Page 216 of The Robin on the Oak Throne

“We’re almost done in here,” Nate told her. “I’ll head to the basement.”

“I don’t…need…you.”

“I’m backup, and I say you do,” Nate said.

“Gen,” Walter said. “We’re running low on time. Vampires eat fast.”

“True,” Lyra said with a frown.

“Why aren’t your parents here anyway?” Kierse whispered at her.

“Oh, they don’t getinvolved,” she said. “One war was enough for them.”

“That’s not factual,” Graves came over the line. “Can we focus?”

Silence again. Fuck. This wasn’t good.

“Done. It’s down,” Gen said, her voice thin and strained. “Send…send Nate.”

And then there was a crash, followed by deafening silence.

Chapter Sixty-Three

That sound echoed through her bones.

“Gen!” she gasped, trying to stay quiet in her panic.

“I’m on it!” Nate said through the line.

There was nothing she could do about Gen, and she couldn’t jeopardize the entire mission. Still…she wanted to.

“What do you want to do?” Lyra said, fear in her face for the first time. This had all just become very real.

Kierse bit her lip. “There’s nothing we can do. We have to move forward. Four-and-a-half minutes are on the clock.”

Walter said, “Schwartz, fire at will.”

There was no answer from Schwartz on the line as he was too far from the Plaza to be online with the rest of the team. He was only directly connected to Walter, their eyes in the sky.

Kierse and Lyra glanced at each other as if any moment they would be able to feel Schwartz blowing up the Curator’s compound. Walter was the one who had found the location in the midst of all the coded details Laz had stolen at the auction. None of them had known what they were looking at until Schwartz had done recon to discover a residential front for some sort of warehouse drug operation. Schwartz had made sure the building was clear of people, and then he’d detonated enough explosives to cause the diversion they needed.

It was far enough away that the explosion would only be known to those associated with him. Which meant if they were still following the protocol Schwartz had been given when he worked their security…

She tensed, waiting to hear footsteps pounding on the ground outside of the bathroom. But there was nothing.

“What’s happening?” Lyra asked.

She didn’t know. They couldn’t see what was happening on the other side. There were no windows in the tiny bathroom.

“Walter?” Kierse asked.

He was silent a moment before saying, “They’re not moving. I’m checking in with Schwartz and trying to hack their system to see if I can get them out of there.”

“Fuck,” Lyra muttered. “How long will that take?”

Walter didn’t answer. Lyra shot her a confused look. Time was ticking away. They couldn’t wait.

“Fuck it,” Kierse grumbled.

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