Page 62 of Remade

Vince would’ve loved this place. There’d been a homesteader in him too. I was too comfortable to go all the way, but I did like the idea of being semi-independent. We’d grown up with a hoarder for a mother and a cynic for a father, so self-reliance had been a part of our childhood. Our old man had trusted the government for two things, to ensure our taxes went to all the wrong places and to keep the war machine running.

If Leighton agreed to move in with me, I might start testing the waters to see if he’d like a house with me one day. Maybe on the outskirts of a suburb or like Emerson and Danny’s place; they had a few minutes to the nearest town.

I trailed up the steps to the big porch of the main cabin, and I looked around. It was a sturdy place, built to house a family and shield them from harsh winds and snow and rain. The porch alone was big enough to host family dinners in warmer weather, and you better believe there was a rocking chair in the corner near the front door.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Darius had built everything himself. The times we’d crossed paths back in the day, he’d been our resident MacGyver with a toolbox. He had an engineer’s brain, that was for sure.

Just don’t ask him to help you with anything tech-related. That engineer’s brain would forever be stuck in the ’50s.

The 1850s.

Darius soon came up onto the porch, and he told me to switch on the heater above the table, and then he went inside to get our coffee.

I glanced up at the wall, and sure enough. They had a heater installed there.

I reached up and turned it on, and a red glow spread across the grid.

Perfect. Leighton and I should have a porch too. I preferred being outdoors, and we didn’t get enough of that at Hillcroft.

I pulled out a chair and sat down, and a guy could definitely get used to this. So far away from assignments and Hillcroft, not necessarily the geographical location of Washington, but this…this right here, the forest, the cabin, the fresh air, the environment.

Countless friends had taken the same path. Hillcroft had its way of pulling us all back, but when we were off the clock, we wanted the opposite of what the agency offered. Darius had his homestead. Danny and Em had their farmhouse and rescue dogs. Doc had a house in the middle of nowhere too. Coach had bought his run-down villa in Italy, with miles to the nearest neighbor. Most recently, I’d heard about the Tenleys. They might live in McLean, but they’d made sure to have a property big enough to escape neighbors, and according to Reese, the goal was self-reliance in terms of energy and power. Even Shira had opted for a longer commute to get away from the city.

In the end, it wasn’t weird. We knew how quickly the world could go to shit, and it was instilled in us to be prepared for anything.

Darius came out with two mugs and a plate of…something.

“What’s that?” I leaned forward.

“Homemade pork rinds. My latest obsession. Gray makes ’em.”

Fuck me sideways. I loved pork rinds.

“You have all my envy, man.” I snatched one up and stuck it in my mouth, and it was like dying and going straight to heaven. “Jesus Christ.”

He smirked to himself and got comfortable across from me. “I have no complaints. Wait till you try our jerky.”

Aw, man. He used the magic words.

I chewed around the snack, getting all the crispy saltness, something smoky too, which made sense. They definitely had their own smoker here. Fucking delicious.

“At this rate, I’m going from asking Leighton to move in with me at the Towers to buying a house in the middle of nowhere without asking his opinion and then just moving his shit in there.”

Darius chuckled. “I do not miss the Towers.”

Yeah, no shit. It was only convenient, nothing else.

The coffee came next, and he hadn’t been lying. If it wasn’t the best I’d ever had, it was damn close.

“I have a personal question, if you don’t mind,” he said and set down his mug. “It’s about my brother-in-law.”

I cocked my head, listening.

“Do you know how Gray and I met?” he asked.

I cleared my throat and nodded with a dip of my chin. “I know the gist.” Darius had rescued Gray from a human trafficking ring. I’d caught some of the details once the shitstorm had made national news.

He nodded once too. “What I’m about to say is only speculation, but I don’t think I’m wrong,” he went on. “Gray’s big brother didn’t react a whole lot outwardly when Gray was taken—or when he returned to safety, for that matter. Much of that focus landed on Gray’s younger brothers and their mother.”

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