The Black Tide (Outcast 3)

He glanced at me, and there was something in his eyes—a heat that spoke to not just to the part of me designed to attract and be attracted to shifters, but also the part that should not be there.

Heart. Emotion.

“However much affection I still hold for her, she is the past.” His voice was soft. “I learned a long time ago to never look back, but rather chase the future. Especially when the possibilities on offer are worth chasing.”

I half smiled. “Or not. You have no idea how staid I can really be.”

“Which is all part of the exploration process.” He placed Grant across the two rear seats and strapped him in. “Is there anyone left alive in the scooter you took out?”

“No.”

“Good. I’ll go over and strip the uniforms from the two who are the closest match to us, and meet you back here.”

“How do you plan to blow the ATV up?”

“I scrounged another RTX brick from my kin—it’s in our kit. Set it for ten minutes.”

I nodded and headed out. He moved back to the control panel and, as I walked down the ramp, placed a mayday call. His voice was a close enough imitation of Grant’s to make it believable.

Once I’d emptied the contents of the ATV’s two storage bins into a couple of carryalls, I bent and stuck the RTX out of sight under the control panel—just in case someone happened by before the bomb went off—then grabbed everything else and walked back to the scooter. Jonas followed me in a few seconds later. His face was now not only covered with a whole lot more grime, but blood that wasn’t his.

“Cover?” I asked.

He nodded and handed me a uniform. “This belongs to the commander. You’ll probably have to roll up the sleeves until you shift shape, as she was a good deal taller than you.”

I hadn’t really taken all that much notice; aside from the fact both she and her men had been sitting, they’d also been nothing more than targets—which perhaps meant there was more déchet soldier in me than I’d ever dared admit.

Jonas turned around to give me some measure of privacy as we both changed. It really was ridiculous for someone like me to feel any sort of awkwardness in the presence of a man, but I guess this was the first time in all my long years I’d actually been more than just sexually interested in someone.

“Did Warehouse Five respond to the mayday call?” I rolled up my sleeves as I followed him to the front of the scooter and sat in the codriver seat.

He nodded as he punched buttons, first closing the door and then starting up the engines. As the red sand plumed around us, he said, “I think they must have sought permission from either Dream or from whatever base these scooters came from, as it took a few minutes to get approval.”

“Even with permission, they’re going to be suspicious of us and on high alert.”

“Indeed. But I have a solution.” He reached into his pocket and took out two bloody RFID chips held within separate plastic containers.

I raised my

eyebrows. “They sort out the problem of me getting into the facility, but you can’t alter your appearance without help from Nuri’s magic.”

“No, but the man I took the chip from is roughly my coloring and height, and with all the grime, I should get a pass.”

Our mission was in deep trouble if he didn’t. “Do you know which one is which?”

“Of course.” He shifted a grip slightly, revealing a small X marked on the top on one. “There should be enough false skin left from the kit you took into the sand base to cover us both.”

I nodded and rose to get the kit. Once the scooter was off the ground and the coordinates punched in, he offered me his arm. I carefully located his RFID chip then placed the stolen one on top of it and sprayed on the false skin to hold it in place. I repeated the process with mine, then leaned back in the seat and glanced at the GPS. Thirteen minutes more until our destination.

“Did they give any indication which entrance we’re being directed to?”

“It won’t be the entrance the warehouse itself uses. It’d cause the sort of interest they’re trying to avoid if an old military vehicle carrying a wounded soldier docked there.”

“It will also make it impossible to have the sort of lockdown we’ll probably face.”

“If they don't place us under either a full watch or in a secure area, I'll be very surprised.”

“Getting in is not going to be the problem—getting out will be.” I grimaced. “But I guess we can worry about that when we get to that point.”