Page 57 of The Last True Hero
"Jake!" Mia snapped.
"I'm the only one thinking clearly right now." Adam held him there for a long second, but he felt the tension melt out of the other man, and finally eased up. Thank God. "I know this is hard for you. The both of you. You need to trust me."
"We do," Mia replied promptly.
Even if she shouldn't. Damn it, she'd hate him when she realized what he was keeping from her.
Jake looked away, his nostrils flaring. "How do I do this?" he asked hoarsely.
Ellie slipped her hand into his and rubbed his shoulder. "The same way we all do. One foot in front of the other."
"You listen to me," Adam replied. He included Mia in his glare. "The pair of you are emotionally tied to this. I get that." He let go of Jake's collar. "You brought me along for a reason. So let me do my job here. I'm in charge. I call the shots right now. And the pair of you need to be patient. Vex doesn't trust us. Not yet. She made that perfectly clear in her private quarters, and with that display tonight."
"Yeah. She's scary." Mia shivered.
"And she's probably not the dangerous one," Adam pointed out. "Vex is unpredictable, but I think I've got a handle on her. Zarina's the one I don't know much about. And she was watching everything that went on tonight, especially the way the pair of you reacted when you saw Sage."
Mia's face paled. "You think she'll tell her mother?"
"Who knows?" He rubbed his mouth. "Like I said, I can't read much of her intentions yet, but we all need to be very careful of the way we act around her. I don't think she likes Rykker much, if that helps."
Mia looked thoughtful. "Well, Vex isn't going to touch Sage. Not tonight." She wrapped her arms around herself, her voice hardening. "Can't touch the merchandise, right?"
"I don't like this any more than you do," Adam pointed out. "But Sage and the others aren't being mishandled right now." He took a step back, allowing Jake some space, but staying close enough that he could grab him again if he tried to do anything stupid. "So we need to assess the situation. We need more information, and to get a good look around. We have time. What we don't have is ammunition, allies, or an escape plan."
Jake sank onto the bed, his hands clasped firmly between his legs, the very picture of stillness. "Vex won't sell her," he said, looking up slowly, his eyes revealing the horrors of a man who'd seen the end of his world. "When I saw her there I was so relieved because I thought that at least she wouldn't be touched, but now.... How can we get her back from the fucking warlord who runs this place? She's clearly got buyers lined up, so she'll take one look at our money and laugh in our faces."
"It they're Confederate buyers, then she can't afford to cross them," Adam mused. "And they can pay more than we could even dream of. So that's out of the question now. We're going to have to steal her and the others back. Plan A is down the drain."
"So what?" Mia drawled. "We go to Plan B? Burn the place down?"
"Don't forget Vex's nice little promise to castrate the pair of us and sell us into slavery if she catches us stealing from her," Jake shot back.
"You did turn an interesting shade of green," Ellie noted.
Adam dragged a chair out from the table and gestured the three of them to sit. "Sage is now Vex's pet. We don't really know what that means, but it buys us a little time. I'll head out tonight to have a decent look around."
"We need to know when Vex's supply route to the Confederacy leaves," Mia added. "Do they come here? Or does she send the people to them? You say we have time, but how many days do we have?"
"That's what we need to find out," he replied.
"I'll come," Mia said, taking the seat next to him.
Adam folded his arms on the table. "I can move faster—"
"You're not winning this argument," she replied, a fiery glow in her dark eyes. "So save your breath. There are only three of us, and weneedyou. You've probably got mad skills that I can't even imagine, but even you can't watch your own back. So it's either Jake or me, and he looks fit to fall over. Plus—nobody goes anywhere alone. Your rule."
"I'm alright," Jake protested.
Mia arched a brow in his direction. "You've been going for days with barely any rest. I know you're not sleeping. I barely am either, but I've had more than you. And let's be honest, Jake, right now I could take you one-on-one and you know it. You need sleep, or the next time someone looks sideways at Sage you'll blow up, exactly like you just did before."
Jake clearly didn't like it, but he shut up and then dragged out the third chair for Ellie. "So... reconnaissance tonight?"
"Mia and I will check out Vex's stronghold, see where they're keeping Sage and what the security is like," Adam continued. "The streets are full of reivers partying after the War Games, which gives us some cover."
"And a lot of potential eyes."
"We'll deal with that," he replied confidently. "Reivers aren't known for their sanitary habits, which means we'll probably smell them coming, if we don't hear them."
