Page 73 of The Last True Hero
Nineteen
THE GOOD VIBESjust kept coming.
Mia took a second shower, even though she couldn't stop feeling McClain's hands and mouth on her skin. She felt both relaxed and utterly destroyed. Her heart skittered in her chest like a newborn foal, but she didn't dare dwell too much on the rush of feeling through her veins. That way lay dragons. The rules had been simple. Once, and once only.
Even if she couldn't quite keep her eyes off him, despite the fact Jake and Ellie returned from the slave markets, bringing with them two familiar faces.
"Look who we found." Ellie grinned, dragging Sara into the room by the fingertips.
Bethany slipped through the door, looking around warily. When the girls saw Mia, both their faces lit up.
"Mia!"
She stepped forward, hugging both girls to her. Bethany sobbed on her shoulder as if she'd been trying to withhold her tears since this entire ordeal began. Mia clung to her, letting this hug act as surrogate for the one she intended to give her sister when they got Sage out of there.
Mia stroked the damp curls off Bethany's forehead. The girl was barely seventeen, a shy, sweet thing who always had her nose buried in a book. "It's okay, sweetie. You're safe now."
"I can't believe you guys came for us," Bethany whispered, wiping her eyes. "We thought we were never going to get free."
Shadows stained her eyes. No doubt those fears included others. Sara caught Bethany's hand, squeezing it gently, as though she'd been looking out for the younger girl.
Jake removed his felt hat, and wiped the sweat ring around his forehead. "Ellie filled them both in on our plans. We didn't have enough money to rescue Tom or Sonya, but nobody else was buying. They locked the pair of them back in the pens. Sonya said she'd prefer if we got these two out first."
"I overheard the overseer saying that there's a buyer coming tomorrow," Ellie broke in. "I couldn't get too close, but he seemed to think Tom and the girls would be going out with the buyer, so he's obviously someone with a generous amount of coin floating around."
"Confederacy," Mia murmured, that sick feeling twisting her insides. They had a timeline now.
"What else did you see?" McClain asked.
Mia sat the pair of girls down at the table as Jake explained the security details of the slave yards. She broke out some of the bread they had leftover from breakfast. Both girls fell on it, hurrying to fill in the gaps with what they knew.
McClain scratched his jaw, listening intently to the security details, and Mia knew that mind of his was quietly sorting information into plans.
She ached to touch his hand. But it was time to put her feelings aside and start concentrating. They were one step closer to their goal, but nowhere near success yet. "What's the plan for today?" she asked, the second the girls fell silent, both their eyelids fluttering with exhaustion.
"The girls can get some rest," McClain said, eyeing the pair of them. "Ellie, you and Mia right to keep an eye on them here?"
Mia looked at him sharply. She'd expected the pair of them to work together today.
"We need to know more," he continued, meeting Jake's eyes. "Today's all about information. If tomorrow's our deadline, then we need to get moving."
"On it," Jake said, snatching up his belt.
"You want me to stay?" Mia repeated, not quite understanding.
McClain's gaze caught hers, then skated away as if he were trying not to give the game away. She could see a faint mark on his neck where she'd bitten him. "Thought the girls might want to see some familiar faces."
Female faces. She nodded slowly. "Okay." She and Ellie could fuss over the pair of them, make them feel safe. "What time will you be back?"
McClain grabbed his gun. "Not sure, Mia. Just make sure you keep your gun on you. It should be safe in here, but you never know." He looked at her then, and the room and all the others fell away.
Until Jake cleared his throat.
"Do what you need to do," Mia said quickly. "Just watch your backs."
"Will do," McClain murmured, and headed for the door.
Ellie arched a brow in her direction. One person wasn't fooled. Heat rose in Mia's cheeks, and she pasted a smile on her face, then headed for the bed, shaking out the blanket there.
