Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 132491 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132491 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
“Hmm. I think I have to go with baldness.”
He flicks his gaze to mine. “You have nice hair, but you could pull off bald. I’d probably take the beard.”
I’m so used to scowling, order-giving Marcus that it’s a strange feeling to just be hanging out with him. I figured he’d be going stir crazy, not smiling and giving me compliments.
“Do you guys have a massive stockpile of food and toiletries? Like enough to last you years?”
His expression closes off, and I realize how much that sounded like I’m prodding for the information a spy sent by Virginia would want.
“You don’t have to answer.”
“We do have a lot stockpiled, and we get deliveries. You may have already figured out the supplies are supposed to be for both camps, but I stopped sharing with them a long time ago.”
I stand up and walk around, needing to stretch my legs. “And you’re hoping she’ll eventually trade people whose aromium you can deactivate for supplies?”
He lifts a shoulder in a shrug. “I’d be open to that. I don’t think she would, though.”
“Why not?”
He leans his elbows on the table, a crease forming between his brows. “The last thing I want is to make you sympathetic toward Virginia, but she’s in a bad situation.”
I narrow my eyes, skeptical. “She has options. She could at least negotiate for food.”
“The reason she fights so hard for people on the beach when the boat comes is because she has to make this program succeed. There’ll be a day when Whitman comes to get the kids, and he’s going to expect a lot of them.”
I nod, knowing how ruthless he is. Maybe she’s just as much a prisoner here as the rest of us are.
“Virginia can’t have children.” Marcus holds my gaze across the table. “She’s known that since before the virus. The only family she has left in the world is one niece, and Whitman’s got her.”
My chin drops with surprise. “You mean like as a hostage?”
He nods, his expression grim. “She’s in his custody, that’s all Virginia knows. And the results of the aromium program will determine what happens to her.”
I put my hands on the back of the chair I was sitting in, seeing Virginia in a new light.
What if Whitman had one of my family members? I’d do whatever it took to get them back.
“Would you rather be responsible for the deaths of a lot of people you don’t know, or the one family member you have left?” Marcus asks, our light game suddenly becoming all too real.
I look down at the table’s surface, considering. “I don’t know.”
“Me either.”
My pulse races as I raise my head to look at him. “Were you and Virginia...close?”
He knows a lot about her. Things most people at Rising Tide have no idea about. It’s clear they were close, and I’m not sure how I feel about that.
“I knew her better than most. But we weren’t romantically involved, if that’s what you mean.”
Warmth creeps up my neck, reaching my cheeks. “I heard she has a thing for Pax.”
He grunts, looking disgusted. “Can’t imagine why.”
Static sounds over the radio. “Atlas to Command One. We just heard a loud crashing sound outside the Sub. Want me to investigate?”
Marcus picks his radio up from the table, pushing a button on the side and talking into it. “Copy that, Atlas. This is Ares. Stay where you are. I’ve got it.”
“Copy, Ares.”
He stands, picking up his radio.
“If you’re going out, I’m coming with you,” I say.
He furrows his brow as he walks into the bedroom, where he stores his weapons. “I’ve only got storm gear for one.”
“I don’t need special gear.”
He stops zipping the heavy raincoat he’s putting on, giving me a look. “I’ll just be getting soaked while I try to figure out what made the crashing sound.”
“Better two sets of eyes than one.”
His eyes stay locked on mine as he pushes the button on the radio. “Ares to Athena. What wind speeds do we have out there?”
An invisible thread tugs on me, beckoning me to move nearer to him. I keep my feet rooted in place, but all I want is to be closer to him. Close enough to see the flecks of brown and gold in his mossy eyes and smell the leather-and-saltwater scent that’s so unmistakably him.
Nova responds a few seconds later. “Athena to Ares, fifty-three miles per hour.”
“Copy, Athena. Thanks.”
He shoves the radio in his pants pocket and gives me a pointed look. “There’s got to be debris flying all over the place out there. Just stay dry in here and I’ll be back soon.”
“It’s not safe to be out there alone.”
He shrugs. “It’s not safe to be out there at all. But I have to make sure our walls are still standing.”
“I can help. You can either let me come, or I’ll follow you.”