Page 58 of Warrior

“Make it four,” I called after him.He didn’t turn, and if he showed up early, he could cool his heels in the hallway for the extra hour.

My situation with the Federation felt murkier than ever.I’d been given no orders as Secretary of Defense, no information about our troops, and no invitations to meetings.Having a guard shadow me was just another reminder of how little they trusted me.Or worse, how little they thought of me at all.They had no idea what I was capable of, and I planned to use that ignorance to my advantage.Tonight, for the first time, I was being left somewhere without a guard.It was the first proof I had that my scared little rabbit routine was working.

Landan was hiding in the closet and emerged only after Mila confirmed the coast was clear.Skylar pulled pencils and paper from a small bag and brought them to the table in the cramped room, which barely fit all of us.I raised an eyebrow at the paper.

“We’re analysts,” Kara explained.“It works better if we analyze our chances and come up with a plan that has the highest ratio for success.We’ll burn the papers as soon as we’re done with them.”

A short, stocky candle sat in the center of the table, its flickering light illuminating the cramped space.I filled them in on everything that had happened in Cuba: King holding hellhounds, what the creatures truly were, though I left out the fact that I was a Shadow Warrior.I did, however, share the details of my relationship with King.

“You’re his queen,” Mila said, her eyes filled with romantic stars.

“I love him.”It was as simple as that.

Mate.Ms.Beast whined softly in the back of my mind, but I ignored her.

Landan quickly took charge of the communication issue.“We eat in the cafeteria at a different time than you do,” he said.“We’ll place an encrypted note under our usual table if there’s something urgent.You can do the same.”

I nodded.“I think it’ll work.My only worry is being caught with the notes.”

Landan’s eyes lit up.“We’ll keep it simple and use acrostic code.If we write love notes, it’ll throw off suspicion if someone finds them.Chances are, no one will look past the flowery words.Would that work?”

Oh boy.Ms.Beast was not happy, and I fought not to wince when she kicked me in the gut.

“It’ll work,” I said, relieved we had a straightforward solution.Acrostic code was easy enough.You crafted sentences where the first letter of each word spelled out a hidden message.Love notes were a brilliant cover, even if Ms.Beast vehemently disagreed.

I tried not to think about how King might react.His thoughts would undoubtedly be violent, but I also knew he’d understand why it was the safest option.Getting him to a reasonable conclusion would be the tricky part.

Skylar broke into our strategic planning with a wistful tone.“You really had bacon?”Her voice carried pure longing, and from the look on her face, she might just drool at the thought.

“And steak, along with fresh fruits and vegetables,” I added.

“Those Federation bastards,” Mila swore, her unexpected profanity breaking the tension and sending us into a fit of laughter.It wasn’t a word she typically used, but when it came to bacon, exceptions could be made.

“We’ve lived off the same crap food for years,” Landan groaned, joining the growing food-porn discussion.

Skylar had her own thoughts.“I could deal with our rations if government officials ate the same damned thing.The way our food is handed out disgusts my husband.He sneaks things to me when he can.”

“Why didn’t you tell us about the food differential?”Mila asked, her brow furrowed.

Skylar glanced at me first before answering Mila.“We had enough to worry about, and food, as long as we were being fed, wasn’t at the top of the list.”

She wasn’t wrong, and I realized we were spending too much time on the topic now.I shifted gears, addressing my question to Skylar.“Did you talk to your husband about what we discussed the other night at the bar?”

Her lips pressed into a thin line before she nodded.“He’s terrified for me,” she admitted.“For us.His men will have our backs, though.That’s another hundred and fifty men against the Federation.He thinks there are more who will side with us once the Shadow Warriors arrive in force.He fought alongside them and believes they can be trusted.The Federation’s treatment of the Warriors is one of the reasons he started doubting the new government.Now that the order has been given to kill anyone who doesn’t willingly come to Washington to serve under the Federation’s leadership, he knows we can’t wait any longer.”She paused, fixing me with a level stare.“He also said he’d kill you with his own two hands if you betrayed us.”

I grinned.“I always liked him.Does anyone here have a problem with the Warriors?”

Four heads shook in unison, and I moved on.“The president has been in on this from the start.It’s the only explanation that makes sense.He was one of Washington’s top scientists, and he worked for several lobbies connected to GMOs.”

Mila’s reaction mirrored my own.“We’re in the middle of the zombie apocalypse and didn’t even know it.”

“Am I terrible for feeling relieved that they aren’t actually something sent from hell?”Skylar asked.

Kara scrunched her lips thoughtfully before replying.“Honestly, I liked the ‘hell’ scenario better than zombies.”

“The Shadow Warriors still call them hellhounds, and I agree with them,” I said.“I’d rather think of killing hellhounds because, honestly, I think I’d squig out every time I had to kill a zombie.”

Three jaws dropped as I realized what I’d just admitted.

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