A shroud of mourning settled on Nyx’s shoulders, heavy and dark, and tied up in its choking weave was the fact that she would be leaving the prison with two losses.
It was that reality that rode her hard as the males finally arrived. Jack was leading the way, with Kane behind him in a set of black robes, and Lucan, Mayhem, and Apex bringing up the rear. Getting to her feet, she did what she could to throw off her mood—and as she faced off at the group, she had a thought she was glad she wasn’t meeting them in a dark alley.
Especially Apex with those obsidian eyes.
“Fancy meeting you all here,” she said hoarsely.
Fancy getting my heart broken while I endangered my life to find out my sister was dead. What a BOGO, she thought.
Kane spoke up. “The Jackal told us of your bravery in evading the guards.” The gentlemale bowed. “You are a female of worth.”
“She’s a fighter, all right,” Lucan agreed. “That’s for sure.”
Cue a round of blushing, which in Nyx’s opinion was a total waste of her time. Come on, like she was the little sister asked to play ball with the big team?
“So what’s our plan?” She looked at them, and then focused on Jack. “Where are we going?”
“Kane did some investigation.” Jack came over and stood by her. “The prison is still locked down, but they’re calling a double shift to catch up, just like I thought, and the workers are eating. Mess should be finishing up shortly. We’ll fall in line with them as they report for duty, and go into the production area.”
Kane inclined his head. “From there, our best chance is to get you on a transport truck.”
“Truck?”
Jack nodded. “We need to time it correctly. After the product is loaded and checked, it should be safe for you to dematerialize onto the roof of one of the cargo bays. All you need to do is keep quiet and keep down. Then as soon as they drive out from under, dematerialize free.”
“It’s really our only option at this point,” Kane said.
Abruptly, she remembered seeing a large truck coast over the highway as she’d gone in search of the church. Come to think of it . . . she had seen a lot of them over the last ten or fifteen years, coming and going. She’d always assumed they were passing through the valley, but maybe some of them had originated from the prison.
“Okay.” Nyx took a deep breath. “I can’t thank you all enough for helping me.”
“Don’t take it too personally,” Lucan said. “Anything we can do to fuck the Command, we will run with it.”
“Well, I still appreciate it. Do we wait here?”
“Yes,” Jack said. “But it won’t be long.”
Annnnnnnd then there was nothing but awkward silence, the bunch of them standing around like they were about to be called to the counter for their order at Starbucks. Apex took out a knife—but just to whittle a piece of wood. Lucan paced around like a caged animal. Kane murmured something to Jack that was answered in a similar low tone.
“Exactly how long are we stuck here?” Nyx asked.
Kane answered. “No more than half an hour. You’ll be able to tell because you’ll hear the march of the guards on the other side of the wall. They need to escort the workers into the product area and will leave the Command’s quarters in a group to do so.”
“I’m taking a load off, then.” Nyx sat down and shucked her backpack. “Might as well conserve some energy.”
In reality, her legs were sore in places that made her blush again, and her body was still logy from the feeding. She wasn’t going to admit any of that to the peanut gallery, however.
Jack sat down next to her, which she appreciated. Then Kane sat across the pool from them. Eventually, Lucan and Mayhem followed the example. That Apex stayed standing was not a surprise, and out of instinct, Nyx angled her head so she could keep an eye on his position in her peripheral vision.
When she realized they’d all camped out around the pool, in a circle, she had to laugh. “This is like a group meeting.”
“I’m sorry?” Jack said.
“Like for therapy. You know, a bunch of people meeting to discuss common problems or ailments.” Except he didn’t know, did he. “Anyway. Yeah. So . . .”
Cue the Jeopardy! theme.
“So how did you guys end up here?” she blurted.
On a oner, all of the males jerked to face her. Kane’s aristocratic features registered shock, like she had just insulted someone at a dinner party. Lucan’s yellow eyes narrowed. Even Mayhem seemed surprised.
Jack cleared his throat. “Nyx, I know that you didn’t mean any offense by that because you don’t know any better. But we really don’t make those kinds of inquiries around here—”