Page 48 of Beautiful Unity

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Watching Darcie take charge of the crowd was sexy. She’d met with every person and spoke with them about their skills and how they could help. Not everyone was made for the front lines, but it didn’t mean Darcie gave them any less attention. She was amazing.

“Hot, right?” Grayson asked around a mouthful. He’d been eating nonstop since we’d arrived.

“The chips or our girl?”

He stuck out his tongue with mushed-up chips, and I rolled my eyes. He was so immature at times. He shoved my shoulder and smiled, easing the tension I hadn’t noticed. His eyes twinkled, and I realized he’d done it on purpose.

“Thanks.”

“Anytime, Baby Brawler.”

I snorted and shook my head, but secretly, I loved that nickname. I’d been so worried I’d be the weak link in our group, so to feel like I had a handle now felt good. Real good.

“I just heard back from Bones,” Maddox interrupted.

“And?”

“Let’s grab the others.” Maddox’s jaw was tight, and my gut sank. That couldn’t be good. “Princess.” Darcie turned from the group she was with and smiled at the three of us.

“Hey.”

“Where’s Bubba?”

Darcie glanced around. “Um, I think he’s with Tiny. Why?”

“I have news.”

She didn’t hesitate to jump off the table she’d been perched on. “Let’s go.”

I took her hand when she offered it to me. I loved how she could read what each of us needed. I’d always believed this type of relationship would work, but I hadn’t known the mechanics. Darcie somehow had the manual for us and instinctively knew how to operate when we needed extra attention.

And I’d just used a car metaphor to describe a relationship. Damn. I’d been in the garage too long if it was my go-to now over horses.

“Something wrong?” she asked, proving my point.

“No. Just thinking it’s been a while since I rode. I miss my horse.”

Her face softened, and understanding entered her eyes. “We’ll have to go when we’re back. I’d love to go riding with you. I’ll be terrible, but I want to.”

“I’d love that.”

Smiling, I felt like I’d won the grand prize as we found Bubba. It was the middle of the afternoon now. We’d taken shifts sleeping, but no one had slept more than a few hours. Tonight would be rough, but I didn’t believe any of us could sleep until this ordeal was over.

“Bubba,” Grayson shouted, capturing the ginger’s attention. Maddox motioned for us to sit around a firepit off to the side. It was about as private as you could get at the barn.

I glanced at it again, amazed at how decrepit it looked. Mack had explained it was an illusion. They’d painted and nailed rotten wood to the outside to give it a rundown look. It was something Kiki had learned at college, how in history when dignitaries visited foreign countries, the host country would hang something over the front of buildings to make it look fancy or even paint it up to resemble a modern building. But if you looked to the side of the building or ventured inside, you’d find the actual state of it. So they’d done the opposite. There was also something about Doctor Who, but I’d already been lost at that point.

“Bones is keeping Becca close to the chest. He didn’t say anything, even when I dropped I’d met up with JJ.”

“Do you think he’s bluffing that good, or do we have it wrong?” Darcie asked.

Maddox scrubbed the fine hairs on his head. “Not sure. But until we know more, we’ll continue with the plan. Maybe if we succeed, he’ll pretend like it never happened.”

“That’s pretty risky,” Grayson said.

“Yeah. But that's all I got.”

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