Page 157 of Nyx

I didn't get up right away.

I tortured myself with memories of us sitting by the pool yesterday evening, the silence between us comfortable as if we'd known each other our entire lives and didn't feel the need to fill the gap with useless chatter.

We have a lot to do today, starting with getting to Juniper House, loading up all the women's belongings, and getting them set up here.

I wasn't offended when I saw the task list in our app this morning. I have been selected to help move belongings, not drive the women to the property. I don't have the most welcoming personality, so I'm not surprised at the allocations.

Juliet isn't in the kitchen or any of the common areas when I leave my room, but I didn't really expect her to be. The way she cursed her phone when her alarm clock went off the other day, I imagine she's getting some much-needed sleep without the obligation of having to be somewhere so early.

I'm just glad she didn't insist on leaving the property to help the other women prepare for the day. I don't know that I would've said no if she had insisted, but her being here makes things safer for everyone, given the threat against her right now.

I can't even lie to myself and say that I don't want to put a wall of protective barriers around her to shield her from anything that could cause her harm or stress because I do.

What I don't want to do is smother her while trying to protect her, and I know just how thin a line that is right now with her piece of shit ex in town. The threat won't be alleviated until that motherfucker is six feet under, and I hope that happens sooner rather than later.

I hang out in the kitchen, waiting for the others to get up and start their day, enjoying the silence that comes along with such early mornings.

I have about an hour to myself before others start staggering in looking for the coffee pot and a quick breakfast.

By eight, everyone is ready, and we head into the conference room for a debrief before we head out.

"You have your assignments," Kincaid says from the front of the room. "I want one man to stay on the vehicles and never leave them unattended, so we don't have to scan them coming back onto the property. I don't want a second of delay getting them here."

"Everyone was instructed to pack yesterday evening, so there shouldn't be any issues this morning," Shadow adds. "Team A will load the women. Team B will load their property after they've left."

"Rivet," Kincaid says, directing his attention to her. "You're going to drive Dana and the kids. I think that she'll do better with a female."

Rivet nods, accepting her task.

"I'll have a meeting with them when they get back," Kincaid continues. "That will give Team B enough time to get back and unload the belongings into their rooms. There's a chart in the app that says what goes where, and the women were given instructions on how to label their things, so nothing gets mixed up."

"Em, Misty, and Beth will go along with us," Shadow says. "So the women feel more comfortable. I'm driving Misty and picking up Caroline, Traci, and Kayla. Kincaid will take Em and Beth and will return with Melissa. Kid, Dominic, and Itchy will take additional vehicles as backup if needed. Holler and Nyx will drive their own SUVs, and Legend and Thumper will be in the box truck. Recon, Jinx, Grinch, and Harley are on detail at the shelter right now. Two will follow us with the women, and the other two will stay behind to help load so it goes quickly."

"Are there any questions?" Kincaid asks.

No one speaks up. We all know our jobs.

"Keep them safe, and get them here quickly," Kincaid says. "Let's get to work."

We file out of the conference room, and I take a second to look toward the kitchen, but it's empty. Juliet isn't in the common area either.

It's not that I have to see her to know she's safe, but I walk out the front door and get into my SUV, feeling a little disappointed that I haven't caught a glimpse of her yet today.

The drive to the shelter is silent. I don't even bother to turn on the radio.

The convoy of SUVs draws attention as we make our way through town, but I pay the gawking people no mind, other than to scan faces to see if Whitmore is anywhere near.

The guys who stayed behind yesterday said he walked off after everyone was gone, but somehow disappeared into a group of people like he was a fucking figment of our imagination.

So we don't know what he's driving or where he's staying.

I stay in my SUV, as do the others tasked with loading the property, until the women have left the house, gotten into their respective vehicles, and pulled away.

Since we're only moving personal belongings, this won't take us long at all, but stepping into Juniper House is a little surreal for me.

We've never been allowed in here before, and all the furniture had been moved in prior to my move to New Mexico.

Totes, numbered for our ease when we get back to the clubhouse, line the walls just inside the house.