"Hello, Vonn," the tall, elegant one said, favoring him with a smile that didn't seem a bit intimidated.
"Olivia," Vonn said, nodding stiffly. "Mari. Josie."
The wholesome-looking one named Josie laughed. "If I didn't know better, I would almost think that you were unhappy to see us, Vonn."
"I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm unhappy—but I'm pretty damn curious why the three of you are standing in my driveway."
"We wouldn't be if you invited us to come inside." The petite, delicate-looking blonde Vonn had called Mari gave him a small, guileless grin.
But Vonn was looking past the women to the drive leading up to the cabin as if he was expecting—or more likely hoping—that another truck was going to pull in behind them.
"You looking for our mates?" Josie asked. "Because I hate to break it to you, but they're not coming."
"And Kiera couldn't make it either," Olivia added, casting a glance nervously at the house. The other women exchanged an opaque look. "She still has a couple days before she's due back at the roadhouse."
Who the hell was Kiera? Stacy didn't especially like the fact that she seemed to be a taboo topic, whoever she was. Not because she was jealous, of course, but because there were already too many unknowns in this situation.
Sure, they didn't look like a threat, but Stacy knew that meant next to nothing—and she didn't exactly know the proper combat stance for Attractive Women Who All Know Each Other.
"None of your mates warned you about coming on to my property without an invitation?" Vonn grumbled loud enough that even standing inside the house, Stacy could feel the vibration of his voice through the floor.
Olivia gave him a patrician smile. "Of course they did."
"But we just reminded them that you're too much of a gentleman to ever harm another brother's omega," Josie added, earning snickers from the other two.
So…they were omegas. As certainty sunk in, Olivia was forced to admit that once again, the superior officer she had blindly trusted had lied to her, if not outright betrayed her.
And she didn't know what to do with that information. But she wasn't about to cower inside, either. If these women—these omegas—presented a threat, it was one that escaped all of her powers of observation.
"Hello," she said, walking out into the sunshine and standing as far from Vonn as she could while still remaining in the shadow of the overhang. "I'm Stacy."
Before the women could reply, Vonn interjected. "What do you three want?"
Mari stepped forward with her hands on her hips. She had to tilt her head back to look up at Vonn, but that didn't stop her from tutting with disappointment. "We don't want anything, Vonn. We're here to help. I think you need to work on your trust issues."
"This is too important to wait." Olivia unzipped a small case that Stacy hadn't noticed she was holding. Great, she thought, that could have been a weapon—in which case I'd be dead already.
"What's too important?" Vonn demanded. "What the hell is that thing?"
Olivia had pulled out a small, handheld electrical device. "We need to take care of the tracker chip."
Vonn's shoulders sagged as understanding dawned on his face—though Stacy had no idea what was going on. "Fuck. Do you really need to do this now?"
"That depends." Mari hadn't backed off, though she did cast Stacy a sympathetic look. "How much are you looking forward to a Special Ops team of beta soldiers coming onto your land to assassinate your lady?"
Stacy drew herself up to full height, outraged. Even if these omegas were simply misguided, this had gone too far. "Don't be ridiculous. I am a sergeant in the beta army. No one is coming to assassinate me."
All three women turned to look at her—and burst into laughter.
"Oh, sweetheart," Oliva said, in a tone only slightly less condescending than Stacy's. "The person who makes these decisions doesn't care about your rank or whose government you serve. He only cares about covering his own ass."
The 'person who makes these decisions?' That could only mean Fulmer—the man who had lied to Stacy all along. To hell with the mission's Need to Know classification, she decided. Until she got some answers, her only loyalty was to herself. "Are you talking about the Alpha Control Division?"
"Yes," Olivia sighed, all traces of irritation vanishing. "They blackmailed me into coming here and then tried to take me out when things didn't go to plan."
"They sent nearly a dozen FBI agents to blow me to bits in the roadhouse parking lot," Mari said, her cheeks reddening with fury at the memory.
"So uninspired, if you ask me," Josie chimed in. "They tried to kill me by kicking me out of a helicopter in the middle of the uplands."
Stacy was silent, trying to take in their shocking claims. Nothing about their body language indicated they were lying. She turned to Vonn, who at least had the good grace not to say I told you so. In fact, he looked a lot like a guy who wanted to hit someone.
Was this the Boundarylands version of chivalry?
Stacy, who had spent decades insisting that she didn't need a man to open her door or offer his arm or pull out her chair, found the notion unexpectedly tempting.
She was definitely losing her edge. And that was a very dangerous proposition.
"Tell me why you're here," she demanded of the women, "in as few words as possible."
The women exchanged a bemused glance. "RFD chip reader," Mari said, pointing to the gadget in Olivia's hand.
"Tracking chip," Josie said, pointing at Stacy. "In your arm."
"Yeah, I know all about that chip." Stacy folded her arms. It relayed both her location and vital signs back to mission control. All branches of the military had been using some version of it for years during covert ops. They helped Command keep tabs on personnel in situations where radio communication could compromise the mission. "What do you want with it?"
Olivia took something else out of her case…a small
