Page 86 of Edge

“There’s an underground bunker on the farm property. Phoenix wants everyone to stay there while they intercept the Mad Dogs. Walter and Buck are here to help. What do you need to take with you?”

“How long are we going to be there?”

“I don’t know. It could be anywhere from a few hours to a few days.”

To my surprise, she didn’t balk at my answer. “Okay. I’ll need my medicine, my phone and charger, the two books on my nightstand, a change of clothes, and my toothbrush.”

“Is that all?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never done this before.”

“You won’t need anything else,” Gabby assured her. “The bunker is well stocked with anything you might need, other than your medications and your phone. I’ll put your stuff in a bag and meet you in the car.”

“Thank you,” Evie said.

“Yes, thank you,” I added.

“No problem. I’ll grab your medications and a change of clothes for you and Irene, too.”

Within twenty minutes, we were loaded into the car and headed toward the bunker.

24

PHOENIX

As we were getting Gary settled in the holding room, his phone rang. I didn’t think anything of it at first, but when it continued to ring, I reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone to see Hound’s name on the screen.

Holding up the phone for Gary to see, I gave him a pointed look. “You’re going to answer and pretend like everything’s fine. Do not even think about doing anything to tip him off.”

Gary swallowed thickly and nodded. “Okay.”

When Hound called again, I accepted the call and put him on speaker so we could hear what transpired.

“Hello,” Gary answered shakily.

“It’s about time,” Hound snapped. “I’ve been trying to call you. Did you do what you were supposed to?”

“Sorry, I was in the bathroom. Yeah, I went by there this morning. I did what I had to do and left. No problems.”

“Good. We’re heading that way now. Keep an eye on things and call me when they show up.”

“Will do. There’s no sign of them yet.”

“It’s only a matter of time. I’ll call you when we’re close so you can meet us at the same place as last time.” With that, Hound ended the call.

“Where does he want you to meet him?”

“It’s an abandoned warehouse on Highway Fourteen in Cedar Valley. I don’t know the exact address, but I can show you where it is.”

“Show us on a map,” I said and turned to Byte.

Byte placed his laptop in front of Gary with a map already on the screen. “Is this it?” he asked and pointed to a warehouse and empty parking lot.

“Yes, that’s it,” Gary confirmed.

“All right, let’s get over to the conference room to make some plans.”

Church was short and simple. We were going to meet them at the warehouse and work things out one way or another, but we were going to have some precautions in place in case things went sideways.

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