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"Right"

"Excellent!" Satisfaction dripped froood mood Perhaps you could use some assistance? Some manpower?

Equipal anticipated his "credit" being worth all that But what the hell If he was going to strike a bargain with the devil, he daet his soul’s worth out of it

"All of the above," he said, getting back to work

"Can I get a chopper, too?"

Aidan stared down at the son and wondered what value it held It was thin, about two inches in diah it, so there was no co inside In fact, if he found this without having any preconceived notions of what it was, he’d guess it was a necklace charm or some other bit of jewelry

"Hey" Lyssa pulled out the chair beside hi coffee down in front of her "Is that it?"

He shrugged and twisted the book around so that she could see the rendering that had been es "It’s definitely one of the ite to find, but there are pieces that work in conjunction with it and we don’t have thele," she offered "That’s a good sign"

"Yes, it’s hopeful There’s a mention of the Mojave Desert The coordinates here--" he pointed to the page "--line up to that area and the mentions of caverns seem to confirm it"

She reached out and set her hand over his "I’ happens to Justin, I don’t think Stacey can take it He’s all she has"

"I know" He straightened in the chair "The Elders are very good at finding weaknesses and exploiting the like this

I just wasn’t prepared for theainst Stacey"

"How could any of us know?"

"Connor suggested that she ht be vulnerable because of how close she is to you I thought he was bullshittingit as a way to excuse his interest in her Obviously, I rong"

"I think he really likes her"

"Yeah" Aidan heaved out his breath "I think so, too"

"So where do we go fro to have to search for le, "--

using a book written when the landscape was totally different than the way it is now I’ll be gone s out after whatever happens tonight, I’ll feel better all around I can’t protect everyone alone, Lyssa The shit just keeps on coh, as rimly "We need reinforce to have to sit down and figure out who is best to bring over froht I haven’t been with the men since they’ve become rebels I have no idea who is up for the task and who isn’t"

Lyssa leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek

"I can’t believe all the sacrifices the Guardians arefor us"

"It was our fuck-up, Hot Stuff" He cupped the back of her neck and nuzzled his nose against hers "It’s our responsibility to clean it up"

The sound of a car pulling into the drive caught both their attentions Then another car And another Pushing to their feet, they ran to the front door Stacey stood on the porch, watching the invasion with a blank stare

A fleet of cars flooded Stacey’s property

Huled in every direction as they covered the lawn in a broad pattern

"Holy shit," Lyssa said

"I’m insane," Stacey muttered, her hands on her sweats-clad hips "There is no other explanation for this nuht reinforcements"

"I’ll say"

The yard was reclaiuished one by one Men and woo doors and trunks were opened andup the steps, Connor gestured everyone into the house "Your ho the door open for her and Lyssa to enter "There’s a transponder in Rachel’s cell phone that is sending its location to a receiver on her end By setting up shop here, it’ll appear as if we’re staying put"

"Do whatever you want to the da as I get Justin back, I don’t give a shit about anything else"

The screen door was pulled open and a flood of urban caed individuals poured in

"First," Connor said to the group at large, pointing to Tommy "Tranq him so he stays knocked out"

He looked at Stacey "We’ll take hi that Justin called you and co about not wanting to get in a fight about it, so you ca him"

Stacey arched a brow

"It’s as close to plausible as we’re going to get on such-short notice," Connor argued "If you’ve got a better idea, let’s hear it"

"Fuck it"

"Right" Connor glanced at Aidan "Well?"

"It’s triangular," Aidan replied, "but it’s a sure out what the other pieces are, I can’t figure out what the purpose is"