Page 95 of Iron Shield
“I…” She pushed a loose curl off her face. “I think I need to tell you something.”
Jolie watched her face closely. “I’m here for you.”
She nodded and then looked at the lettuce leaves, then back to Jolie. “How do I know if I’m in love?”
In the dim light, she saw her friend’s expression soften.
“I dated too many bad guys to know what’s real anymore. Like, an embarrassing number of bad guys. Guys who were emotionally unavailable or selfish or just—wrong in ways I kept ignoring because at least wrong felt familiar.” She shook herhead. “What if I’ve been doing it so long I wouldn’t recognize a good one if he was standing right in front of me?”
A vision of Rome filled her mind. Strong. Shoulders thrown back. That look on his face when she got sarcastic with him.
Her eyes had adjusted enough to see her friend’s tender smile.
“Not one man in this base is a bad guy.”
She stared at her.
“I mean it. These men gave up everything to be Blackout. Entire lives—relationships and ties to their families. You don’t do that if you’re the kind of man who takes without giving back.” Jolie held her gaze.
“But Rome hasn’t said a word to me. I don’t even know if he likes me beyond…sex.”
“I’ve seen the way he looks at you. Have you ever considered that he doesn’t open up easily because opening up costs him something real? Not because he doesn’t care.”
Stina was quiet for a moment, mind working through what she said. “This is easy for you to say. You can stay. You’ve already established yourself as being part of Sierra. What if I have to leave? What if whatever threat is keeping me here gets resolved and I go back to Chicago and that’s it?”
“I’m here for the same reason you’re here. The man from the restaurant with the voice. He has something he’s trying to hide.” She pitched her voice lower. “And it’s probably related to Cipher.”
A shiver rolled down her spine at the name. Everyone in the world had been afraid of his reign and rejoiced when he was captured. But if someone was still connected to him, continuing to do his work…
They shared a look. “So we’re both stuck here,” she said.
Jolie gave her a small smile. “Depending on how you see it.”
She looked at the plants again, putting down roots in soil, small and stubborn, but encouraged to grow.
Footsteps sounded on the stairs and they rushed over to see Rivers staring up at them, his face a mask.
“Order just came in. We have to move you. Both of you. Now!” he barked.
“What? Why? Where—”
He cut her off. “No time.” He waved for them to come with him, and they rushed down the stairs in the dark behind him.
When they reached the bottom, Rivers whirled to them. “Get your coats. There’s snow coming down. Two minutes.”
“But Rome—” Stina stopped and started again, words tumbling over each other in her rush to get them out. “I need to leave him a note—”
“No time. I’ll let him and Monk know. Get your coats—now!”
They ran. When Stina returned, she was puffing for air and Jolie’s eyes were wide with fear.
She swung to face Stina. “We have to go.”
They clasped hands and rushed after Rivers.
He loaded them into a black SUV and drove. She and Jolie didn’t ask questions—they could tell by the rigid set of his shoulders that he wouldn’t tell them anyway.
When they took a road leading down the mountain, Stina’s stomach knotted in terror.
