“What? Are you joking? Look at him, Lauren! Do you not recall who he works for? Since when have you ever given a shit about these people?”
“I haven’t,” Lauren said, her tone losing some steam, “not until a few hours ago, when this one snuffed out one of his own instead of me.”
Christian tilted his head, unable to get his next question out.
“Just leave him alone, please. He’s my prisoner…and my problem.”
Christian rose and brushed off his trousers, then approached her carefully, minding his tone this time. “So here we are. Familiar territory. You’ve lost me again. I don’t get you, and I don’t get what you’re doing. I mean, you’re taking prisoners now?” Hands to his hips, he mocked her. “Have you forgotten everything I’ve told you about these people and their mission? Your effort is admirable, okay? But this trivial shit means nothing to them. They mean to erase us, Lauren! At all costs! I don’t know what else I can say to make that any clearer.”
“You don’t have to say anything,” Lauren muttered, choking up. “They’ve made their objectives…abundantly clear.”
“What do you mean by that?”
She lowered her gaze, hesitating a long moment. “Something terrible happened while you were gone, Christian. Grace needs you there…she’s—”
Christian moved to square off with Lauren, clutching her by the upper arms. “What about Grace? What happened?”
“She got hurt,” Lauren said, the words tearing another fissure in her heart. “But she’s not the on—”
“How did she get hurt? How bad?”
“I don’t know. She’s unconscious. She lost a lot of blood. The doctors won’t let us see her…they haven’t told us anything.”
Christian’s face went eerily pale, displaying now the worry of a soon-to-be father. His brow wrinkled and he looked away. “What about the baby?”
“I don’t know, Christian. I’m sorry, but I don’t.”
He released his grip on her and pulled away, running his fingers through his hair with both hands.
“They attacked us. A drone launched four missiles into the valley; one of them almost got me. I was with Neo near the shed when it was hit.”
“The shed? You mean our shed? The one in the backyard?”
Lauren nodded. “It’s gone, a total loss, along with everything inside. Neo was badly burned, he’s critical now, and he might not make it. But if he hadn’t protected me, I wouldn’t have.” A pause. “They ruined the northern barricade and destroyed the church; eight men from Dave’s unit were killed.” Her lower lip trembled as she forced herself to conclude by divulging the names of those she and Christian knew and had known personally.
“Wait…what?” he queried, a look of desolation taking him over. “They’re gone?”
Lauren didn’t say anything, knowing no further explanation was requisite.
Christian cursed under his breath, folded his arms, and grew tense, opting to stare at the ground. “So that’s why you’re here, why you’re doing this…and why you’re not going home with us.”
“It’s why I can’t go home with you,” Lauren muttered. “I can’t, not until it’s finished.”
He nodded once, grimaced, and leaned back, then stormed away with moistened eyes and not another word.
Lauren watched him trudge into the woods for a distance, electing to let him go. He needed space, a moment to absorb the tragic news. Something told her, though, it wouldn’t be long before he’d be back, and that suited her just fine. What he’d said earlier had been accurate; they couldn’t stay here much longer. The DHS vehicles were tracking each other’s whereabouts, but they weren’t the only ones with that capability. Reinforcements could’ve been dispatched already and could conceivably be making their way here. She began counting the minutes as they passed, praying they didn’t run out of time before all of them could flee the scene.
Lauren found Brooke and the girls and informed them that it was time to go home. She didn’t need to say much else. Emily, Annie, and Alli enlivened at once, jumped to their feet, and sped off, racing one another to the backseat of the lead SUV. Once inside, a three-way dispute began on which two would be riding next to the windows.
“I guess that means I’m riding shotgun,” Brooke said, not wishing to take a seat amongst the bickering.
Lauren vetoed the idea. “No, use the third row. That seat’s spoken for.”
Brooke looked at her sideways and caught Lauren hinting at the DHS agent. “We’re taking him with us? Oh, come on.”
“Sorry, Brooke. There’s a lot of explaining to do, and he has to do it.”
Brooke scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Whatever.” She then stomped off to enter via the rear hatch.
Lauren pivoted and strode warily past her prisoner to where she’d left her gear.
August Carter eased a breath, the pain of his rib injuries evident. “They sound excited,” he said, denoting the overheard jolly cackles of youngsters.
“Can you blame them?” Lauren tested. “They’re going home to their families, where they should’ve been all along.”
He regarded her boldly. “That wasn’t my idea. I didn’t concoct that strategy, and I didn’t author one single, solitary portion of that op. And I’ve never once felt at home with any part of it. I deemed the whole thing a disgrace from the word go.”
“Spare me, Special Agent Carter. If that genuinely were the case, you and I would have never crossed paths. Neither of us would be here.”
August rolled his eyes and moaned a sigh. “Maybe you’re right,” he said. “But since we are, I hope you realize what you’ve gotten yourself into. This isn’t over. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but they’ll be coming. And after seeing what you’ve done, they’ll come for you. They’ll hunt you down.”
“Let them.” Gear retrieved, Lauren stared August down the whole way back to him. “Let them come. They’ll meet their maker before ever coming close to finding me.” She halted beside him. “On your feet. It’s time to go.”
“I don’t know if I can get
