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“For what?”

Saul smiled. “For you two to tell me you’re not letting your mate stroll into the enemy’s stronghold. That it’s too dangerous.”

Roadkill shrugged. “We don’t like it. Of course we don’t.”

“But we trust Eve knows what she’s doing,” Hashtag said simply.

“And we’ll be right there.”

“To come running if she needs us,” Hashtag concluded.

Eve grinned at Saul. “Told you.”

Horvan laughed. “Well, that was easier than I anticipated.” Then it was his turn to grin. “Now Iknowyou’re mates. The way you finish each other’s sentences? Cute, guys. Like you’re joined at the hip.”

Eve chuckled. “Well… maybe not the hip, but definitely got some joining going on.” She gave a devilish smirk. “It was kind of tight at the start, but with some patience and good lubrication, things started working much better.”

Hashtag snickered. “Yeah, it’s amazing what some good lube will do. And then—”

“TM freakin’I, guys,” Horvan growled.

“Oh,Iget it.” Hashtag glared at him. “Youcan tell everyone you meet about my awesome tongue action—”

“Which ittotallyis,” Roadkill interjected. He beamed. “Having been on the receiving end. H, you weren’t kidd—”

Hashtag glared. “Dude?” He returned his gaze to Horvan. “As I was saying….Youcan share aboutme, but I’m not allowed to share about my mates? And while we’re on the subject—” Hashtag gave Horvan a pained stare. “—cute? Really?”

“Excuse me?” Horvan gaped at Hashtag. “It might have escaped your attention, but we’ve got a meeting going on in here. So if you’ll let me continue….” He folded his arms. “Okay, this mission has three objectives: Rescue Vic, get Alec out of there, and find out exactly what Theron is hiding in that room.” He inclined his head toward Jake. “That last part will be down to Jake, along with Luciano Orsini, the archivist. Aelryn is bringing him from Rome to the UK.”

“I’m going too,” Seth declared.

Judging by the lack of an argument from Brick and Aric, this wasn’t news to them.

“So am I, but I’ll be there strictly to oversee Alec’s removal from that place.” Doc’s face was as serious as his voice. “But can I add a note of caution? From what Seth told us, Alec has aged since Saul first encountered him. That doesn’t bode well. For all we know, he could appear older than his father by now. We know the Gerans tinkered with his DNA to speed up the aging process—and to bring about the mutation in his hands. What wedon’tknow is if they’ve been able to halt the aging process. I think we must be prepared for the worst possible outcome.”

Dellan said nothing, so Roadkill guessed this wasn’t news either.

“I suppose you’re going to leave me here.” Aric sounded glum. “Especially with my track record.”

Horvan studied him. “I don’t know about that. As a kitty, you might be able to help us. You can get into spaces none of us can.”

Aric jerked his head in Brick’s direction, and Brick laughed. “You think H would’ve said that if we hadn’t already discussed it? You’re good to go, spy kitty.”

Aric’s face brightened. “Spy kitty. Yeah, I like the sound of that.” Seth kissed his cheek, and he flushed. “Yay. I get to be useful.”

Brick sucked in a deep breath, and Roadkill’s scalp prickled.

Uh-oh.

“H? After we’re done with all this? I’m out.” Brick’s tone was even, his breathing too, but Roadkill noted how he tightened his grip on Aric’s hand. “My parents left me enough that I won’t have to work for a while, so I’m going to get to know my mates properly.” He shrugged. “Can’t do that if I’m running all over the place while they’re at home worrying, now can I?” He glanced at Seth. “I know you want to work in intelligence, so I guess we’re gonna be having a fewhigh-level discussionsin the not-too-distant future.”

Seth leaned into him. “Let’s see how this mission goes, all right? I think we need to play this by ear.”

Horvan gave them a warm smile. “Brick, you’re a lucky man, you know that? Your mates are amazing.” Then he sighed. “I figured this was coming, and I don’t blame you. Thanks for letting me know.” He swept his gaze around the room. “Okay, that’s it. Now for the bad news. We leave tonight for the UK.” He peered at the clock over the fireplace. “In about eight hours, to be exact. Transportation is arranged, so you need to go pack, then either chill or get a few hours’ sleep.” He gave Hashtag and Roadkill a mock glare. “Please note, I saidsleep.”

Hashtag grinned. “Oh, I heard ya.” He glanced at Roadkill.We’ll need to keep the noise down.

Across the room, Eve grinned at Roadkill.Time for the ball-gag, I think.