Hunter

“In two days they want me to pick a bride from their lineup.” I can practically hear Kameron’s molars grinding together, “Two. Fucking. Days.”

“I thought they were waiting for Elliott to return?” I say, cautious of his temperament.

Kameron was all smiles until…well, he wasn’t.

“No, he said he needed to get back to his duties.” Kameron takes a deep breath on the other end of the line. “Marcus? Are you there?”

“Yeah–Ahem–I’m here.” Marcus adjusts in the seat next to Elliott.

I could feel the anxiety rolling off of him.

“Where are you at on getting more information about their security?”

“Closer, but not there yet. ”

“Will you be– there yet –in less than two days?”

Marcus looks at me, then back to the phone, “I’ll get there.” He stands, huffing out of the room.

I know Marcus, he’ll be bleeding himself dry to make that happen for Kam.

“Kameron, that’s a big ask.” I try to reason with him.

I know we all want to take down Everton, but rushing isn’t the answer. Not when we knew so little of what we’re up against.

“Yeah, well I can’t watch another person go through what she did.” He growls through the line. “ Ever. ”

“We know, we get it.”

“Is–is our girl with you?”

“I’m here.” Elliott answers.

“Hey gorgeous–”

“Why wouldn’t he wait?” She cuts him off, “He wouldn’t do this. Not with me gone.” She sucks in a deep gulp of air and lets it out in a rush. “I know how that sounds. It’s just he–he wouldn’t let me go that easily.”

“He wants to get back to business because he sees the community’s on edge and he wants to restore order. He feels his power slipping away.”

“It doesn’t make sense, Kam.”

“That makes sense, if he feels like he’s losing control.” He whispers into the phone.

Elliott’s eyes glaze over as she loses herself in thought .

“Kam, do you think there’s something else going on? Something you aren’t seeing?”

“Yeah, probably a lot . I’m new here, they aren’t gonna give me all the inside details. I wasn’t supposed to have influence in this place, remember? I was supposed to get in, distract, and Marcus would infiltrate the system and override it.”

“I know the original plan.” I reply, starting to get flustered.

“Yeah, none of that was us finding Elliott, sneaking her out, or the fact that they have a tech guy just as brilliant as ours.”

“Kam…we know. We’re all in this together. Take a fucking breath.” I hear him inhale through the line, “We’re going to figure this out, okay?”

“I know, I know. I’m just on edge. Elliott’s friend Lianne came and saw me recently, and I one-hundred percent know she is being followed–”

“What!?” Elliott shoots to her feet, rushing to my side, “What do you mean she’s being followed?”

“I am pretty sure Samuel’s men think she has something to do with your disappearance.” Kam answers.

“Kam, is she in danger?” Her breaths become uneven as she waits for his response.

He takes a few moments of pause, “I don’t know exactly, but we know she had nothing to do with it. So, she has nothing to hide.”

“Except she does.” She eyes me, “She knows you aren’t Mr. Harris, she knows that you’re lying to the Divine. ”

“She doesn’t know the extent. She is a smart woman. She’ll be safe.”

“Kameron, if something happens you have to help her.”

“I will.” I can hear the concern in his tone, “I gotta go. Give me updates the best you can about the progress Marcus makes. I’ll be in touch.”

“Of course. Be safe Kam, okay?”

“I know. I’ll talk to you soon, Sinclair,” he grows quiet, the line fills with just the sound of running water, “See you later, gorgeous?” He’s almost inaudible.

“See you later.” The line clicks off.

Elliott and I look at one another for a moment before I pull her into my arms, rocking her from side to side as she clenches my shirt in her palms, holding me to her. “He’ll be okay. We will make sure of it.”

“What about Lianne?”

“Kameron won’t let anything happen to her. He knows she’s your best friend.” She nods in agreement against my chest.

“I just wish I was more helpful and less...” She buries her face in my chest, “I wish I didn’t add more problems to what you all had planned. You were going to save us, all of us, not just me.”

I lean back, my palms reaching for each side of her face, tilting her to look up at me.

Sorrow blankets her eyes, as if they hold all the guilt of Everton.

“El, we still will.” I kiss her forehead then rest mine on it.

“We don’t give up easily…well, more li ke never.

We never give up on a mission. We’ll get them all out, we will save them. Just like we helped save you.”

She closes her eyes and I pull her back into my arms, letting myself comfort her in silence. My mind flickers through all the things I need to get in order for us to pull this off.

This wasn’t supposed to be this complicated of a mission once we knew the location. Sure, the mission may have changed, but one thing that hasn’t changed was how we were going to dismantle this fucking town. Burn it to the fucking ground.