“Kameron won’t let anything happen to her. He knows she’s your best friend.” She nods in agreement against my chest.
“I just wish I was more helpful and less...” She buries her face in my chest, “I wish I didn’t add more problems to what you all had planned. You were going to save us, all of us, not just me.”
I lean back, my palms reaching for each side of her face, tilting her to look up at me. Sorrow blankets her eyes, as if they hold all the guilt of Everton. “El, we still will.” I kiss her forehead then rest mine on it. “We don’t give up easily…well, more like never. We never give up on a mission. We’ll get them all out, we will save them. Just like we helped save you.”
She closes her eyes and I pull her back into my arms, letting myself comfort her in silence. My mind flickers through all the things I need to get in order for us to pull this off.
This wasn’t supposed to be this complicated of a mission once we knew the location. Sure, the mission may have changed, but one thing that hasn’t changed was how we were going to dismantle this fucking town. Burn it to the fucking ground.
61
Elliott
My mind feels a little less clouded now that I’ve showered and let the hot water release some of the tension in my muscles. I’m still sore from the training, but I’ve been sore every day since I started. My body isn’t used to it but at least every day gets easier. I pull a pair of my sweats on along with one of Kameron’s t-shirts and toss my towel dried hair into a messy bun.
Taking a deep breath, I leave the room to head to the kitchen, where Hunter’s cooking for us. The smell of breakfast instantly fills my senses as I make my way down the hallway and round the corner into the open kitchen. Hunter must have changed because he’s in a pair of grey sweatpants and a white t-shirt. He’s pulling bacon off a pan and laying it on a paper towel covered plate, I smile at how he looks so… normal.
The last time I saw him in something other than business attire was when I woke up in his arms from my night terrors. Itwas not the usual outfit for Mr. Hunter Sinclair. He looked like an average Joe, nothing like a CEO of a security company, or like a man who helps orchestrate missions to help people escape the unseen horrors in the world.
He turns my way with a smile, “Coffee’s ready. I’ll make you a cup in just a second.” The bacon grease pops, “Shit!” he shoots back. “This is why I hate cooking bacon.” He pulls another two slices from the pan, holding them up to his face, “You’re lucky you taste so fucking good.”
I giggle to myself at his sudden playfulness, a side I have seen glimpses of but not nearly as much as I would like to. Hunter isn’t as open as Kameron, but when he is…it’s a sight to see.
“Talking to bacon now are we?” I walk up next to him, pulling two mugs out of the cabinet. I hand him one mug of black coffee, before getting the creamer out of the fridge for the next one.
“I told you I would make it.” Hunter huffs out.
“I know, but I can make it too.” I stir in some vanilla creamer until it's just the right shade of light brown, then place it back in the fridge. “I’ll be right back.” I kiss Hunter on the cheek.
“Where are you going?”
“Gonna give Marcus some caffeine…” I tap the mug in my hands with my thumb, “Thought maybe he could use it with all the work he’s been doing.”
“I agree.” He smiles at me.
I leave the kitchen, making my way through the house to Marcus’s room.
I stand outside of his door a bit hesitant to go inside, but I take a deep breath and knock.
“Come in.” Marcus shouts from inside.
I open the door and peek in to see him tapping away on his computer. The monitors are all on and he’s moving at rapid speed. His head darts from each screen as he moves things around and starts to tap on the keyboard again.
Garbagè chirps at me, coming to rub her body against my legs. I lean down, giving her a quick chin scratch, “Just here to provide your dad with some caffeine.” I whisper to her and she meows at me in return. I straighten up and walk to Marcus’s desk.
He looks at me with a double take, “Oh hey, I thought you were Hunter coming to berate me on where I was at on all of this.” He gestures to the monitors.
“Nope. Just me and a mug of coffee.” I extend the cup to him, “For you.”
“Oh–” he stares at it, then takes it from my hold, “Thanks, you didn’t have to.”
“Yeah, but I wanted to.” I take a look at the monitors, “How do you keep track of everything on all these screens?”
He takes a sip of the coffee, his eyes landing on me. “It’s something you get used to, but it helps me finish so much more work. Cuts down on opening and closing tabs.”
“What about the stuff on this screen?” I point to one with just letters and numbers appearing in rows. “What does it even say?”
“It’s running a code I inputted,” he pulls the screen down to a lower monitor. “See, it's analyzing a command I put in.”
