sarah's grin turned feral. "We hit them where it hurts. Their central data hub in Chicago. Kyle can get us in, and with your particular skill sets, we can bring the whole system crashing down."

Lakey's eyes lit up. "Ooh, Cam. Think of all the chaos we could cause."

I grinned back. "It would be one hell of a party, babe."

We turned back to Sarah, and I saw the moment she realized she had us.

"Fine," I said, trying to sound grudging despite the adrenaline already pumping. "We're in. But if this goes sideways..."

Sarah nodded. "You'll kill us both. Trust me, I wouldn't expect anything less. There is a spot we have to hit before we get to the hub, but we will go over all of that once you're comfortable with Kyle."

As we began hashing out the broad strokes, that thrill built in my chest. Chimera had no idea what was coming for them. And honestly? Neither did we. But with Lakey by my side and the promise of sweet, chaotic vengeance ahead, I couldn't fucking wait to find out.

As Sarah finished laying out the plan, her eyes shifted to Rose. The kid was huddled in the corner, eyes darting between us.

"There's something else we need to address," Sarah said, her voice softening. "Rose's conditioning. I can help her, if you'll let me."

My jaw tightened. Rose was ours. Mine and Lakey's. The idea of someone else inside her head set my teeth on edge.

"And why the fuck would we trust you with that?" I said.

Sarah met my gaze without flinching. "Because I've done it before. With Kyle. I can help her heal, Cam. Give her a chance at something resembling normal. I can actually help you both as well."

I laughed. "Normal? After what we've been through? What the fuck makes you think we want anything close to normal? Maybe Rose doesn't want to be normal either."

"As normal as she can be, if she wants it," Sarah amended. "Look, I'm not promising miracles. But I can help ease the trauma, give her tools to cope. It's a start."

I glanced at Lakey. Rose deserved better than the shit hand life had dealt her, but letting Sarah in felt dangerous.

"We'll think about it," I said.

The heaviness in the room was suffocating. I needed a distraction.

"Fuck it," I declared, pulling out my phone. "I'm ordering pizza."

Lakey snorted. "Really, babe? We just finished planning to take down an evil organization, and you want pepperoni?"

I grinned. "What can I say? Plotting world domination makes me hungry. Besides, if we're going out in a blaze of glory, might as well have some garlic bread to go with it."

As I dialed, I glanced at Sarah. "You want in on this order? Or are ex-Chimera agents too good for greasy pepperoni?"

Sarah's lips twitched. "Make it double Hawaiian with sweet and smoky sauce and you've got a deal."

"Pineapple on pizza?" I clutched my chest. "And here I thought Chimera was evil."

The laughter that followed was strained but genuine. For a moment, we were just a group of damaged people about to break bread. The calm before the storm. I savored it, knowing full well the chaos ahead.

As I hung up, Sarah's face turned serious, her eyes on her phone. "I need to head out," she said, her voice tight. "Kyle's waiting. He wants to meet you guys. I'm going to go pick him up and I'll be back, alright?"

"Another unexpected guest," I said. "And here I thought we were just getting to know each other. I just ordered pizza."