Page 71 of Shadow Blind

Kait toyed with her spoon, her face lined with conflict, as if she didn’t know what to say. She finally blew out a breath and raised her eyes, holding Demi’s gaze. “Remember how I told you Wolf was extra cautious about the security around Shadow Mountain, and by extension, The Neighborhood?”

Demi nodded. She would have described the precautions Wolf took as paranoidly anal, but what did she know?

“Well, there are reasons behind his caution.” Kait stirred cream and sugar into her coffee cup and set her spoon down. “Shadow Mountain and its warriors have been involved in dozens of global conflicts, few of which most people have even heard about. Like the situation Marcus and his teammates found themselves in three years ago. If the NRO had gotten their way, a good chunk of the world would have died. Shadow Mountain, along with the clones, stopped the massacre from happening.”

“What’s the NRO?” Demi lifted her cup, the ceramic warmth sinking into her palms, and took a small sip. The coffee was surprisingly smooth and flavorful for restaurant fare.

“They don’t exist anymore, but back then, they called themselves the New Ruling Order.” Kait grimaced. “In reality, they were just a bunch of one percenters who wanted to rule the world. The clones, along with Wolf and his warriors, neutralized them.”

Demi could almost hear Cosky’s tone and inflection in the word neutralized.

Kait picked her cup up and sighed. “The point is, Shadow Mountain has made some nasty enemies in the past. Chances are they’ll make even more in the future. Wolf’s men fight the kind of people who’d kill everyone on base and in The Neighborhood without a second thought. Wolf’s precautions are in place to keep his people safe. The only visitors allowed are close family members of Shadow Mountain personnel. Wolf and his team vet everyone. Nobody can access the base or The Neighborhood without authorization.”

Demi took another sip of coffee as she studied Kait’s shadowed face. What a strange and secretive world her friend had fallen into. Kait had told her about the force-field that supposedly encapsulated the entire community and prevented unauthorized visitors from entering. It sounded farfetched. But the concept certainly fit with the extreme security measures Wolf appeared to have implemented.

Olivia returned to the table, so Demi put her questions on hold. On Kait’s recommendation, she ordered the seafood omelet. Once Olivia had refilled their coffee cups and disappeared back into the kitchen, Demi launched her next question.

“Does everyone who lives in The Neighborhood have family on base?” She’d only seen the air hangar when she’d arrived, but Kait said over a thousand people worked there.

“Yes. Well, both base employees and their families. Or those with significant others, like Olivia.” She nodded toward the kitchen. “She’s Samuel’s fiancée. Samuel is Wolf’s second in command. Olivia is part of The Neighborhood’s book brigade—where we discuss romance novels and drink loads of wine. I think you’ll love her as much as the rest of us do.”

A twinge of jealousy shot through Demi upon hearing the affection in Kait’s voice. Kait’s circle of close friends had obviously widened after moving to Denali, while her own had dwindled to zero. At least locally.

Still, the book brigade club sounded like a blast. She’d happily join in while she was here. An evening spent discussing favorite books while drinking gallons of wine? Not much could beat that.

“Anyway,” Kait cleared her throat. “Everyone who lives here is connected to someone working at the base. Even the shopkeepers. When the stores first went in, I didn’t think they could survive. But they’re doing okay. Shadow Mountain supplements them, and we all shop locally. The owners will never get rich, but they don’t seem to care. I think they just want something to keep them busy. Olivia, for example, is only open for breakfast—and even then, only on weekdays, while Samuel is at base. She takes evenings and weekends off. Her schedule is perfect for me. You know how much I hate cooking. And Marcus leaves for the base so stinking early, I barely get to kiss him goodbye, let alone cook breakfast for him.”

“Still not a morning person, I see.” Demi’s lips twitched at the disgust in Kait’s voice. It was nice to see that some things hadn’t changed. “And you’ve told me dozens of times that Cosky took over all the cooking since you kept getting distracted by a new idea and leaving for your workshop while the oven or burner was on.”

Kait tried to look offended but collapsed into giggles. “Marcus forbids me from cooking if I’m by myself. He says I’m dangerous in the kitchen.”

A man forbidding his wife to do anything would normally raise Demi’s hackles. But she didn’t want to lose her best friend to a home fire any more than Cosky did.

“Ah…he knows you well.” Demi sent her a teasing smile, but it slowly died. Aiden still didn’t know her routines. But then, they hadn’t spent enough time together to settle into habits.

“It must be nice having Cosky home nights, weekends, and holidays. But from what you said earlier about Shadow Mountain’s enemies, his job must still be dangerous.” Demi stopped to sniff. Some delicious scents were drifting out of the kitchen. Her stomach rumbled. “How do you handle that?”

Kait was silent, her gaze intense as it searched Demi’s face. “Things have been pretty quiet since they defeated the NRO. He’s been gone on training missions, mostly. But it looks like things are about to heat up again, if this weapon Aiden stumbled into gets loose in the world.” Her face pinched with anxiety, only to smooth again.

Demi shifted uneasily in her chair. If the weapon used on Aiden’s team was behind things heating up, then Aiden would be in danger too. He’d go after the people who’d killed his teammates.

“But won’t you be scared for Cosky while he’s off fighting this weapon?”

She’d be a nervous wreck when Aiden went after it.

“Of course, but I’ll do what I did with Dad and Aiden. I’ll keep busy, distract myself with work. It helps that I trust Marcus to do everything possible to stay safe and return to me. He’s well-trained. He’s smart. And he has dozens of well-trained, smart men surrounding him. He won’t be alone out there. And I won’t be alone back here, either. It helps to have Faith, Beth, Amy, Olivia and Mary around. When the guys are gone, we’ll band together, form our own little posse.”

“It would be nice to have a posse.” Demi’s voice turned wistful.

“You know…” Kait’s voice was careful, her face cautious. “Marcus says Aiden can’t go back to the SEALs. He lost trust in the command structure. He suspects they’re behind what happened in Karaveht.” She searched Demi’s face, then leaned across the table, reaching for her hand. “Maybe you should wait to break things off with him. If Marcus is right, those long deployments might be in Aiden’s past.”

Demi thought about that, only to shake her head. “He’ll just move on to another career, one just as dangerous. I think he thrives on the adrenaline.” She shook her head again. “Besides, I’m not as brave as you and the other women in your posse. Waiting at home for news would kill me. The stress. The fear. I couldn’t do it. I don’t want to do it.”

Kait accepted her answer with a small sigh. “Well, it was just a thought. I keep hoping he’ll join Shadow Mountain. If he did, he’d be home most nights and weekends after this new danger has passed. And if you two stayed together, we could be neighbors again. Only this time, forever.”

Demi’s smile was wobbly. That sounded wonderful, and completely unrealistic. According to Kait, Aiden had known about the Shadow Mountain base for years. Yet he’d shown no interest in joining his brother’s team. She doubted that would change anytime soon.

And even if it did, she hated the thought of him going off to war. Shadow Mountain might not be SEALs, but according to Kait, the men who manned it were still soldiers. They had enemies. They left their homes to fight evil. And evil fought back. Every time they left base, there was a chance someone’s husband or father or fiancé wouldn’t make it back home.

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