Page 75 of Pride
“In a barn, southeast end of the farm.”
“Above ground?”
“Affirmative.”
“ETA on the data upload.”
“Another fifteen minutes and counting.”
Alice grabbed his arm. “We can wait fifteen minutes.”
“I never wait.”
27
Alice sworeunder her breath as Parker shoved the drone controller into her hands and took off in the direction of the barn.Goddamned cowboy!
She looked at the controller. If she put it down and someone found it, would their data be lost? Or hadn’t Parker asked AIMI to upload it to the cloud? Yes, he had. That meant the controller was only needed to extract the drone, but then again, AIMI could also take over piloting it. Decision made, she hid the device behind some grass and unpinned two long razor needles from her hair. For stealth missions, these were her favorite assassin’s tools of the trade.
A quiet stab into a vital artery, and her victim bled out before anyone knew what happened. Stab into the spinal cord, and she could paralyze.
She wasn’t about to let Parker have all the fun, but even more concerning was that if they had to return to this base at another time to infiltrate and disarm all the replicate tanks, they wouldn’t be able to if he got caught rescuing the prisoner.
But if Alice was caught, the Syndicate might only think it was retaliation from the Sisterhood for their recent attacks. She could act as a distraction until the big plan reveal. Parker hadn’t thought of that before running headlong into danger.
The man might be bullet proof with that Deadly suit on, but she wasn’t. It was better if she covertly attacked rather than went in, guns blazing, so to speak. Parker was anything but subtle, not with those animal instincts. Alice dropped her face mask and tugged the bottom up to reverse it—now it was black side out, red side in. With frustration skipping up her spine, she crept toward the barn, making sure to stay hidden in the long grass or through sticking to the darkest shadows. A rusted tractor sat collecting weeds near the barn. By the wheel was a darker, human shaped blob.Parker.
His head swiveled her way, his eyes glowing gold in the dark like a wild cat. Then they narrowed.
Screw you, Parker Lazarus.They were here as a team.
Keeping low, she dashed over to him and leaned against the cool metal surface.
“I told you to stay put,” he grumbled into the dark.
“You didn’t,” she mumbled back. “But that’s beside the point. We’re here as a team. We do this together, or at the very least discuss a plan together.”
She heard his teeth grinding behind his mask. “Very well. What’s your suggestion?”
Alice wanted to laugh. He didn’t ask for her plan, but her suggestion.
“If this goes pear-shaped, it’s better for the long-term mission that I’m discovered, not you.”
“No one is getting captured.”
“I didn’t say captured.”
He stared at her. “You want me to stay hidden.”
“Yes.”
“And I’m supposed to allow my mate to head into certain danger without protection.”
This time it was her turn to stare at him, all angry eyed. “You know the kind of person I am. I don’t need protection. I need your trust.”
He looked away, eyes searching the darkness, before he cursed and punched the dirt.
“Good man.” She gave him a patronizing pat, much to his chagrin.
