“You know she drops f-bombs like she’s twenty-four?” I asked, grinning.
“If that’s the worst of it, I’ll count myself lucky,” my mom mused, her eyes twinkling.
“Hey,” my dad cooed as he moved around us. “Look who’s awake. Hi, princess.”
As my dad lifted Olive off the bed and smiled goofily at her, a sense of contentment settled deep into my bones.
Chapter 26
Mark
“I’m leaving,” Wilson said the moment I reached the table where my team was seated.
“Yeah, you said that,” I replied, accepting a hot cup of coffee from Forrest.
“Let me clarify,” Wilson said. “I’m leaving the team.”
“Say what?” Eli sputtered.
“I find myself with responsibilities that interfere with my ability to affectively continue as a member of this team,” he said stiffly.
“Who’d you get pregnant?” Josiah asked, jokingly.
“No one,” Wilson replied instantly.
“It has to be a woman,” Lu mused, watching Wilson like a bug under a microscope. “It’s always a woman.” Her face morphed from concentration to surprise. “It’s that militia girl.”
“Her name is Kaley Campbell,” Wilson said tightly.
“Why do you think you need to leave the team?” Forrest asked.
“I will not be able to focus on my responsibilities,” Wilson replied uncomfortably. “I find that my attention is fixed elsewhere.”
“She in trouble?” I asked, dropping into a seat. Well, fuck. I was wondering how I would tell the team that I was out, and now it was going to be a hell of a lot harder with Wilson gone, too.
“Currently, no,” Wilson said. “However, history has shown that she will be again.”
“And you’re going to protect her,” Ephraim said softly.
“Yes,” Wilson said. It was said firmly, simply, with zero hesitation.
“I’m out, too,” I said with a sigh, figuring I might as well get it out on the table now, while we were all in one place. “Same reason, mostly. I think Cecilia’s hit her quota for trouble, but I gotta be honest—I’m done spending my time overseas takin’ care of people I don’t know now that I’ve got people here that need me.”
“You sure?” Forrest asked.
“Not interested in spendin’ months away,” I replied. “I’ve been without her for long enough.”
“Yeah, you have,” Lu said, nodding. I looked at her in surprise. “What?” she said. “People around here talk.”
“Fuck,” Ephraim said, looking around the group in confusion. “You mean we’re gonna have to break in two new members?”
“Three,” Eli said quietly.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Josiah spat. “What now?”
“The militia’s got women and children trapped on that property,” Eli said, crossing his arms over his chest.
“What, you’re going to liberate them?” Josiah asked incredulously.
“I’m going to do something,” Eli said. “Not sure how that’ll play out yet.” He looked at Wilson. “You need help, I’m there.”
“Jesus,” Ephraim muttered. “There’s only four of us left?”
We all looked at each other.
“I’m out, too,” Lu said, her words soft. She spread her hands out, palms up. “I don’t have it in me to start again with a new team. I’ve got a shit ton saved up—I’ll figure out something else.”
Josiah leaned forward dramatically and smacked his head against the table in front of him.
“Goddamn it,” Ephraim said with a sigh. He pointed to Forrest. “You’re out, too. I can see it on your face.”
“Wilson’s gonna need the help,” Forrest replied.
“He’s a full-grown man,” Josiah argued.
“And so are you,” Forrest said calmly. “But you’re the one who seems to be throwing the fit here.”
“I’m not throwing a fit,” he spit back. He leaned back in his chair and ran the fingers of both hands through his hair, slicking it backward. Turning, he and Ephraim looked at each other, and the nerves that had been making my stomach churn suddenly settled. Before he spoke, I knew what he would say.
“Fine,” he muttered. “Me and Eph will stay, too.”
“Don’t feel obligated to offer your assistance,” Wilson replied stiffly.
“Shut it,” Ephraim replied. “Not like we can go off and make loads of money while you’re all here, savin’ poor women and children from the big bad wolves.”
“Way to make us feel like assholes,” Josiah grumbled.
I let out a relieved laugh, and the rest of the table joined me.
“You are assholes,” Lu pointed out, still laughing.
“We’d still be saving people,” Josiah argued defensively. “We’d just be getting paid for it.”
“Uh huh,” Lu teased.
“Just to be clear, we’re all out?” Forrest asked as we quieted down. He looked at each person one-by-one. “Well, shit. Boss man’s not gonna be happy.”
“Fuck him,” Wilson said crisply, surprising all of us into another burst of hysterical laughter.
We discussed logistics, where we planned on making our home base and the possibility of starting our own company on a much smaller scale than the one we’d been working for. Forrest and I had been in the business the longest and had plenty of contacts to get us started if that’s the direction we wanted to go. I think, when it came down to it, we were all just burned out on seeing death and destruction playing out before us day after day. We all needed a break, even Ephraim and Josiah, who were a lot more hesitant to stop doing the job they loved.