Page 72 of Broken Love

“Well, keep it together,” she says. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“It’s not me I’m worried about.”

Being friends with Caleb Fawn is a lot harder than I thought it’d be. Suddenly, every threat is far scarier than it should be. Every potential bug in the code is a virus just waiting to wipe out everything of value. Everything that means something to me.

Caleb nudges my shoulder. “We know what we’re doing, Box,” she assures me.

I nod, losing any drive I have to argue with it, but the black tar taking hold of my gut remains.

* * *

I balance my laptop in the sand and scan the radar for anything that could be a potential threat. Fox lies prone next to me with one eye pressed against his scope, looking far more tense than usual.

“I see two inside,” he mutters into the radio. “They’re sitting at a table. Looks like they’re waiting on something.”

“Copy that,” Rhys whispers back.

I pick up the binoculars, flicking on the night vision to get a better view of the black warehouse in the distance. Caleb jumped at the chance to join Rhys, West, and Rogers in surrounding the warehouse and I’ve been a fucking wreck ever since. Even the usual shut up and stay here wasn’t enough to calm me down. I see her now, her petite figure standing out among the tall, muscled forms of the others.

I didn’t hurl before we came out here but I sure as hell might now.

“Hey, Boxcar.”

I jolt slightly at Fox’s voice. “What?”

“Don’t give up.”

“On what?”

“On her,” he says, still focusing through his scope.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

He peeks out at me, his brown eyes calling bullshit. “Take it from me, man. There aren’t a lot of things I believe in anymore… but I believe in you guys.”

“Why?” I ask.

“Because what’s the fucking point otherwise? The world binds us to certain people. Most are bad but some are pretty good. I highly doubt the two of you just stumbled onto each other out of coincidence but even if you did, you can’t waste it.” He pauses. “Not like I did.”

I stare ahead into the black desert. “You make it sound easy.”

“Don’t make it difficult. She’ll do that enough for both of you.”

“That’s probably true.”

Fox clicks on his radio. “Fall back, Serg. They hear you.”

I raise the binoculars as panic strains my chest. Two blurry figures pass by the warehouse windows from the inside, one larger and balder than the other and my blood runs cold.

“It’s them…”

I search for Caleb, but I’ve lost her. Rhys and West stand around the front side, pressed hard against the wall to avoid detection. I can’t find Caleb or Rogers anywhere.

“Where is she?” I ask.

“She went around the back,” Fox answers, readying his radio again. “Caleb, they’re heading in your direction. Get out of sight now—”

A single bullet fires.

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