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“You guys will all be reunited soon,” Evander says.
The buzzing sound stops, my ears ringing from the intensity of the noise.
“Is that the end of the lockdown? Are we free to go?” Briar asks Evander.
A wrinkle forms between his brows. “You don’t want to, trust me. You leave here without the right gear and vehicles, the cartels will get you.”
“Cartels?”
“We’re all on the same side,” he says. “Marcus, Amira, and Pax will be cleared today, and then you’ll all get briefed.”
“Briefed on what?” Briar asks.
“Don’t you want to know the state of things? The different factions we’re fighting? Intel we have on Mae?”
She drops her brows in an aggravated look. “Of course I do.”
“Marcus already volunteered, but the rest of you need to decide if you want to. If you do, you’ll be briefed, and then you’ll get your assignments. We almost always work solo or in teams of two here.”
I bite back a retort about me volunteering. I had no choice. It was the only way to get us back to the mainland.
“Briar and I are a team of two,” I say.
He puts his palms up. “That’s not my area, man. I need to go find out what’s going on with the lockdown. You guys can do whatever until Marcus’s last interview. I’ll come get you.”
He turns to leave and I walk into Briar’s room, closing the door behind me. She gives me a soft, sweet smile.
“Hi.”
“Hi,” I say back, putting an arm around her waist and kissing her. “Been going crazy without me?”
“Um. Totally, yes.” She puts a palm on my chest, stopping me from pulling her closer. “Hey, did they ask you about Amira?”
I drop my brows. “Amira? No.”
She looks from side to side, obviously wondering if we’re being monitored. “They asked me more questions about her than you or Pax. It seemed weird.”
“What kind of questions?”
She considers. “What she’s told me about her past, whether I ever caught her in a lie ... things like that.”
“Amira’s rock solid, though.”
“I know. I’d trust her with my life. Is she okay? Have you seen her?”
I run my hand over her upper arm in a soothing gesture. “I haven’t seen anyone but ILF people and now you.”
She sighs softly. “Evander said the questioning would be done today. He’s never given us a reason not to trust him.”
I nod. “I bet they asked you about Amira because you two are close.”
“They hardly asked me anything about you, though, and we’re...”
I arch my brows, a grin dancing on my lips. “What are we, B?”
She fights a smile and shrugs. “I guess we’re close.”
“Not close enough.”
